# [CCPA and Cookies](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/ccpa-cookies/) **The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) may affect how your website is allowed to handle the personal information of Californians.** · [Sign up to Cookiebot CMP to control your website's cookies](https://admin.cookiebot.com/signup) · [See all Cookiebot CMP features](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/cookie-consent-solution/) · [See all Cookiebot CMP plans and pricing models](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/pricing/) · [Try Cookiebot CMP free for 14 days... or forever if you have a small website](https://admin.cookiebot.com/signup) --- The [California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/ccpa/) is California’s data privacy law that took effect on January 1, 2020. The CCPA empowers California residents with enforceable rights over the personal information they generate every day online. [Take a look at the new CCPA consumer rights here.](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/ccpa-rights-for-consumers-ccpa-compliance-with-cookiebot-cmp/) The CCPA forces businesses to comply with certain legal requirements for the collection, use, sharing and selling of personal information, e.g. enabling California residents to opt out of having their data sold to third parties, granting them access to the data already collected, and having it deleted. Cookies are the memory of a website. Or at least that’s what they were invented for back in 1994. Cookies are **small text files** placed by a website on an end-user’s browser upon a visit, encapsulated with information about the user, their device and other things that make it possible for a website to recognize the user, when they return. Some cookies are **necessary** for the core functions of a website. Most often, these types of cookies only store random identifiers that are deleted when users close their browser. No big deal. But other cookies are for **analytical** and **marketing** purposes, placed by third parties that collect information on users through unique IDs that are sometimes stored for up to a hundred years. Under the CCPA, cookies and website trackers are a liability for businesses all over the world. [These third-party cookies can infringe on user privacy](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/website-tracking/). --- ## What's the CCPA, and cookies? In the CCPA, cookies and similar tracking technologies are classified as **unique identifiers** that form part the law’s definition of personal information ([1798.140.x](https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB375)). **Unique identifiers** are types of technologies that are able to recognize a consumer, a family, a household, or a device that is linked to a consumer or family or household, over time and across services. This means that **any for-profit company in the world** that has cookies and similar tracking technology implemented on their websites **could be liable for CCPA cookie compliance**, in particular **if they sell or make available to third parties** (such as Google or Facebook) the personal information of Californian users. ### CCPA enforcement has begun On August 14, 2020 the [final CCPA regulations](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/ccpa-regulations/) took effect and enforcement by the Attorney General began. If anonymous data can in any way be re-identified, it can be considered **personal information** under the CCPA. Other tracking technologies on websites, such as device and browser fingerprinting, web beacons and tracking pixels, are all ways for third party ad tech companies to collect and commodify consumers and their personal information for the purpose of serving behavioral advertisement. **Hypothetically** (as [analyzed by the California Lawyers Association](https://calawyers.org/antitrust-ucl-and-privacy/what-is-personal-information-under-the-california-consumer-privacy-act/?inf_contact_key=8faad29c8ca1a658ab8e3160c1ae69897e470d92b8b75168d98a0b8cac0e9c09)), if your business through its website makes available to third parties (e.g. through cookies and social media plugins) data on Californian residents that is either not anonymized or has the potential to be re-identified, **your business might be categorized as a business that is “selling”** (i.e. making available, transferring or otherwise communicating, as the CCPA defines sale) personal information of Californian residents. --- ## CCPA, cookies and personal information The CCPA’s definition of “personal information”, “business” and “sale” is very broad and will undoubtedly extent to many more companies than it seems at first sight. [Learn more about the CCPA and personal information](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/ccpa-personal-information-ccpa-compliance-with-cookiebot-cmp/) --- ## Cookiebot CMP, CCPA and cookies [Cookiebot CMP](https://www.cookiebot.com/) is the world’s leading consent manage platform enabling compliance with the [California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA)](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/ccpa/), the [EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/gdpr/) as well as other data privacy laws around the world. The [Cookiebot CMP](https://www.cookiebot.com/) technology is built for the specific purpose of uncovering all cookies and similar trackers on websites, so the end-users can be empowered with a real choice of consent, as required by the GDPR. With the CCPA, cookies have a new legal reality in the US. [Cookiebot CMP](https://www.cookiebot.com/) is bringing its area of expertise – automated deep website scans and end-user consent management - to California, so that businesses can be sure to know exactly how their online domains collect personal information from their consumers, what third parties are present on their website, as well as enabling end-users to exercise their right to opt out of having their data sold to third parties. Using [Cookiebot CMP](https://www.cookiebot.com/), websites can obtain CCPA compliance with the required Do Not Sell My Personal Information link. The [Cookiebot CMP](https://www.cookiebot.com/) geolocation configuration makes it easy for companies to comply with both the CCPA and the EU’s GDPR depending on where in the world their end-users are located. --- ## Frequently asked questions What is the CCPA? The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a state-wide law that regulates how businesses are allowed to collect, share and sell the personal information of California residents. The CCPA empowers California residents with the right to opt out of third-party sales, the right to access already collected personal information and the right to have it deleted. Businesses must comply with the CCPA if they have an annual gross revenue exceeding $25 million, derive more than 50% of annual revenues from persona information sales or buy, receive, sell or share the personal information of more than 50.000 California residents. [Learn more about CCPA compliance](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/ccpa/) What are the CCPA requirements for website privacy policies? The CCPA requires businesses to inform its website’s users about their rights under the CCPA, and how they can exercise these rights. This can be done in your website’s privacy policy. Your website’s privacy policy should also include lists of all categories of personal information collected in the past 12 months, of the personal information that your business has sold to third parties in the past 12 months and the personal information that your business has disclosed for business purposes in the last 12 months. Your privacy policy must be updated every 12 months and be easily accessible form your website’s front page. [Learn more about CCPA compliant privacy policy for websites](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/website-tracking/) What are the rights for consumer under the CCPA? Under the CCPA, consumers (or California residents) have five enforceable rights over their own personal information. These are the right to opt out of third-party data sales, the right to be informed of personal data collection and sales, the right to access of already collected personal information, the right to have collected personal information deleted and the right to receive equal services and prices. [Learn more about the CCPA consumer rights](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/ccpa-rights-for-consumers-ccpa-compliance-with-cookiebot-cmp/) --- ## Resources [What is the CCPA?](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/ccpa/) [How do I achieve CCPA compliance?](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/ccpa/) [What is CCPA personal information?](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/ccpa-personal-information-ccpa-compliance-with-cookiebot-cmp/) [What are the new CCPA rights?](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/ccpa-rights-for-consumers-ccpa-compliance-with-cookiebot-cmp/) [What is the GDPR?](https://www.cookiebot.com/en/gdpr/) [How can I sign up to Cookiebot CMP?](https://admin.cookiebot.com/signup) *Used by: Brand A, Brand B, Brand C* Stay informed Join our growing community of data privacy enthusiasts now. Subscribe to the Cookiebot™ newsletter and get all the latest updates right in your inbox. Enter your email Subscribe By clicking on “Subscribe” I confirm that I want to subscribe to the Cookiebot™ newsletter. 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