According to the act, the operator of a website must post a distinctive and easily found link to the website's privacy policy, commonly listed under the heading "Your California Privacy Rights". The privacy policy must detail the kinds of information gathered by the website, how the information will or could be shared with other parties, and, if such a process exists, describe the process the user can use to review and make changes to their stored information. It also must include the policy's effective date and an update on any changes that take place since then. The owner of a website can be subject to legal actions over CalOPPA within 30 days of being notified for not posting the privacy policy or not meeting the law's criteria. The owner could be faulted for their negligence, possibly even consciously, over their inability to comply with the act, which ultimately results in charges filed against them for this noncompliance. CalOPPA non-compliance violations may be reported to the California Attorney General's office https://oag.ca.gov/privacy/caloppa/complaint-form
Scope
The act has a very broad scope, well beyond California's border. Neither the web server nor the company that created the website has to be in California to be under the scope of the law. The website only has to be accessible by California residents. Many American websites thus include a boilerplate disclaimer, usually under the titled hyperlink of "Your California Privacy Rights", on their site's footer section by default for all-page access.
Consequences of non-compliance
As it does not contain enforcement provisions of its own, CalOPPA is expected to be enforced through California's Unfair Competition Law, which prohibits unlawful, unfair, or fraudulent business acts or practices. UCL may be enforced for violations of CalOPPA by government officials seeking civil penalties or equitable relief, or by private parties seeking private claims. Non-compliance violations may be reported to the California Attorney General's office .
Compliance by Google
In May 2007, getting to Google's privacy policy required clicking on "About Google" on its home page, which brought up a page that included a link to its privacy policy. New York Times reporter Saul Hansell posted a blog entry raising questions about Google's compliance with this act. A coalition of privacy groups also sent a letter to Google's CEO, Eric Schmidt, questioning the absence of a privacy policy link on its home page. According to Electronic Privacy Information Center director Marc Rotenberg, a lawsuit challenging Google's privacy policy practices as a violation of California law was not filed in the hope that their informal complaints could be resolved through discussions. Later, Google added a direct link to its privacy policy on its homepage.
Proposed amendments
AB 370 Requires New Privacy Disclosures Assembly Bill 370, which was signed into law in 2013, amended CalOPPA requiring new privacy policy disclosures for websites and online services that track visitors. It was defined in the legislative analysis of the bill as "the monitoring of an individual across multiple websites to build a profile of behavior and interests." On February 6, 2013, Assembly Member Ed Chau had introduced AB 242, which would amend the act to impose additional requirements on privacy policies. The amendments would require: AB 242 died in the Assembly Judiciary Committee.
In 2013 the Act was amended to require additional disclosure items—including items relating to "do not track" signals—in privacy policies. See Cal. Assembly Bill 370, which became effective on January 1, 2014.
