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California Data Protection Lawyers

Data protection is an evolving issue, and a critical concern for individuals in California as private information passes through the online environment.
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Data Privacy > Data Protection

What Is Data Protection in California?

Data protection refers to the safeguards and legal requirements governing how personal information is collected, used, shared, retained, and secured. In California, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), gives residents rights over information handled by covered businesses and imposes obligations on those businesses.

What Information and Practices May Be Covered?

Personal information can include identifiers, purchase histories, browsing activity, and other information linked or reasonably linkable to a person or household. Sensitive personal information includes certain financial, health, biometric, and precise location information. Coverage depends on the business, the information involved, and applicable legal exceptions.

Covered businesses must provide required privacy disclosures and respect applicable rights to know, delete, correct, opt out of sale or sharing, and limit certain uses of sensitive information. Collection, use, and retention must also comply with purpose-limitation and data-minimization requirements.

Examples of Potential Data Protection Concerns

  • Unexpected data use: A business collects information to provide a service, then uses it for an incompatible purpose without legally required consent.
  • Disregarded privacy choices: A business continues selling personal information or sharing it for cross-context behavioral advertising despite a valid opt-out, without an applicable exception or subsequent authorization.
  • Excessive retention: A business keeps personal information longer than reasonably necessary for permitted purposes.
  • Improperly handled requests: A covered business refuses a valid request to access, correct, or delete information without an applicable legal basis.

Do These Protections Extend to Employee Information?

California residents’ employment-related information can fall within the CCPA when their employer is a covered business. Applicable exceptions still matter: for example, a deletion request does not necessarily require an employer to erase records it must legally retain.

What Can You Do About Suspected Misuse?

Keep dated copies of privacy notices, relevant settings, requests, and business responses that you are lawfully entitled to retain. Record which business or service was involved and when the conduct occurred.

Most CCPA violations are enforced by the California Privacy Protection Agency or California Attorney General rather than through private lawsuits. An attorney can assess whether another legal claim or an agency complaint may be appropriate. A suspected privacy violation does not automatically establish a right to compensation.

Legal sources: California Privacy Protection Agency: Privacy Rights and Business Obligations and California Attorney General: CCPA FAQs. Learn more about CCPA and CPRA protections.

Request a Free Case Review

Concerned that a business is misusing your personal information or disregarding your privacy choices? Matern Law Group can review your circumstances and explain your legal options.

California has been at the forefront of data protection laws in the United States, particularly with laws focusing on consumer and employee data. The primary laws governing data protection in California include the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), along with specific provisions relating to employee data. Here’s an overview of these laws:

California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)

The CCPA, effective as of January 2020, grants California consumers new rights regarding their personal information and imposes data protection obligations on certain businesses. Key aspects include:

  • Right to Know: Consumers can request to know what personal information a business has collected about them and how it is used and shared.
  • Right to Delete: Consumers can request the deletion of their personal information held by businesses.
  • Right to Opt-Out: Consumers can direct businesses not to sell their personal information.
  • Non-Discrimination: Businesses cannot discriminate against consumers who exercise their CCPA rights.

California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA)

The CPRA, passed in November 2020 and set to expand the CCPA’s protections, will be fully enforceable from July 2023. It introduces additional rights and strengthens existing ones:

  • Right to Correction: Consumers can request the correction of their personal information held by a business.
  • Right to Limit Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information: Consumers can limit the use of their sensitive personal information for anything beyond essential services.
  • Expansion of Definitions: The CPRA expands definitions, including a broader definition of what constitutes “selling” data, to include “sharing” data for behavioral advertising.

Employee Data Protection

  • Under the CCPA, and continuing with the CPRA, there are specific provisions for employee data:
    • Notice at Collection: Employers must inform employees at or before the point of collecting their personal information about the categories of personal information to be collected and the purposes for which it is used.
    • Extended Rights: Initially, employee rights under the CCPA were limited, but the CPRA extends many consumer rights to employees. This includes access to personal information, correction, and the right to delete data post-employment under certain conditions.

Enforcement and Compliance

  • California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA): Established under the CPRA, the CPPA is tasked with implementing and enforcing the CCPA and CPRA.
  • Private Right of Action: Consumers have a limited right to sue for breaches of certain unencrypted and sensitive personal information under CCPA and CPRA.

These laws are part of a broader movement in the U.S. towards more rigorous data protection regulations and indicate a growing recognition of data privacy as a critical issue. Businesses operating in California or handling Californian residents’ data must comply with these regulations, which can include significant penalties for non-compliance.

Get a Free Consulatation

You deserve clear answers about your rights. Contact Matern Law Group to discuss your situation and explore your legal options.

Our Approach

Our Practices are Guided by Integrity. We’ll protect what you deserve.

We work tirelessly and fight tenaciously to hold rights abusers accountable.

If you’ve experienced a distressing incident related to an issue like this, call us for a free case evaluation.

Did You Know?

California Confidentiality of Medical Information Act
The CMIA is a California law that protects the confidentiality of individually identifiable medical information obtained by health care providers, health insurers, and their contractors.
California Electronic Communications Privacy Act
Under CalECPA, no California government entity can search our phones and no police officer can search our online accounts without going to a judge, getting our consent, or showing it is an emergency.

Is It Illegal, or Just Unfair?

Legal cases can be lengthy, complicated, and confusing, but you don’t have to take on the system all by yourself. If you believe someone has violated your individual rights, or the rights of a large group of people in your community, we can help you find the right course of action.

Complete the form below or call: 855-913-1134 for a FREE consultation today.

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