A new report from Akin Gump looks back at the first year of civil litigation related to the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and previews what to expect throughout the remainder of 2021 and beyond.

The first in an annual series, the report presents the results of one year of data compilation and tracking, covering actions filed in federal and state courts across the United States and initiated between January 1 and December 31, 2020.

The report offers insight from the more than 75 consumer class actions filed citing the CCPA:

  • A clear standout in preferred forum for putative CCPA class actions.
  • A surprising number of all complaints alleging CCPA violations in 2020 did not allege that California residents' personal information was impacted due to a data breach.
  • An identification of what courts have not yet addressed in interpreting the CCPA, including what it means to "do business" in California, leaving unsettled the question of which businesses must comply with the CCPA.

"Since the CCPA's implementation, plaintiffs have been bringing claims that push the interpretive limits of the law's statutory language," said Natasha G. Kohne, co-head of Akin Gump's cybersecurity, privacy and data protection practice. "This report dives into some of the issues raised, and explores the ways in which plaintiffs are testing the boundaries of the CCPA's private right of action as well as their purported right to recovery."

Added Michelle A. Reed, co-head of Akin Gump's cybersecurity, privacy and data protection practice, "Looking ahead, the courts will ultimately have to determine what claims will give rise to a private right of action and be meritorious under the CCPA. By studying the legal landscape, we aim to give businesses a sense of what they need to do now in order to balance their compliance efforts under the current state of the law."

To read the report in its entirety, please click here.

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