Sara Jodka Quoted by International Financial Law Review on US Companies’ Reaction to California’s Data Protection Law

Sara Jodka (Member, Columbus) spoke with International Financial Law Review about how companies in the United States have reacted to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which goes into effect on January 1, 2020. The law, which is frequently compared to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), was written for a smaller market than the GDPR and includes weaker requirements for corporations. In effect, the law allows companies to enact band-aid solutions until a breach occurs, at which point they are given 30 days to fix it without penalty. The CCPA’s implementation prompted speculation that the US would move towards a federal data protection framework, which Sara believes should be approached with caution.

“I would not want to see a federal privacy law unless it pre-empts state law because, if there is a federal law that doesn’t, companies will still have to comply with all the state laws and also comply with the federal law,” Sara told the publication. “For states that doesn’t have their own laws, I think a federal law would be appropriate to protect personal information.”