Mastering GDPR and CCPA Compliance: A Guide for Marketers

GDPR and CCPA compliance are critical for marketers in today’s data-driven world. Explore the key differences and similarities between GDPR and CCPA, and how marketers can ensure compliance with these critical privacy laws to protect consumer data.

Imagine being slapped with a record-breaking €1.2 billion fine for failing to protect consumer data. That’s exactly what happened to Meta, Facebook’s parent company, for violating international data transfer guidelines as per the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union.

The shockwaves of massive fines for failing to comply with GDPR and  California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) have rocked many leading businesses. Amazon faced a staggering €746 million ($887 million) fine for unlawfully tracking user data without consent, while Zoom Video Communications settled for $86 million under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) after facing user privacy issues related to ‘Zoombombing.’

These hefty penalties serve as a stark reminder of the need to embed GDPR and CCPA requirements with business objectives and actions. In this blog, we’ll explore the key differences and similarities between GDPR and CCPA, their provisions, penalties, compliance checklist, and how businesses can protect themselves from severe penalties, along with insights on how CleverTap empowers compliance.

Understanding GDPR: Key Rights and Penalties 

What is GDPR?

The European Union’s GDPR is the most comprehensive data privacy law in effect today, giving consumers full control of their personal data while holding businesses and organizations accountable for compliance. 

GDPR aims to protect all nationals of the European Union as well as companies doing business with them, even those from non-European nations. As a thumb rule, if a company or business processes the personal data of EU citizens or residents, or it offers goods or services to such people, then they need to comply with GDPR requirements, even if they are not based in or operating in the EU. 

Basic Rights Under GDPR 

Under the GDPR, individuals have the following eight rights:

1. Right to access: This entitles individuals to request access to their personal information as well as to know how the company utilizes it after it has been collected. If a request is made, the company is required to provide a free electronic copy of the personal data.
2. Right to be forgotten: Individuals have the right to have their personal data erased if they cease to be clients or if they withdraw their consent from a business using it.
3. Right to data portability: Individuals have a right to transfer their data from one service provider to another. And it must happen in a commonly used and machine-readable format.
4. Right to be informed: This covers any gathering of data by companies, and individuals must be informed before data is gathered. Consumers have to opt in for their data to be gathered, and consent must be freely given rather than implied.
5. Right to have information corrected: This ensures that individuals can have their data updated if it is inaccurate, incomplete, or out of date.
6. Right to restrict processing: Individuals can request that their data is not used for processing. Their record can remain in place but not be used.
7. Right to object: This includes the right of individuals to reject or refuse the processing of their data for direct marketing. There are no exemptions to this rule, and any processing must stop as soon as the request is received. In addition, this right must be made clear to individuals at the very start of any communication.
8. Right to be notified: If there has been a data breach that compromises an individual’s personal data, the individual has a right to be informed within 72 hours of first becoming aware of the breach.

Penalties for GDPR Non-Compliance

Companies and organizations that fail to comply with the GDPR face severe penalties, which can reach up to 20 million euros or 4% of their yearly worldwide revenue, whichever is higher.

“There are more and more privacy regulations coming into play that are designed to protect the way consumer data is used, how brands have access to the data, and how they might share the data.”-  Rusty Warner, Vice President and Analyst, Forrester

Join Rusty Warner, Vice President and Analyst at Forrester, and Subharun Mukherjee, Head of Marketing at CleverTap, as they share insights on privacy regulation in the webinar, Data Deprecation & AI: A New Paradigm for Customer Engagement.

Understanding CCPA: Key Rights and Penalties

What is CCPA

The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a state-level regulation in the United States designed to strengthen privacy protections for California residents and give them greater control over their personal information. It governs how organizations handle the personal information (PI) of California residents, addressing consumer rights, cybersecurity requirements, and business privacy obligations. CCPA primarily applies to businesses, service providers, and third parties.

Basic Rights Under CCPA

Under the CCPA, individuals have the following four rights:

1. Right to access information: Individuals are entitled to know which categories of personal information were collected or sold, from where, to whom, and why.
2. Right to data deletion: Consumers may request that a company delete the personal data it has collected about them. 
3. Right to opt out of data collection or sale: Consumers may direct a company to not collect or sell their information to third parties. The CCPA includes a definition of “sell,” which extends beyond a monetary exchange
   
4. Right of Portability: It allows individuals to obtain their personal data in a structured, common, and machine-readable format and to transfer this personal data freely to another controller.

Penalties for CCPA Non-Compliance

CCPA violations are subject to penalties of $2,500 for each violation and $7,500 for intentional violations.

GDPR vs. CCPA: Key Differences & What You Need to Know

Here’s a quick look at the key differences between GDPR and CCPA to help you navigate these privacy laws.

Benefits of GDPR and CCPA Compliance

Complying with GDPR and CCPA not only protects businesses from penalties but also offers several benefits that drive long-term success. These regulations help businesses build trust with customers, strengthen their brand, and enhance data security. Below are the key benefits of complying with these privacy laws:

1. Enhanced Customer Trust: GDPR and CCPA compliance demonstrate a commitment to protecting consumer data, fostering trust and loyalty among customers.
2. Improved Brand Reputation: By adhering to these regulations, businesses position themselves as responsible and trustworthy, which enhances their reputation and attracts more customers.
3. Avoidance of Penalties: Non-compliance can result in hefty fines. Compliance helps businesses avoid these risks.
4. Competitive Advantage: As consumers become more concerned about privacy, businesses that prioritize compliance gain a competitive edge by offering secure and transparent data handling practices.
5. Efficient Data Management: Compliance with GDPR and CCPA pushes businesses to adopt better data management practices, improving data security, accuracy, and usage.
6. Improved Customer Engagement: Shifting to consent-based marketing enables businesses to engage customers with personalized, relevant content while respecting their privacy preferences.
7. Long-Term Growth and Loyalty: Data protection and transparency build stronger, long-lasting customer relationships, leading to increased loyalty and sustainable growth.

Checklist for GDPR Compliance

Use this checklist to assess your compliance status and take necessary actions to become GDPR compliant.

Checklist for CCPA Compliance

Use this CCPA compliance checklist to understand your compliance status and become CCPA compliant.

Unlock Limitless Customer Lifetime Value with CleverTap

Effortless Customer Engagement Within Compliance

In today’s privacy-first world, compliance with regulations like GDPR and CCPA is non-negotiable. 

75% of consumers would not make a purchase from a company, including their preferred retailers, if they did not trust them with their data. Companies may also face damage to their brand trust because of negative privacy experiences and a data breach.

True success lies in balancing compliance with seamless customer engagement. Businesses need to ensure they are not only adhering to privacy laws but also delivering personalized, meaningful experiences that resonate with their customers. Here are five ways that businesses can embrace data protection and privacy in customer engagement:

1. Integrate Privacy into All Operations: Make privacy a fundamental part of every business process, ensuring data protection throughout each customer interaction. Regular audits and updates keep your practices aligned with compliance standards.
2. Gather Only Essential Data: Collect only the data necessary to deliver personalized experiences, minimizing security risks while maintaining GDPR and CCPA compliance. This approach helps reduce exposure without sacrificing customer value.
3. Ensure Clarity and Secure Consent: Clearly communicate to customers how their data will be used and why it’s being collected. Obtaining explicit, informed consent helps foster trust and ensures adherence to privacy laws.
4. Align Data Management Practices with Regulations: Maintain strict compliance with privacy regulations by securing customer data with encryption, safe storage, and continuous audits. This ensures data remains protected at every stage of the process.
5. Choose Privacy-Compliant Partners: Partner with companies that share your commitment to data protection and comply with key privacy laws. Clear data processing agreements ensure your partners align with your privacy standards.

To truly make this work, businesses need a platform that not only supports these efforts but also seamlessly integrates compliance into customer engagement. That’s where CleverTap comes in.

Read more about CleverTap’s Trust Portal and get access to CleverTap’s security posture, audit reports, policies and controls.

 

Data Protection and Privacy Compliance: How CleverTap Makes It Happen

CleverTap empowers businesses to thrive in this environment by providing an advanced platform that enables personalized, consent-driven marketing while staying fully within the regulatory perimeter. CleverTap isn’t just about compliance—it’s about turning compliance into an opportunity for deeper, more trusted customer relationships.

By integrating CleverTap’s solution, businesses not only meet the requirements of GDPR and CCPA but also benefit from its adherence to the highest compliance standards, including certifications for GDPR, CCPA, COPPA, HIPAA, ISO 27001:2013, and SOC-2 Type 2, ensuring unparalleled data protection, security, and privacy.

CleverTap’s Key Capabilities for Ensuring GDPR and CCPA Compliance

CleverTap provides a comprehensive set of capabilities designed to help businesses amp up their customer engagement and retention strategies while maintaining compliance with GDPR and CCPA.

These capabilities enable businesses to meet essential privacy requirements while building and maintaining strong, trust-based relationships with their customers. Let’s dive into these key capabilities.

1. Right to Access: Customers can provide users with access to personal data with CleverTap, allowing them to know how, where, and why their personal data is being processed on their app. Customers can create extensive reports on end-user profiles using CleverTap’s app publisher on the dashboard, and, if required, they can share these with their end users with ease.
2. Right to Be Forgotten: The user has the ability to immediately remove personal data and revoke consent when they exercise their right to be forgotten, also known as the right to erase. In the event that an end user exercises their right to erase, CleverTap’s servers wipe all profile and event data. Customers of CleverTap can accomplish this by using an API deletion tool in addition to a dashboard deletion tool. The end user will be considered anonymous if they return to the customer’s app in the future.
3. Right to Suppress: Similarly, once a user invokes a right to suppress clause (on the app), all data for the user going forward needs to be dropped. To allow for this, CleverTap provides its customers with an SDK, which grants end users the ability to immediately have their devices stop sending data to CleverTap systems from then on.
4. Privacy by Design: CleverTap provides complete data transparency to its users. CleverTap includes a built-in opt-out option as a default setting so that customers have the necessary user consent before they proceed with engagement campaigns within the CleverTap platform.
5. Data Breach Reporting: In order to make it easier for our customers to address data breach notifications promptly, CleverTap has an incident reporting system in place. When an incident involving personal data takes place, this system informs our customers of the breach and strongly recommends that they communicate the same to their end users.

CleverTap is committed to helping businesses build trust and achieve compliance with these critical privacy regulations. Talk to us.

Conclusion

Ensuring compliance with GDPR and CCPA is more than meeting regulatory demands—it’s about building trust and securing lasting customer relationships. From managing user rights like access and erasure to implementing privacy-by-design and robust breach reporting, CleverTap equips businesses to navigate these laws effortlessly. By integrating these compliance measures, businesses can enhance transparency, safeguard data, and foster stronger brand loyalty, turning compliance into a competitive advantage in today’s privacy-focused world.

Excited to learn more? Schedule a personalized demo with CleverTap.