What does your business need to do for CPA (Colorado Privacy Act)

The Colorado Privacy Act (CPA), which will go into effect on July 1, 2023, is a comprehensive data privacy law that applies to businesses operating in Colorado or targeting Colorado residents. It is similar to other data privacy laws, such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

To ensure compliance with the CPA, businesses need to undertake the following steps:

1. Determine Applicability: Assess whether your business falls under the purview of the CPA. The law applies to businesses that control or process the personal data of at least 100,000 Colorado residents or derive revenue from the sale of personal data and control or process the data of at least 25,000 Colorado residents.
2. Identify and Map Personal Data: Create an inventory of all personal data your business processes or controls, including where it is stored, who has access to it, and how it is used.
   1. Personal data is “information that is linked or reasonably linkable to an identified or identifiable individual.” It does not include de-identified data or publicly available information.
3. Update Privacy Policy: Revise your privacy policy to reflect the rights provided to Colorado residents under the CPA. This includes providing clear information about the categories of personal data collected, the purposes for which it is used, and how consumers can exercise their rights.
4. Implement Consumer Rights Processes: Establish processes to address consumer requests, including the right to access, correct, delete, or opt out of the sale or targeted advertising of their personal data.
5. Data Protection Assessments: Perform data protection assessments for high-risk processing activities, such as the sale of personal data, targeted advertising, or profiling that may result in legal or significant effects on consumers.
6. Vendor Management: Review contracts with third-party service providers and ensure they adhere to the CPA's requirements. Establish procedures to monitor their compliance.
7. Employee Training: Train employees who handle personal data on the CPA's requirements and how to respond to consumer requests.
8. Data Security Measures: Implement reasonable security measures to protect personal data from unauthorized access, disclosure, or destruction.
9. Document Retention and Deletion: Develop and maintain data retention policies and procedures, ensuring that personal data is deleted when it is no longer necessary for the purposes for which it was collected.
10. Monitor Legal and Regulatory Updates: Keep track of changes to the CPA and related regulations to ensure ongoing compliance.

For more information on how Strac can help your business comply with CPA, please schedule some time here.

For more details on CPA, please check here: https://coag.gov/resources/colorado-privacy-act/