New California privacy law changing internet experience for others across country

ORLANDO, Fla. - Many internet users are noticing a change in the year 2020: pop-ups of sort returning to many popular websites.

These pop-ups aren’t advertising anything though. Instead, they are informing users about their privacy rights on the site. Some companies are using banners urging users to "click here" for updates to their privacy policy, and others are adding entirely new sections about privacy to their menu.

“Being in the web design business, we actually have to start incorporating all of this,” said Tom Jelneck from On Target Digital Marketing in Maitland.

Jelneck said those new sections on his company’s websites, as well as most major companies’ sites, are not due to a change in federal law, but due to change in one state’s law: California.

This month, the state enacted the California Consumer Privacy Act which creates sweeping changes to the privacy rights of users in the state. In a nutshell, companies that do business via the internet with California residents need to offer clearer transparency about what information is being collected on them, and need to offer those users an option to opt-out of having their information sold to other companies.

“Alert you that, ‘I’m collecting this about you, that about you, I know this about you, I’m stalking you as you go through my website,’” Jelneck explained it as.

However, really any website could end up doing business with a California resident, so those new privacy policies are being seen across the internet; even here in Florida.

Experts warn though, that even though those new menu options are showing up across the country: they will likely only have any teeth if you are a California resident. That especially goes for the "do not sell my information" forms which really anyone could fill out, but which many sites are making very clear: will only apply to Californians.

However, the new privacy statements and transparency are open to give anyone a little more information, and Jelneck believes this law will eventually lead to a similar federal law that would create a more uniformed standard.

“This is refreshing because as consumers we see so much opportunity to get taken advantage of, so somebody’s doing something about it,” he said.