/>iThe California Privacy Protection Agency (“CPPA”) has announced a joint investigative sweep in collaboration with the Attorneys General of California, Colorado, and Connecticut. The sweep is targeted towards businesses that fail to honor consumer requests to opt out of the sale of personal information, a right guaranteed under each state’s data protection statutes.
A central focus of the initiative is compliance with the Global Privacy Control (“GPC”), a browser extension that automatically signals a consumer’s request to prevent the sale or sharing of their personal data with third parties. Regulators have emphasized that businesses cannot ignore or sidestep these signals, which are intended to provide consumers with a simple, universal mechanism to exercise their privacy rights. The coalition announced that it has sent letters to businesses that do not appear to be processing consumer requests to opt out of the sale of their personal information submitted via the GPC, and requested that those businesses come into immediate compliance.
“Today, along with our law enforcement partners throughout the country, we have identified businesses refusing to honor consumers’ requests to stop selling their personal data and have asked them to immediately come into compliance with the law. California and our sister states are committed to continued collaboration to actively enforce consumers’ important privacy rights and are paying close attention to business compliance with the Global Privacy Control.” – California Attorney General Bonta
This latest action underscores a growing trend of multi-state cooperation in privacy enforcement. Earlier this year, the three states launched a joint educational initiative to increase consumer awareness of GPC. That effort was followed by the announcement of the “Consortium of Privacy Regulators,” a coalition of eight states, including California, Connecticut, and Colorado, dedicated to coordinating implementation and enforcement of state privacy laws. See CONSORTIUM OF PRIVACY REGULATORS: Eight States Announce Bipartisan Consumer Privacy Initiative.
