WHY CALIFORNIA ENACTED THE CCPA: ARE CONCERNS ABOUT DATA PRIVACY ENOUGH TO DRIVE STATE OR FEDERAL LEGISLATION?

Abstract

Data creation and usage is common practice for many corporations, governments, and consumers. Ample research suggests that Americans on both sides of the political spectrum seek data privacy protections, yet no robust federal data privacy law exists. However, California recently passed a thorough data privacy regulation called the California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA), strengthened by the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). This study first creates individual “data privacy scores” for a sample of Americans and uses the scores to conduct regression analysis. Next, further analysis determines that Californians do not hold differing views about who should be responsible for implementing data privacy protections. The analysis results demonstrate that Californians’ data privacy concerns are no more heightened than residents in other states. The finding that Americans share similar views on data privacy is substantial, as understanding what drives politicians to create policy is necessary to steer activists in a more efficacious direction.