California’s New Data Privacy Law Could Hit Mom-and-Pops Hard

Center for Democracy & Technology President and CEO Nuala O'Connor (R) testifies before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee about consumer data privacy during a hearing in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 10, 2018. Witnesses answered committee members' questions about the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation and the California Consumer Privacy Act, which went into effect on Jan. 1, 2020. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

LOS ANGELES—While California’s new data privacy law appears to be generally aimed at big tech companies that sell consumer data, some suggest that mom-and-pop businesses are the most likely to experience a tightening of the thumbscrews.

John Kabateck, the California state director for the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), said the biggest problem for small and medium-sized businesses is the sheer lack of knowledge of what is required from them in 2020.