"Microsoft commits to honouring California Consumer Privacy Act nationwide", 12 Nov 2019

Microsoft has announced its commitment to honouring the principles of the upcoming California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) nationwide, the first big technology firm to do so.

It cited the success of Europe's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as a key motivator in its decision to support the "landmark privacy law", adding that privacy should be seen more as a human right that shouldn't be violated.

The CCPA is due to take effect in the west coast state on 1 January 2020. Similar to the motivations of GDPR, the CCPA aims to introduce more robust rules to protect the privacy of California's citizens and compel companies to be more transparent in the way they handle their customers' data.

Also, like the GDPR, the CCPA will financially punish companies that suffer from damaging data incidents. Companies found to be breaching the CCPA could be fined up to $2,500 per violation or up to $7,500 if it's clear the violation was intentional...

"While many of our customers and users will find that the data controls we already offer them through our GDPR commitment will be stronger than those rights offered by the new California law, we hope this step will show our commitment to supporting states as they enact laws that take us in the right direction," said Microsoft in a blog post...

However, Microsoft's commitment may not be as transformative as the company may wish to communicate. An individual close to the matter told Reuters that Microsoft will have a much easier time of committing to such data protection laws due to the way it structures its business divisions.