Map of the United States - State Privacy Laws

State Privacy Laws in the Wake of the CCPA: A Tough Act to Follow

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Image Credit: Free-Photos from Pixabay.

Hard on the heels of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) and updated state privacy laws in Nevada and Maine which took effect in 2019, state data privacy legislation is still on the rise.

In November of 2020, California citizens approved the California Privacy Rights and Enforcement Act (CPRA), further amending the CCPA. The CPRA is intended to strengthen privacy regulations in California by creating new requirements for companies that collect and share sensitive personal information. It also creates a new agency, the California Privacy Protection Agency, that will be responsible for enforcing CPRA violations.

Most recently, the Virginia Governor signed the Consumer Data Protection Act into law, thereby making Virginia yet another U.S. state with a comprehensive state privacy law. 

As momentum builds for state privacy laws, 2021 could be the year that privacy laws gain footing across the country, helping Americans exercise control over their digital lives.

Washington’s Privacy Act 2021, SB 5062
**Update: The WPA did not pass the House by the April 11 deadline. On April 12, however, Senator Carlyle tweeted that the “bill remains alive through the end of the session.” The legislature will close on April 25.

*** Update 4/26: The WPA did not pass for the third year in a row, due to the late introduction of a limited private right of action (for injunctive relief). Jump to the bottom of the page for links to other pending state legislation.

The most notable – due to its furthest progression in state legislation – is the current draft of the Washington Privacy Act 2021 (“WPA”). This draft bill is the third version of the act introduced by Washington state Sen. Reuven Carlyle (D-Seattle) in as many years.

Scope

The WPA would apply to legal entities that:

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Privacy nutrition label

Opt-Out Icons and Apple Privacy Labels: The Visual Privacy Policy

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Image Credit: FDA Nutrition Label, modified by Metaverse Law

The growing frequency and severity of privacy incidents within the past decade—the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data scandal and Equifax data breach, to name just a few—has made consumer privacy a topic of public attention and concern.

In response to consumers’ increased wariness regarding their private data, some companies are trying to use privacy labels and icons to signal a commitment to privacy protection. The ultimate goal is to make privacy more accessible, transparent, and understandable.

This article reviews the history and current trends around privacy icons and labels.

Privacy Visuals Part I: Icons

In 2010, the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) rolled out its “YourAdChoices” icon – a clickable blue triangular icon found on ads. This was one of the first privacy icons available. The DAA developed this icon in response to speculated federal regulation in the advertising industry.

Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) YourAdChoices icon, appears as blue outlined triangle with inset letter 'i'
YourAdChoices icon. Image taken from https://digitaladvertisingalliance.org/.

To address Congressional inquiries into consumer privacy (and any possible resulting legislative efforts), the DAA formed a self-regulatory program with a set of privacy principles for participating companies and developed the YourAdChoices icon. Participating companies can voluntarily elect to place this symbol on their advertisements. By its nature, the DAA self-regulatory program and use of the YourAdChoices icon is not enforced by law. However, the DAA enforces the program by offering a consumer complaint process, public investigation procedure, and if necessary, escalation to a government agency, which happened in the case of SunTrust Bank in 2014.

Typically, the YourAdChoices icon is placed on cross-context behavioral ads—that is, ads targeted to consumers based on a profile of that consumer’s characteristics, preferences, and internet activity. If a browsing consumer views an ad that was targeted to them, they can click the YourAdChoices icon next to the ad to control whether ads should be personalized to them while browsing and to learn why that certain ad was displayed to them.

When the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) came into effect in 2020, it created new privacy requirements for over 500,000 business nationwide . One of the requirements is to prominently display a “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link on a business’ homepage, if a business is subject to CCPA, and “sells” or discloses a consumer’s personal information for valuable consideration. If a consumer submits a request through the link, the business must allow consumers to opt-out of the sale of that consumer’s personal information.

In response to this new requirement, the DAA designed a green version of the YourAdChoices icon for CCPA use. This is called the Privacy Rights Icon.

Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) Privacy Rights icon, appears as green outlined triangle with inset letter 'i'
Privacy Rights icon. Image taken from https://digitaladvertisingalliance.org/.

When implemented correctly by participating companies, the green Privacy Rights icon brings consumers to www.privacyrights.info, a website set up by the DAA to help centralize and facilitate “Do Not Sell” requests across all participating companies.

While the two DAA icons above are forms of industry self-regulation, the California Office of the Attorney General (OAG) has also designed a “Do Not Sell” button to accompany the Do Not Sell link.

Continue Reading Opt-Out Icons and Apple Privacy Labels: The Visual Privacy Policy