Companies Scramble to Prepare for California Privacy Law

Companies are scrambling to comply with California’s landmark privacy law taking effect Jan. 1, attorneys said.

Complicating the effort are actions the state took in October. Attorney General Xavier Becerra (D) published draft rules for implementing the California Consumer Privacy Act. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed bills to amend it. Another potential complication lies ahead—a possible statewide privacy ballot issue in the 2020 election.

The actions “make for a very unstable compliance environment,” said Lisa Sotto, a partner at Hunton Andrews Kurth who advises companies on privacy and data security matters.

The instability shows how companies, who have been grappling ...