Facebook Advises Businesses Operating in California to Ensure CCPA Compliance

With the new California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) coming into effect from January 1st, which will implement more stringent regulations on personal data usage, and tougher penalties for those businesses that fail to comply, Facebook has this week outlined how it's preparing for the new regulations - while also prompting Facebook advertisers to check their own compliance.

As explained by Facebook:

"In a few weeks, the CCPA will come into effect and extend new data privacy rights to Californians. We are ready for its arrival in part because we’ve made many long-term investments across our products to help people everywhere easily manage their privacy and understand their choices with respect to their data. For example, we built self-serve tools that let people access, download and delete their information. We make these tools available to everyone on Facebook, regardless of where they live."

Indeed, Facebook has added a range of new tools over the past year in accordance with the CCPA and GDPR, including a new Privacy and Data Use Hub which outlines Facebook's data usage policies and provides clear explanations on your available controls over such.

These new tools make Facebook itself CCPA compliant, but Facebook has also added an important note for advertisers who operate within California - you need to ensure your own compliance when utilizing Facebook's ad tools.

As per Facebook:

"To comply with the CCPA, businesses will have to assess whether their data transfer activities constitute a “sale” of data under the law. The CCPA recognizes that many common activities are not “sales,” such as if a consumer directs a business to share their information, or if a consumer’s information is transferred for a business purpose with certain limitations on the recipient’s use. We encourage advertisers and publishers that use our services to reach their own decisions on how to best comply with the law."

The implementation of the CCPA will lead to a range of queries around what is and is not acceptable, and it's important that businesses operating within California understand their obligations.

You can read more about CCPA compliance here.