Cybersecurity Policy Report, Children’s Data Privacy Act Advances in California, (Apr 3, 2024)
The California state Assembly Committee on Privacy and Consumer Protection voted 8-0 this week to pass the California Children’s Data Privacy Act, which proposes to strengthen protections of data privacy rights of children under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA).
The bill, which is sponsored by Assembly member Buffy Wicks (D.) and Attorney General Rob Bonta (D.), concludes that the CCPA doesn’t effectively protect 17-year-olds or limit businesses from collecting or exploiting the data of young users so long as they do not sell it.
Under current law, large businesses covered by the CCPA are prohibited from selling or sharing a child’s personal information if the business has actual knowledge of the child’s age. AG Bonta said the actual knowledge standard “allows businesses to skirt the CCPA’s specific prohibition on selling young users’ data or using it for certain behavioral advertising by arguing that they did not have actual knowledge that the user was under the threshold age, which is currently age 16.”
AB 1949 would remove the “actual knowledge” standard in the law, “leaving a strict prohibition against collecting, sharing, or selling the personal information of children under the age of 17 unless the child, or the child’s parent or guardian if the child is under 13, provides prior authorization for the business to do so.”
The bill further would increase the current prohibition against selling the personal information of children under 16 years old to include all youth under 18 years old, unless the business receives explicit permission to do so.
“While existing federal and state privacy laws offer important protections that guard children’s privacy, California’s groundbreaking privacy protections—the CCPA and the CPRA—do not expressly include children. AB 1949 seeks to hold businesses accountable for unauthorized collection of children's data, in addition to updating safeguards and enforcements within the CCPA and the CPRA,” said Assembly member Wicks.
The bill has been referred to the Assembly Committee on Appropriations.
News: DataPrivacy StateLegislation CCPA