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Personal information is valuable. In this increasingly interconnected world where so much is tracked, shared, and stored, privacy is at the heart of building and sustaining trust.
In order to protect that trust, regulations like the GDPR and legislation like the CCPA were introduced.
Those laws create explicit expectations related to how businesses collect, use, and manage personal data, ranging from marketing and customer service to backend operations.
The CCPA in California focuses on transparency and gives consumers greater ability to monitor the selling or transfer of their information. The GDPR in the EU is broader in scope and prioritizes individual privacy rights.
Both laws have shaped how companies operate and continue to influence privacy standards around the world. Let’s break them down to understand why it matters for your business.
CCPA vs. GDPR: Understanding the Basics
At first glance, the CCPA and GDPR seem similar. Both aim to protect personal data and give people more control over how their information is used. And while that’s true in principle, the two laws differ in how they work, who they apply to, and what they require.
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) came into effect on January 1, 2020. It gives residents of California specific rights around how businesses collect, share, and use their personal information.
Under CCPA, people can:
- Find out what personal data is being collected
- Request that their data be deleted
- Opt out of the sale of their personal information
- Receive clear information about how their data is used
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been in place across the European Union since May 2018. It sets a unified standard for data protection in all EU countries and gives people strong rights over their personal data, focusing on transparency, accountability, and security at every step of the data lifecycle.
GDPR aims to:
- Safeguard EU residents from data misuse
- Provide clarity on how data is processed
- Require a valid legal basis for collecting and using data
- Build privacy into systems by design and default
Simply put, GDPR is broader in scope and more demanding in terms of compliance.
Key Differences Between CCPA and GDPR
Though both laws center on data protection, the way they operate is quite different.
CCPA is state-specific. It applies to businesses that collect personal information from California residents.
GDPR, on the other hand, applies to anyone in the EU and covers any business that processes their data, regardless of where the business is based.
The way consent works is also different. Under the GDPR, organizations have to have a lawful legal basis for processing personal information, and consent can be one of them. That’s called “opt-in.”
With the CCPA, people can take action to stop their data from being sold — that’s “opt-out.” Companies covered by CCPA need to include a “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link on their websites so users can make that choice easily.
Table 1.
Description: This table shows how GDPR and CCPA differ in access, deletion, and data sharing rights.
When it comes to data breaches, the CCPA says businesses should inform affected users as soon as possible, but it doesn’t set a strict deadline. The GDPR is more specific — it requires companies to notify regulators within 72 hours and inform users if the breach could put their privacy rights at serious risk.
There’s also a difference in how companies are expected to stay compliant. The CCPA is mostly about being transparent and offering opt-out choices. GDPR goes further.
In some cases, it requires organizations to appoint data protection officers, run risk assessments, and keep detailed records of how they handle data.
Because GDPR is stricter and more comprehensive, many companies use it as a global standard, so they can often meet the expectations of other data privacy laws, including the CCPA.
Who Must Comply with CCPA and GDPR?
Both the CCPA and the GDPR set clear rules about who must follow their requirements.
The CCPA applies to for-profit businesses that meet at least one of the following conditions.
First, if a business earns more than $25 million in annual gross revenue. Second, if it buys, sells, or shares the personal information of 100,000 or more California residents each year. Third, if at least half of its annual revenue comes from selling or sharing personal data.
On top of that, the law also covers service providers — companies that handle personal data on behalf of CCPA-regulated businesses.
The GDPR applies to any organization that processes the personal data of people in the European Union, no matter where the organization is based. Even small businesses can fall under the GDPR if they regularly handle personal data of EU citizens or work with sensitive information.
Why Data Privacy Laws Like CCPA and GDPR Matter
We live in the digital world and share tons of our private information every day. Moreover, tech giants are hunting for users’ data to serve their own interests. Smaller companies also want to get closer to users to increase conversion.
For data-hungry companies, user data is a tasty treat. So how do we protect personal information around the world?
The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are people’s heroes.
Both laws give users more control over their personal data, so they can see what happens to their information.
From this point, the regulations grant several important rights. These include the right to access personal data, to opt out of certain types of data use, to transfer data between services, and to request that personal data be deleted.
Digital businesses face data breaches and misuse more commonly than before, so these laws set clear rules to limit how data is shared with third parties and transferred across borders. Any non-compliance can result in fines that really hurt a wallet.
As mentioned above, GDPR is broader than CCPA. Although the GDPR is an EU regulation, its comprehensive approach to data protection has influenced privacy legislation in other jurisdictions, including the United States.
But it doesn’t mean the CCPA is pointless for digital businesses. In fact, the CCPA came about because of that influence.
Together, these laws point to a wider global shift toward stronger protections for personal data as governments adapt to the realities of a connected economy.
How to Achieve Compliance with CCPA and GDPR
Meeting the requirements of both the CCPA and GDPR starts with getting a clear picture of how your business handles personal data.
Here’s what that looks like in action:
- Conduct a full data audit to map all personal data collected, stored, processed, and shared.
- Update privacy policies to clearly explain data practices, outline legal bases for processing (required under GDPR), and describe consumer rights such as access, deletion, and the ability to opt out (under CCPA).
- Enable consumer rights by implementing systems to handle requests for access, deletion, and rectification in accordance with Articles 15–17 GDPR, and opt-outs from the sale of personal information in line with California Civil Code §1798.120. These systems should be user-friendly and reliable.
- Establish a lawful basis for data processing under GDPR, such as consent, legal obligation, or contract necessity.
- Provide clear opt-out mechanisms to comply with CCPA. This includes adding a “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link in a visible place on your website.
- Appoint a Data Protection Officer (DPO) if your organization falls under Article 37(1) of the GDPR — such as when processing is carried out by a public authority, when core activities require large-scale monitoring of individuals, or when processing special categories of data on a large scale.
- Assign legal and compliance teams under CCPA to handle risk assessments, contract reviews, and internal training. This helps keep privacy aligned with broader business operations.
One of the best ways to understand what effective implementation looks like is to learn from companies that have done it well.
For example, Microsoft decided to give all its users around the world the same privacy rights as those guaranteed under GDPR. That means any user can see what data Microsoft collects, download a copy of it, or request to have it deleted. To support this, Microsoft built a dashboard that gives users a simple, central place to manage their data and privacy preferences.
Salesforce took a similar approach. As a platform that helps businesses manage customer data, it added privacy tools directly into its product. These tools allow customers to handle access requests, data deletions, and opt-outs in just a few clicks.
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The Future of Data Privacy
Laws like CCPA and GDPR were groundbreaking — they gave people more control over their personal data. But the world didn’t stop there.
As we create more data, more countries and states are jumping in with their own laws. Brazil launched the LGPD, which is very GDPR-like. India and China have new, strict privacy policies with their own twists. More U.S. states, like Virginia and Colorado, have passed their own privacy laws, each a bit different from the others.
It seems like the world is moving toward a global patchwork of privacy laws, and companies will need to juggle different rules depending on where their users are.
As regulations become more complex, technology is stepping up to help. We will see AI-driven data tools that will be used to track where personal data is stored, who has access, and how it’s being used — automatically.
These tools might replace manual opt-in/out systems, making it easier for companies to stay compliant without human error.
From this point, privacy-by-design is becoming a standard: software and platforms are being built with privacy protections already baked in, not added later.
Another global trend is consumer awareness. People are waking up to how their data is used — and they care more than ever. More scandals like Cambridge Analytica got people talking.
In 2018, a data analytics company, Cambridge Analytica, got access to personal data from 87 million of Facebook users without their proper consent.
At first, a quiz app on Facebook collected data from people who used it and data about their friends. That data was then used to build psychological profiles to target users with political ads and messages.
The scandal was a big deal because it showed how people’s data could be harvested and misused without them even knowing. It also showed that personal data can be turned into powerful tools for influence and manipulation.
That’s why consumers now ask questions like: “Why are you collecting my data?” or “Can I delete it?”
Data rights movements are growing, and governments are listening to it.
Let’s sum up.
In the future, we will see global privacy standards grow stronger, and people will get control over their data in real time. And that’s not the end.
The tougher the regulations, the higher the fines companies will face for misuse.
Finally, new rules will likely emerge specifically targeting how AI uses personal data like facial recognition and profiling.
Challenges and Risks of CCPA and GDPR Compliance
Even though CCPA and GDPR are meant to protect users, following them isn’t so simple for businesses as it seems. Here’s why:
- Understanding the law: These laws are long, complex, and legal-heavy — not every digital business has lawyers on standby.
- Data mapping is hard: You need to know what personal data you collect, where it’s stored, who accesses it, and how it flows through your systems.
- Tools for user control: Under GDPR/CCPA, users can request to see, delete, or change their data. That means businesses need tools and workflows ready to respond quickly.
- Third-party vendors: Many companies use external tools (like marketing software or cloud storage). You must ensure they're also compliant, or you share the risk.
There is also a risk of non-compliance. Not following CCPA or GDPR rules can cost a lot — in both money and reputation.
GDPR doesn't hesitate to fine businesses up to €20 million or 4% of global annual revenue. CCPA fines are lower and can reach $7,500 per violation — and that can add up fast.
Financial risks come with reputation damage that can destroy customer trust overnight. In the end, it can slow down your business big time.
But one of the biggest headaches for businesses is dealing with different laws in different regions. Picture this: a company might have users from multiple places, and each law has slightly different rules about consent, data storage, breach reporting, and more.
This creates a maze of regulations, and trying to meet them all at once can be really complex and expensive.
To stay on track, companies should:
- Create clear policies for how they handle personal data.
- Use privacy tools to manage user requests and monitor data use.
- Train employees regularly on privacy practices.
- Conduct ongoing audits and legal reviews to stay up to date.
By taking these steps, businesses can reduce their risk and build a stronger foundation for long-term compliance.
Wrapping Up
Final take: you probably need to follow both.
Complying with one law doesn’t mean you’re off the hook for the other. If you do business in California and the EU, you’ll need to meet the requirements of both CCPA and GDPR.
They might cover similar ground, but they define things differently and have separate rules.
CCPA talks about “for-profit businesses” and “personal information,” while GDPR uses terms like “data controllers” and “personal data.” These differences matter.
What is the safest approach?
Understand both laws and build your privacy policy to meet the strongest standard. That way, you stay compliant and build more trust with your users.
Curious about how CCPA or GDPR applies to your business?
Let’s have a conversation. We’ll help you make sense of the rules and find a clear, responsible way to work with user data.
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