CCPA Amendment Further Harmonizes With HIPAA And Provides Additional Exemptions

On September 28, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed AB-713 into law, which relaxes some of the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) compliance challenges faced by the health care and life science industries — more closely harmonizing the California law with the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). In particular, the amended law provides (1) further exemptions for de-identified patient information, (2) expanded consumer privacy notice requirements concerning de-identified patient information, (3) a research exemption, and (4) a limited exemption for HIPAA business associates.

Importantly, the signed law is classified as an "urgency statute," which means the law immediately goes into effect as of September 28, 2020.