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On March 5, 2026, the California Privacy Protection Agency ("CalPrivacy") announced a settlement ("Settlement") with Ford Motor Co. ("Ford"). The California Consumer Privacy Act ("CCPA") gives consumers the right to opt out of businesses' sharing their personal information. CalPrivacy alleged that Ford violated the CCPA by requiring consumers to verify their identities before processing their opt-out requests and not processing requests submitted by consumers who failed to complete the email verification step. According to CalPrivacy, Ford's opt-out practices created "unnecessary friction" for consumers seeking to exercise their right to opt out of the sale and sharing of their personal information under CCPA.
As part of the Settlement, Ford agreed to pay a fine of $375,503, change its practices to provide consumers with an "easy" opt-out method that requires "minimal steps," and audit the tracking technologies deployed on its website to maintain compliance with opt-out preference signals. Under the Settlement, Ford does not acknowledge wrongdoing.
The settlement follows an investigation by CalPrivacy's Enforcement Division, conducted with Ford's cooperation, into the company's privacy practices and its compliance with the CCPA. The investigation was part of a broader inquiry into vehicle manufacturers' privacy practices, similar to CalPrivacy's enforcement action against American Honda Motor Co. (see prior discussion in Cyber Bits Issue 73), and comes against the backdrop of CalPrivacy's ongoing "investigative sweep" in partnership with regulators in Colorado and Connecticut.
Takeaway: CalPrivacy's settlement with Ford shows that the agency is serious about compliance with the technical requirements of the CCPA and continues to be focused on opt-outs and the ease of exercising consumer rights. Companies should take a close look at all elements of their CCPA compliance programs and opt out processes to make sure they meet the requirements to a "T," as general efforts that are not carefully tailored to regulatory requirements and consumer ease may not be accepted.
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