Bloggers in legislation? That's right! In the first week of June, we worked hard to protect all bloggers rights from what is known as the Ccpa. Most people will know this as the act that will protect consumer privacy. However, this act as is has some seriously detrimental effects to the world of blogging as we know it today.

We had the honor of participating in an incredible lobbyist group called the Make Privacy Work Coalition, who advocate to make the new policies functional for the fabric of smaller Businesses such as bloggers and other online companies.

When we arrived, we were greeted by the incredible team at Make Privacy Work, along with several other notable bloggers in the industry. You can find their blogs here:

https://www.cupcakesandcutlery.com/
https://www.theballeronabudget.com
https://dangerouscupcakelifestyle.com/
https://mamalikestocook.com/

We had a packed day of meetings with all types of legislators, some that took our side and others that opposed. However, we pushed on a had major success discussing some of the issues that we made light to. Here's what our schedule looked like:

So, you're probably wondering how this affects you as a blogger. Here's all you need to know how to prepare for the CCPA.

What is the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)?

On June 28, 2018, the CCPA was approved by legislator in order to protect the privacy of consumers from heavy hitters such as Google and Facebook. However, because of hasty deadlines and only a 7-day review period, it was passed with holes and unexplained language that cause detriment to especially small online businesses.

Here's what sounds good on paper: the CCPA allows consumers to have the right to know when data is being collected on them at all times (and to opt-in/out of the sale of this information) and the right to sue if a company misuses your information or if there is a breach in the data. Sounds good and safe for consumer, right?

Unfortunately, this creates a huge problem for anybody who operates business online and especially bloggers. Because the CCPA was passed without much fine tuning, it's a vague and nondescript piece of legislation that can cause more detriment than benefit. Thankfully, Make Privacy Work Coalition and our awesome team of bloggers helped bring some of these issues to light.

Who is Effected by the CCPA?

Here are the stipulations to qualify for the CCPA:

If you are an online blogger receiving at least 140 hits a day, you're going to have to start complying immediately. Compliance will require a heavy-duty overhaul of your site, and if you're a leisurely blogger, this can be extremely costly and difficult to do. If you don't comply, you can be at risk of penalties up to $7,500.

Also, if you have a brick and mortar business but are selling or taking orders online, you also are at risk of being affected by the CCPA. If you use Facebook or Google ads to advertise your business, you fall into this category.

How do I Comply with the CCPA?

The new CCPA law will take affect on January 1, 2020, which means you need to start acting now to comply. If this law isn't adjusted, it would require all online businesses that qualify to do the following:

How Does Make Privacy Work Coalition Help Fix the CCPA?

Fortunately, Make Privacy Work Coalitions has been making drastic strides to help prevent the CCPA from negatively affecting small businesses while still making privacy safe with consumers. Here are a few bill propositions they are working on right now:

SB-753

This bill never made it to the senate floor but still potentially can be brought up again in the future. The bill basically allowed smaller businesses to still run targeted advertising.

AB-873

In this bill, it clarifies the language of "personable information" so that it doesn't have such broad impacting coverage. Ultimately, this would exclude smaller businesses and bloggers who wouldn't be "reasonable" to fall under the CCPA's overbearing requirements.

AB-1564

This will allow online businesses to be able to respond via email instead of toll-free number f they solely operate online. Because most small bloggers aren't big businesses, manning and operating a toll-free number would be nearly impossible and financially unreasonable.

AB-846

For those of you who collect points and loyalty rewards, you will ultimately lose out on redeemable offers. 

What do you think of the CCPA? Does it affect you? Share in the comments below or email us at [email protected].