In California, new privacy, data protection rules could fuel lawsuits

shutterstock_329735990-2California’s new privacy law could spur a rash of class action lawsuits against companies, officials warn.

The Recorder at law.com reports that the regulations, due to go into effect Jan. 1, 2020, “will bear more than a passing resemblance to the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation, empowering Californians with more control over the way their data is collected, shared or viewed by companies on a daily basis.”

Reece Hirsch, a partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, says the privacy rights outlined in the California Consumer Privacy Act will empower the individual and possibly prompt litigation.

“A provision of the CCPA creates statutory damages for security breaches, and as a result Hirsch expects to witness a spike in California security breach class action suits,” the site reports. “Lawyers may want to consider incorporating a review of a client’s incident response plan into their CCPA prep work, he says.”