What Will Calif. Privacy Law's Do Not Sell Button Look Like?

The California Consumer Privacy Act reflects a tectonic shift in the United States privacy landscape, sparking similar legislation in several states and prompting a call for uniform federal rules. The CCPA simultaneously creates a host of new rights for California residents and a myriad of ambiguities for companies subject to its requirements.

Although the statute takes effect in less than two months,¹ one of its key provisions ― the right of California residents to opt out of the sale of their personal information ― remains to be defined.

The CCPA, as originally enacted, provides that a consumer "shall have the right, at any time, to direct a business that sells personal information about the consumer to third parties not to sell the consumer's personal information."² Under the law and in conventional usage, the term "sale" has been typically defined as a transaction in which a buyer pays a seller for goods or services.³