How to make CCPA compliance and data collection easy

For companies that collect information from their users, disclosing how that process works isn’t just a resolution for 2020 — it’s a requirement.

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which went into force on New Year’s Day, directs many large organizations — including Jotform — to inform clients, customers, and other users how their information is collected, what happens to it, and what’s being done to protect it.

Under the new law, these businesses must reveal whether any of the data they collect is shared with or sold to third parties, explain how the information is used, and provide a way for people to opt out of having their personal information sold.

The law also gives California residents the right to obtain a record of personal information collected by specific businesses.

California consumers can direct businesses, as well as any service providers, to delete any of their personal information, except under certain circumstances. The CCPA, for example, doesn’t require personal information to be deleted if it’s needed to

• Complete a transaction that relies on the collection of specific personal information
• Provide a requested good or service or one that’s “reasonably anticipated” as part of an ongoing business relationship
• Carry out a contract between businesses and consumers

At Jotform, we make it a priority to ensure that your personal information — as well as any submitted form data — is protected at all times and never sold to any third-party organizations. We’ve taken steps to achieve CCPA compliance and created an extra set of safeguards so Jotform users can be sure that their data is safe.

But we’re not the only ones who need to comply with the new law, and we aren’t the only ones who have been preparing for it.

We’ve received inquiries and support requests from Jotform users who own, work at, or work with businesses that collect personal information from California residents through their online forms.

As an online data-collection tool with offline form capabilities, we want Jotform to be a trusted resource for businesses that must comply with the CCPA before the law is fully enforced on July 1.

Here’s what we’ve done or are actively doing to ensure that your information is used appropriately, stored securely, and handled responsibly:

1. We’ve created a comprehensive guide to explain what the CCPA is and the difference between the CCPA and the GDPR, the European Union’s data privacy and protection law.
2. We’ve updated our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use to comply with specific requirements outlined in the CCPA.
3. Even though we never sell your information to third-party organizations, we’ve created an opt-out form on our CCPA compliance page so you can hold us to it.

Pro Tip: You can use Jotform to create a CCPA opt-out form for your customers, users, clients, and donors to fill out.

4. We’ve created ways for California residents to request and access all the personal information Jotform has collected from them within the last 12 months. Regardless of whether you’ve filled out a Jotform form or are one of our users, we’re here for you.
• If you’re a Jotform user, you may submit a written request to our customer support team or access your data through your Jotform account. You can find more information on this process in our newly updated Privacy Policy.
• If you aren’t a Jotform user but have filled out and shared personal information through a form, you must contact the business or person that created the form, since submitted information and data is private and wholly owned by them. More information can be found in our newly updated Privacy Policy.
5. We’ve added a “Do Not Sell My Personal Information” link — at the bottom of Jotform’s homepage — that will be displayed for California users and website visitors only, based on their IP address. The link will redirect you to our CCPA compliance web page, where you can direct us to never sell or share your personal information (even though that’s something we never do).

Conclusion

Data privacy and security have always been top priorities for JotForm.

Even though we’ve implemented CCPA compliance protections, we want to reiterate that Jotform never sells or shares the personal information of our users, as well as any submitted form information, with third parties.

The CCPA is changing the way companies collect, handle, store, secure, share, and sell the data they collect from their users.

While the law is intended to provide California residents with more information about how their data is used and to enable them to regain control of it, there may be broader impacts on how businesses operate, make money, and expand their reach.

In fact, early estimates provided by the state attorney general’s office suggest that the CCPA may protect more than $12 billion worth of personal information used for advertising in California each year.

If your business is still getting up to speed, we’re here to help you understand what the CCPA is and become compliant before the law is fully enforced in July.

There’s a lot of uncertainty and skepticism around whether businesses have your best interests at heart when it comes to the way they handle your personal information. That’s something you never have to worry about with Jotform, but don’t take our word for it.

Take a gander at our updated Privacy Settings and Terms of Use to see why more than 5 million people have turned to Jotform as their trusted data-collection tool. With Jotform, you can rest easy knowing your personal data, along with any collected form information, has been in the right hands from day one.