Greetings from Portsmouth, New Hampshire!
It seems like we say this at the beginning of every January, but 2020 is already shaping up to be another busy year for the privacy world.
We kicked off the new year with the California Consumer Privacy Act, which you might have heard went into effect Jan. 1. Currently the country’s most comprehensive privacy law, it will affect approximately 500,000 companies operating in the U.S. And, of course, the law includes new data right protections for California consumers. Large companies, such as Microsoft and Mozilla, have already extended the data rights to all their users, not just California residents.
Like 2018, we ended 2019 with a number of federal privacy laws up for discussion. Separate laws introduced at the end of the year by Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Ranking Member Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., seem remarkably similar. Although, of course, there are differences, but this may be the first time both sides are close to agreeing on a comprehensive federal law. You can read more about the similarities and differences of the proposed bills in the “COPRA and CDPA: Similarities, Gray Areas and Differences” white paper written by IAPP Senior Westin Research Fellow Müge Fazlioglu, CIPP/E, CIPP/US.
And now that the CCPA is in effect, expect to see even more calls for federal legislation from big tech companies and lawmakers. Earlier this week, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., issued a call for a federal privacy law, stating, “These issues cannot be addressed on a state-by-state basis. Instead we need comprehensive federal legislation, which addresses not only privacy but a range of related consumer protection and competition issues.”
Not only are we kicking off a new decade, but 2020 also marks the IAPP’s 20th anniversary. We have a lot planned to celebrate this year; you might have already seen our new logo. Please keep an eye on this space for more details.
In the meantime, best wishes for a happy and prosperous 2020!