The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) will come into effect from 1 January 2020 and be enforceable by California’s Attorney General from July 2020. The law, often compared somewhat erroneously with the GDPR, was amended in September and will be implemented through regulations that will be finalised in Spring 2020.

Latham & Watkins lawyers offered invaluable insights into the CCPA and the current US data privacy regime at a PL&B conference on 14 November in London. Opening the conference, Stewart Dresner, CEO of PL&B, explained that we should not expect a federal privacy law any time soon but there are many state developments. Also, newly found support from US multinationals for a federal law puts more pressure on the legislature. Gail Crawford, Partner of Latham & Watkins’ London office stressed the opportunity for private actions with high statutory penalties under the CCPA following data breaches – a real worry for ­organisations.