The California Consumer Privacy Act and Polling

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a privacy law that was enacted in 2018 and went into effect in 2020. It applies to businesses that collect, use, or disclose personal information of California consumers, and provides consumers with certain rights regarding their personal information, including the right to request that their personal information be deleted and the right to opt out of the sale of their personal information.

One important aspect of the CCPA is that it only applies to personal information that is collected, used, or disclosed by a business "in the course of conducting business" in California. This means that the CCPA does not apply to personal information that is collected, used, or disclosed by a business outside of the course of conducting business in California.

In the context of polling all data collected is opt-in data, this means collecting personal information from California consumers through an opt-in process (such as a survey), the CCPA will not apply to that personal information if the business is not conducting business in California. This is because the opt-in process is not part of the business's normal course of conducting business in California, and therefore the personal information collected through the opt-in process is not subject to the CCPA.

It is worth noting that while the CCPA may not apply to opt-in data, other privacy laws or regulations may still apply to the collection, use, or disclosure of personal information through opt-in processes. For example, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union applies to the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information of EU citizens, regardless of where the business is located.

In summary, the CCPA does not apply to personal information that is collected, used, or disclosed by a business outside of the course of conducting business in California. This means that the CCPA does not apply to opt-in data, as the opt-in process is not part of a business's normal course of conducting business in California. However, other privacy laws or regulations may still apply to the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information through opt-in processes.