What if a business has your browsing history or location data, and you want to know what it holds? The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) gives consumers rights concerning personal information held by covered businesses. California signed it into law in 2018, as states began responding to a lack of comparable federal internet privacy legislation. section 4.7.3
Under the CCPA, consumers can:
- Request the categories and specific pieces of personal information a covered business holds through a data subject access request (DSAR). section 4.7.3
- Opt out of the sale of their personal information; businesses must provide online notice and an opportunity to opt out. section 4.7.3
- Request deletion of personal information and, in limited circumstances, sue after a data breach. section 4.7.3
Personal information has a broad meaning here. It can include information reasonably linked to a consumer or household, such as biometric data, geolocation, email, and browsing history. The CCPA shares many provisions with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and is part of a wider movement toward privacy and data-protection laws. section 4.7.3 section 2.6.1
An everyday choice
If a covered business holds your browsing history, you can ask what personal information it holds and look for its online opportunity to opt out of a sale. These are separate choices: learning what is held and deciding whether it may be sold. section 4.7.3
