Coming Soon…

“Coming soon to a theater near you….” California Governor Jerry Brown signed into law the strongest online privacy law in the country, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018. It may alter the way Silicon Valley does business.

The law ensures the following rights:

• The right to know the categories and specific pieces of personal information collected from consumers, the categories of sources from which the personal information is collected and the business purpose for collecting or sharing the personal information.

• The right to know whether personal information is sold or disclosed and the categories of third parties with whom personal information is shared.

• The right to object to the sale of personal information.

• The right to access personal information, including the right to request the deletion of personal information, subject to certain exceptions.

• The right to equal service and price, even when exercising privacy rights. Companies are allowed, however, to charge consumers different prices or provide different levels of services, if those differences are directly related to the value provided to the consumer by the consumer’s data. Additionally, companies can offer financial incentives for the collection/sale/deletion of personal information.

The California Consumer Privacy Act does not go into effect until January 1, 2020, and changes are anticipated as major tech companies and business-interest groups will likely lobby to further dilute the bill. The California legislature is also expected to pass “cleanup bills” to make any necessary corrections to the law over the next 18 months, and, there is a possibility that federal privacy legislation will be enacted that would preempt this California law. Therefore, the law that comes into force in 2020 may be different from the bill that was just passed, but the point has been made right in the back yard of Silicon Valley. It is marquee type legislation from that – positively and negatively – innovative state. Copycats sure to follow.… Patrick Kerney, an 11-season NFL star who played defensive end for the Falcons and the Seahawks, has traded in his shoulder pads for a calculator and has opened an insurance agency on Greenwich, CT. When he saw his career coming to a close, he began looking at options for business and alit upon the MBA program at Columbia and then the two-time Pro Bowl player discovered the world of risk transfer, writing his agency’s first policy in January. Full service agency in one of the USA’d wealthiest enclaves, it’s bound to be a success. Good luck, Patrick.… The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles has launched a REAL ID public awareness campaign and urged New Yorkers to get a REAL ID now. According to the federal REAL ID Act, those wishing to fly within the U.S. using their New York State- issued license or ID card will need a REAL ID or Enhanced Driver License (EDL) starting October 1, 2020. DMV encourages everyone who is renewing or obtaining a license or non-driver ID for the first time to get a REAL ID. For more information about REAL ID and Enhanced Driver Licenses, visit dmv.ny.gov/REALID. A full list of identification accepted for travel by the Transportation Security Administration can be found here: https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification. SA