This week marks the official start of the California Consumer Privacy Act. And for businesses across North America, it’s going to be a bigger deal than you might think.
The California Consumer Privacy Act, or CCPA, is primarily targeted toward protecting residents of California on business deals that they do within California’s border. But it won’t just affect California; it sets some precedents that may well ripple across businesses everywhere.
At its most basic, the CCPA gives California residents the power to tell businesses not to sell their information to other businesses or third parties. It also gives businesses a stricter set of rules around transparency.
How does this affect brokerages?
Because real estate brokerages are consumer-facing, they’re expected to follow the new rules outlined by the CCPA. Yes, even if you’re not located in California.
The CCPA stipulates that it applies to any business that works with a California resident—so if you or anyone in your brokerage are helping someone move from California to another state, it applies.
What should you keep in mind?
The CCPA has two core components, as I mentioned above.
- It gives California residents the power to refuse the sale of their personal information
- It mandates transparency for businesses, including how personal information is used
For more information on what this means for your brokerage, and to see what we’re doing as your tech provider to help you comply with the new rules, be sure to check out the broker’s guide to the CCPA!
How does this affect consumers?
This act was introduced to help protect consumers’ personal information.
There are some nuances to it—for example, if you’re a California resident but every part of a business deal happens outside of California, the CCPA won’t apply—but in general, it will affect how you interact with businesses.
- You’ll be able to refuse the sale of your personal information
- You can request a report from a business showing how your personal information is used
It’s important to know that a lot of the information collected through a real estate transaction falls under the CCPA’s jurisdiction. Usually, that information needs to stay on record for auditing purposes, so what happens when you submit a notice that you refuse the sale of your information is that it goes into a specially constructed database, which will keep track and monitor for you.
For more information on what the CCPA means for you, or to submit a request, be sure to check out the page below.
