Bill Text: CA AB1949 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: California Consumer Privacy Act of 2020: collection of personal information of a consumer less than 18 years of age.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Vetoed) 2024-09-28 - Vetoed by Governor. [AB1949 Detail]

Download: California-2023-AB1949-Introduced.html

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CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill

No. 1949

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Introduced by Assembly Member Wicks

January 29, 2024

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An act to amend Sections 1798.100, 1798.120, 1798.121, and 1798.185 of the Civil Code, relating to privacy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

AB 1949, as introduced, Wicks. California Consumer Privacy Act of 2020: collection of personal information of a consumer less than 18 years of age.

Existing law, the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2020 (CCPA), approved by the voters as Proposition 24 at the November 3, 2020, statewide general election, requires a consumer, as defined, to have various rights with respect to personal information, as defined, that is collected or sold by a business, as defined, including the right to direct a business that sells or shares personal information about a consumer to third parties to not sell or share the consumer’s personal information. The act prohibits a business from selling or sharing the personal information of a consumer if the business has actual knowledge that the consumer is less than 16 years of age, unless the consumer, or the consumer’s parent or guardian, as applicable, has affirmatively authorized the sale or sharing of the consumer’s personal information.

This bill would remove the condition that the business have actual knowledge that the consumer is less than 16 years of age and would revise the above-described prohibition to prohibit a business from selling or sharing the personal information of a consumer less than 18 years of age, unless the consumer, or the consumer’s parent or guardian, as applicable, has affirmatively authorized the sale or sharing of the consumer’s personal information.

The CCPA requires the Attorney General to solicit broad public participation and adopt regulations, as specified, to further the purposes of the act, including, but not limited to, regulations to establish technical specifications for an opt-out preference signal that allows the consumer, or the consumer’s parent or guardian, to specify that the consumer is less than 13 years of age, or at least 13 years of age and less than 16 years of age. The act requires the California Privacy Protection Agency, as specified, to adopt regulations under the authority assigned to the Attorney General under the act.

This bill would require the California Privacy Protection Agency, on or before July 1, 2025, to solicit broad public participation and adopt regulations, as specified, to further the purposes of the act, including, but not limited to, issuing regulations to establish technical specifications for an opt-out preference signal that allows the consumer, or the consumer’s parent or guardian, to specify that the consumer is less than 13 years of age, or at least 13 years of age and less than 18 years of age, and issuing regulations regarding age verification and when a business must treat a consumer as being less than 13 or 18 years of age for purposes of the CCPA.

The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2020 authorizes the Legislature to amend the act to further the purposes and intent of the act by a majority vote of both houses of the Legislature, as specified.

This bill would declare that its provisions further the purposes and intent of the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2020.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 Section 1798.100 of the Civil Code is amended to read:

1798.100.

 General Duties of Businesses that Collect Personal Information

(a) A business that controls the collection of a consumer’s personal information shall, at or before the point of collection, inform consumers of the following:

(1) The categories of personal information to be collected and the purposes for which the categories of personal information are collected or used and whether that information is sold or shared. A business shall not collect additional categories of personal information or use personal information collected for additional purposes that are incompatible with the disclosed purpose for which the personal information was collected without providing the consumer with notice consistent with this section.

(2) If the business collects sensitive personal information, the categories of sensitive personal information to be collected and the purposes for which the categories of sensitive personal information are collected or used, and whether that information is sold or shared. A business shall not collect additional categories of sensitive personal information or use sensitive personal information collected for additional purposes that are incompatible with the disclosed purpose for which the sensitive personal information was collected without providing the consumer with notice consistent with this section.

(3) The length of time the business intends to retain each category of personal information, including sensitive personal information, or if that is not possible, the criteria used to determine that period provided that a business shall not retain a consumer’s personal information or sensitive personal information for each disclosed purpose for which the personal information was collected for longer than is reasonably necessary for that disclosed purpose.

(b) A business that, acting as a third party, controls the collection of personal information about a consumer may satisfy its obligation under subdivision (a) by providing the required information prominently and conspicuously on the homepage of its internet website. In addition, if a business acting as a third party controls the collection of personal information about a consumer on its premises, including in a vehicle, then the business shall, at or before the point of collection, inform consumers as to the categories of personal information to be collected and the purposes for which the categories of personal information are used, and whether that personal information is sold, in a clear and conspicuous manner at the location.

(c) A business’ collection, use, retention, and sharing of a consumer’s personal information shall be reasonably necessary and proportionate to achieve the purposes for which the personal information was collected or processed, or for another disclosed purpose that is compatible with the context in which the personal information was collected, and not further processed in a manner that is incompatible with those purposes.

(d) A business that collects a consumer’s personal information and that sells that personal information to, or shares it with, a third party or that discloses it to a service provider or contractor for a business purpose shall enter into an agreement with the third party, service provider, or contractor, that:

(1) Specifies that the personal information is sold or disclosed by the business only for limited and specified purposes.

(2) Obligates the third party, service provider, or contractor to comply with applicable obligations under this title and obligate those persons to provide the same level of privacy protection as is required by this title.

(3) Grants the business rights to take reasonable and appropriate steps to help ensure that the third party, service provider, or contractor uses the personal information transferred in a manner consistent with the business’ obligations under this title.

(4) Requires the third party, service provider, or contractor to notify the business if it makes a determination that it can no longer meet its obligations under this title.

(5) Grants the business the right, upon notice, including under paragraph (4), to take reasonable and appropriate steps to stop and remediate unauthorized use of personal information.

(e) A business that collects a consumer’s personal information shall implement reasonable security procedures and practices appropriate to the nature of the personal information to protect the personal information from unauthorized or illegal access, destruction, use, modification, or disclosure in accordance with Section 1798.81.5.

(f) Nothing in this section shall require a business to disclose trade secrets, as specified in regulations adopted pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 1798.185.

(g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a business shall not collect the personal information of a consumer less than 18 years of age, unless the consumer, in the case of a consumer at least 13 years of age and less than 18 years of age, or the consumer’s parent or guardian, in the case of a consumer less than 13 years of age, has affirmatively authorized the collection of the consumer’s personal information.

SEC. 2.

 Section 1798.120 of the Civil Code is amended to read:

1798.120.

 Consumers’ Right to Opt Out of Sale or Sharing of Personal Information

(a) A consumer shall have the right, at any time, 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. This right may be referred to as the right to opt-out of sale or sharing.

(b) A business that sells consumers’ personal information to, or shares it with, third parties shall provide notice to consumers, pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1798.135, that this information may be sold or shared and that consumers have the “right to opt-out” of the sale or sharing of their personal information.

(c) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), a business shall not sell or share the personal information of consumers if the business has actual knowledge that the consumer is less than 16 18 years of age, unless the consumer, in the case of consumers at least 13 years of age and less than 16 18 years of age, or the consumer’s parent or guardian, in the case of consumers who are less than 13 years of age, has affirmatively authorized the sale or sharing of the consumer’s personal information. A business that willfully disregards the consumer’s age shall be deemed to have had actual knowledge of the consumer’s age.

(d) A business that has received direction from a consumer not to sell or share the consumer’s personal information or, in the case of a minor consumer’s personal information has not received consent to sell or share the minor consumer’s personal information, shall be prohibited, pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (c) of Section 1798.135, from selling or sharing the consumer’s personal information after its receipt of the consumer’s direction, unless the consumer subsequently provides consent, for the sale or sharing of the consumer’s personal information.

SEC. 3.

 Section 1798.121 of the Civil Code is amended to read:

1798.121.

 Consumers’ Right to Limit Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information and a Minor’s Information

(a) A consumer shall have the right, at any time, to direct a business that collects sensitive personal information about the consumer to limit its use of the consumer’s sensitive personal information to that use which is necessary to perform the services or provide the goods reasonably expected by an average consumer who requests those goods or services, to perform the services set forth in paragraphs (2), (4), (5), and (8) of subdivision (e) of Section 1798.140, and as authorized by regulations adopted pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (19) of subdivision (a) of Section 1798.185. A business that uses or discloses a consumer’s sensitive personal information for purposes other than those specified in this subdivision shall provide notice to consumers, pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 1798.135, that this information may be used, or disclosed to a service provider or contractor, for additional, specified purposes and that consumers have the right to limit the use or disclosure of their sensitive personal information.

(b) A business that has received direction from a consumer not to use or disclose the consumer’s sensitive personal information, except as authorized by subdivision (a), shall be prohibited, pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (c) of Section 1798.135, from using or disclosing the consumer’s sensitive personal information for any other purpose after its receipt of the consumer’s direction unless the consumer subsequently provides consent for the use or disclosure of the consumer’s sensitive personal information for additional purposes.

(c) A service provider or contractor that assists a business in performing the purposes authorized by subdivision (a) may not use the sensitive personal information after it has received instructions from the business and to the extent it has actual knowledge that the personal information is sensitive personal information for any other purpose. A service provider or contractor is only required to limit its use of sensitive personal information received pursuant to a written contract with the business in response to instructions from the business and only with respect to its relationship with that business.

(d) Sensitive personal information that is collected or processed without the purpose of inferring characteristics about a consumer is not subject to this section, as further defined in regulations adopted pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (19) of subdivision (a) of Section 1798.185, and shall be treated as personal information for purposes of all other sections of this act, including Section 1798.100.

(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, a business shall not use or disclose the personal information of a consumer less than 18 years of age, unless the consumer, in the case of a consumer at least 13 years of age and less than 18 years of age, or the consumer’s parent or guardian, in the case of a consumer less than 13 years of age, has affirmatively authorized the use or disclosure of the consumer’s personal information.

SEC. 4.

 Section 1798.185 of the Civil Code is amended to read:

1798.185.

 Regulations

(a) On or before July 1, 2020, the Attorney General shall solicit broad public participation and adopt regulations to further the purposes of this title, including, but not limited to, the following areas:

(1) Updating or adding categories of personal information to those enumerated in subdivision (c) of Section 1798.130 and subdivision (v) of Section 1798.140, and updating or adding categories of sensitive personal information to those enumerated in subdivision (ae) of Section 1798.140 in order to address changes in technology, data collection practices, obstacles to implementation, and privacy concerns.

(2) Updating as needed the definitions of “deidentified” and “unique identifier” to address changes in technology, data collection, obstacles to implementation, and privacy concerns, and adding, modifying, or deleting categories to the definition of designated methods for submitting requests to facilitate a consumer’s ability to obtain information from a business pursuant to Section 1798.130. The authority to update the definition of “deidentified” shall not apply to deidentification standards set forth in Section 164.514 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations, where such information previously was “protected health information” as defined in Section 160.103 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(3) Establishing any exceptions necessary to comply with state or federal law, including, but not limited to, those relating to trade secrets and intellectual property rights, within one year of passage of this title and as needed thereafter, with the intention that trade secrets should not be disclosed in response to a verifiable consumer request.

(4) Establishing rules and procedures for the following:

(A) To facilitate and govern the submission of a request by a consumer to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information pursuant to Section 1798.120 and to limit the use of a consumer’s sensitive personal information pursuant to Section 1798.121 to ensure that consumers have the ability to exercise their choices without undue burden and to prevent business from engaging in deceptive or harassing conduct, including in retaliation against consumers for exercising their rights, while allowing businesses to inform consumers of the consequences of their decision to opt out of the sale or sharing of their personal information or to limit the use of their sensitive personal information.

(B) To govern business compliance with a consumer’s opt-out request.

(C) For the development and use of a recognizable and uniform opt-out logo or button by all businesses to promote consumer awareness of the opportunity to opt out of the sale of personal information.

(5) Adjusting the monetary thresholds, in January of every odd-numbered year to reflect any increase in the Consumer Price Index, in: subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of Section 1798.140; subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 1798.150; subdivision (a) of Section 1798.155; Section 1798.199.25; and subdivision (a) of Section 1798.199.90.

(6) Establishing rules, procedures, and any exceptions necessary to ensure that the notices and information that businesses are required to provide pursuant to this title are provided in a manner that may be easily understood by the average consumer, are accessible to consumers with disabilities, and are available in the language primarily used to interact with the consumer, including establishing rules and guidelines regarding financial incentives within one year of passage of this title and as needed thereafter.

(7) Establishing rules and procedures to further the purposes of Sections 1798.105, 1798.106, 1798.110, and 1798.115 and to facilitate a consumer’s or the consumer’s authorized agent’s ability to delete personal information, correct inaccurate personal information pursuant to Section 1798.106, or obtain information pursuant to Section 1798.130, with the goal of minimizing the administrative burden on consumers, taking into account available technology, security concerns, and the burden on the business, to govern a business’s determination that a request for information received from a consumer is a verifiable consumer request, including treating a request submitted through a password-protected account maintained by the consumer with the business while the consumer is logged into the account as a verifiable consumer request and providing a mechanism for a consumer who does not maintain an account with the business to request information through the business’s authentication of the consumer’s identity, within one year of passage of this title and as needed thereafter.

(8) Establishing how often, and under what circumstances, a consumer may request a correction pursuant to Section 1798.106, including standards governing the following:

(A) How a business responds to a request for correction, including exceptions for requests to which a response is impossible or would involve disproportionate effort, and requests for correction of accurate information.

(B) How concerns regarding the accuracy of the information may be resolved.

(C) The steps a business may take to prevent fraud.

(D) If a business rejects a request to correct personal information collected and analyzed concerning a consumer’s health, the right of a consumer to provide a written addendum to the business with respect to any item or statement regarding any such personal information that the consumer believes to be incomplete or incorrect. The addendum shall be limited to 250 words per alleged incomplete or incorrect item and shall clearly indicate in writing that the consumer requests the addendum to be made a part of the consumer’s record.

(9) Establishing the standard to govern a business’s determination, pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1798.130, that providing information beyond the 12-month period in a response to a verifiable consumer request is impossible or would involve a disproportionate effort.

(10) Issuing regulations further defining and adding to the business purposes, including other notified purposes, for which businesses, service providers, and contractors may use consumers’ personal information consistent with consumers’ expectations, and further defining the business purposes for which service providers and contractors may combine consumers’ personal information obtained from different sources, except as provided for in paragraph (6) of subdivision (e) of Section 1798.140.

(11) Issuing regulations identifying those business purposes, including other notified purposes, for which service providers and contractors may use consumers’ personal information received pursuant to a written contract with a business, for the service provider or contractor’s own business purposes, with the goal of maximizing consumer privacy.

(12) Issuing regulations to further define “intentionally interacts,” with the goal of maximizing consumer privacy.

(13) Issuing regulations to further define “precise geolocation,” including if the size defined is not sufficient to protect consumer privacy in sparsely populated areas or when the personal information is used for normal operational purposes, including billing.

(14) Issuing regulations to define the term “specific pieces of information obtained from the consumer” with the goal of maximizing a consumer’s right to access relevant personal information while minimizing the delivery of information to a consumer that would not be useful to the consumer, including system log information and other technical data. For delivery of the most sensitive personal information, the regulations may require a higher standard of authentication provided that the agency shall monitor the impact of the higher standard on the right of consumers to obtain their personal information to ensure that the requirements of verification do not result in the unreasonable denial of verifiable consumer requests.

(15) Issuing regulations requiring businesses whose processing of consumers’ personal information presents significant risk to consumers’ privacy or security, to:

(A) Perform a cybersecurity audit on an annual basis, including defining the scope of the audit and establishing a process to ensure that audits are thorough and independent. The factors to be considered in determining when processing may result in significant risk to the security of personal information shall include the size and complexity of the business and the nature and scope of processing activities.

(B) Submit to the California Privacy Protection Agency on a regular basis a risk assessment with respect to their processing of personal information, including whether the processing involves sensitive personal information, and identifying and weighing the benefits resulting from the processing to the business, the consumer, other stakeholders, and the public, against the potential risks to the rights of the consumer associated with that processing, with the goal of restricting or prohibiting the processing if the risks to privacy of the consumer outweigh the benefits resulting from processing to the consumer, the business, other stakeholders, and the public. Nothing in this section shall require a business to divulge trade secrets.

(16) Issuing regulations governing access and opt-out rights with respect to businesses’ use of automated decisionmaking technology, including profiling and requiring businesses’ response to access requests to include meaningful information about the logic involved in those decisionmaking processes, as well as a description of the likely outcome of the process with respect to the consumer.

(17) Issuing regulations to further define a “law enforcement agency-approved investigation” for purposes of the exception in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 1798.145.

(18) Issuing regulations to define the scope and process for the exercise of the agency’s audit authority, to establish criteria for selection of persons to audit, and to protect consumers’ personal information from disclosure to an auditor in the absence of a court order, warrant, or subpoena.

(19) (A) Issuing regulations to define the requirements and technical specifications for an opt-out preference signal sent by a platform, technology, or mechanism, to indicate a consumer’s intent to opt out of the sale or sharing of the consumer’s personal information and to limit the use or disclosure of the consumer’s sensitive personal information. The requirements and specifications for the opt-out preference signal should be updated from time to time to reflect the means by which consumers interact with businesses, and should:

(i) Ensure that the manufacturer of a platform or browser or device that sends the opt-out preference signal cannot unfairly disadvantage another business.

(ii) Ensure that the opt-out preference signal is consumer-friendly, clearly described, and easy to use by an average consumer and does not require that the consumer provide additional information beyond what is necessary.

(iii) Clearly represent a consumer’s intent and be free of defaults constraining or presupposing that intent.

(iv) Ensure that the opt-out preference signal does not conflict with other commonly used privacy settings or tools that consumers may employ.

(v) Provide a mechanism for the consumer to selectively consent to a business’s sale of the consumer’s personal information, or the use or disclosure of the consumer’s sensitive personal information, without affecting the consumer’s preferences with respect to other businesses or disabling the opt-out preference signal globally.

(vi) State that in the case of a page or setting view that the consumer accesses to set the opt-out preference signal, the consumer should see up to three choices, including:

(I) Global opt out from sale and sharing of personal information, including a direction to limit the use of sensitive personal information.

(II) Choice to “Limit the Use of My Sensitive Personal Information.”

(III) Choice titled “Do Not Sell/Do Not Share My Personal Information for Cross-Context Behavioral Advertising.”

(B) Issuing regulations to establish technical specifications for an opt-out preference signal that allows the consumer, or the consumer’s parent or guardian, to specify that the consumer is less than 13 years of age age, or at least 13 years of age and less than 16 years of age.

(C) Issuing regulations, with the goal of strengthening consumer privacy while considering the legitimate operational interests of businesses, to govern the use or disclosure of a consumer’s sensitive personal information, notwithstanding the consumer’s direction to limit the use or disclosure of the consumer’s sensitive personal information, including:

(i) Determining any additional purposes for which a business may use or disclose a consumer’s sensitive personal information.

(ii) Determining the scope of activities permitted under paragraph (8) of subdivision (e) of Section 1798.140, as authorized by subdivision (a) of Section 1798.121, to ensure that the activities do not involve health-related research.

(iii) Ensuring the functionality of the business’s operations.

(iv) Ensuring that the exemption in subdivision (d) of Section 1798.121 for sensitive personal information applies to information that is collected or processed incidentally, or without the purpose of inferring characteristics about a consumer, while ensuring that businesses do not use the exemption for the purpose of evading consumers’ rights to limit the use and disclosure of their sensitive personal information under Section 1798.121.

(20) Issuing regulations to govern how a business that has elected to comply with subdivision (b) of Section 1798.135 responds to the opt-out preference signal and provides consumers with the opportunity subsequently to consent to the sale or sharing of their personal information or the use and disclosure of their sensitive personal information for purposes in addition to those authorized by subdivision (a) of Section 1798.121. The regulations should:

(A) Strive to promote competition and consumer choice and be technology neutral.

(B) Ensure that the business does not respond to an opt-out preference signal by:

(i) Intentionally degrading the functionality of the consumer experience.

(ii) Charging the consumer a fee in response to the consumer’s opt-out preferences.

(iii) Making any products or services not function properly or fully for the consumer, as compared to consumers who do not use the opt-out preference signal.

(iv) Attempting to coerce the consumer to opt in to the sale or sharing of the consumer’s personal information, or the use or disclosure of the consumer’s sensitive personal information, by stating or implying that the use of the opt-out preference signal will adversely affect the consumer as compared to consumers who do not use the opt-out preference signal, including stating or implying that the consumer will not be able to use the business’s products or services or that those products or services may not function properly or fully.

(v) Displaying any notification or pop-up in response to the consumer’s opt-out preference signal.

(C) Ensure that any link to a web page or its supporting content that allows the consumer to consent to opt in:

(i) Is not part of a popup, notice, banner, or other intrusive design that obscures any part of the web page the consumer intended to visit from full view or that interferes with or impedes in any way the consumer’s experience visiting or browsing the web page or website the consumer intended to visit.

(ii) Does not require or imply that the consumer must click the link to receive full functionality of any products or services, including the website.

(iii) Does not make use of any dark patterns.

(iv) Applies only to the business with which the consumer intends to interact.

(D) Strive to curb coercive or deceptive practices in response to an opt-out preference signal but should not unduly restrict businesses that are trying in good faith to comply with Section 1798.135.

(21) Review existing Insurance Code provisions and regulations relating to consumer privacy, except those relating to insurance rates or pricing, to determine whether any provisions of the Insurance Code provide greater protection to consumers than the provisions of this title. Upon completing its review, the agency shall adopt a regulation that applies only the more protective provisions of this title to insurance companies. For the purpose of clarity, the Insurance Commissioner shall have jurisdiction over insurance rates and pricing.

(22) Harmonizing the regulations governing opt-out mechanisms, notices to consumers, and other operational mechanisms in this title to promote clarity and the functionality of this title for consumers.

(b) The Attorney General may adopt additional regulations as necessary to further the purposes of this title.

(c) The Attorney General shall not bring an enforcement action under this title until six months after the publication of the final regulations issued pursuant to this section or July 1, 2020, whichever is sooner.

(d) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the timeline for adopting final regulations required by the act adding this subdivision shall be July 1, 2022. Beginning the later of July 1, 2021, or six months after the agency provides notice to the Attorney General that it is prepared to begin rulemaking under this title, the authority assigned to the Attorney General to adopt regulations under this section shall be exercised by the California Privacy Protection Agency. Notwithstanding any other law, civil and administrative enforcement of the provisions of law added or amended by this act shall not commence until July 1, 2023, and shall only apply to violations occurring on or after that date. Enforcement of provisions of law contained in the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 amended by this act shall remain in effect and shall be enforceable until the same provisions of this act become enforceable.

(e) On or before July 1, 2025, the California Privacy Protection Agency shall solicit broad public participation and adopt regulations to further the purposes of this title, including, but not limited to:

(1) Issuing regulations to establish technical specifications for an opt-out preference signal that allows the consumer, or the consumer’s parent or guardian, to specify that the consumer is less than 13 years of age, or at least 13 years of age and less than 18 years of age.

(2) Issuing regulations regarding age verification and when a business must treat a consumer as being less than 13 or 18 years of age for purposes of this title.

SEC. 5.

 The Legislature finds and declares that this act furthers the purposes and intent of The California Privacy Rights Act of 2020.