California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018: opt-out preference signal.

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not specify that browser makers are protected from lawsuits by businesses misusing signals.

California Law on Browser Settings for Privacy

This law requires browsers to have a setting that lets users tell businesses they don't want their personal information sold or shared, starting in January 2027.

What This Bill Does

• Requires browsers to include an option for users to send a signal telling businesses not to sell or share their personal data.
• Businesses must explain how this signal works and what it does in public disclosures.
• Gives browser makers protection from being sued if another business misuses the signal they sent.

Who It Names or Affects

• People who use web browsers
• Businesses that develop or maintain web browsers

Terms To Know

Browser

A computer program used to access and view websites on the internet.

Opt-out preference signal

A message sent by a browser that tells businesses not to sell or share personal information about the user.

Limits and Unknowns

• The law starts in January 2027, so it won't affect browsers until then.
• It only applies to web browsers and does not cover other types of software.

Official Summary Text

AB 566, Lowenthal.
California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018: opt-out preference signal.
The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) grants a consumer various rights with respect to personal information that is collected or sold by a business, as defined, including the right to direct a business that sells or shares personal information about the consumer to third parties not to sell or share the consumer’s personal information, as specified. The California Privacy Rights Act of 2020, approved by the voters as Proposition 24 at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, amended, added to, and reenacted the CCPA and establishes the California Privacy Protection Agency and vests the agency with full administrative power, authority, and jurisdiction to enforce the CCPA.
This bill would, beginning January 1, 2027, prohibit a business from developing or maintaining a browser, as defined, that does not include functionality
configurable by a consumer that enables the browser to send an opt-out preference signal, as defined, to businesses with which the consumer interacts through the browser, as prescribed. The bill would require a business that develops or maintains a browser to make clear to a consumer in its public disclosures how the opt-out preference signal works and the intended effect of the opt-out preference signal. The bill would grant a business that develops or maintains a browser that includes this functionality immunity from liability for a violation of those provisions by a business that receives the opt-out preference signal. The bill would authorize the agency to adopt regulations as necessary to implement and administer those provisions.
This bill would declare that its provisions further the purposes and intent of the California Privacy Rights Act of 2020.

Current Bill Text

Download Bill PDF