Episode 47 - Cookies and California, Businesses Beware

Cookies in the internet sense are packets of data that a persons’ computer receives when visiting a website. Without a cookie sent by an online retailer, every time one moves to a different page on a site, the visitor would need once again to supply account data and other information – a terrible burden! But cookies also represent a potential threat, as disguised cookies can install viruses or malware on our computers, and supercookies and zombie cookies pose other threats to personal privacy.

Because a cookie can represent a third party that is accessing personal information of someone visiting a website, website owners and operators must consider whether the data streams arising from this use and the sharing with cookie senders amount to activity governed by the CCPA (or other states with similar or evolving data protection laws).

William Morriss, an attorney with Frost Brown Todd, LLC who advises numerous tech and other companies about software and internet matters and himself a former computer programmer, explains in this podcast the link between cookies and California and discusses what a business can do to determine its cookie status and comply with the CCPA if required to do so. Make it a New Years Resolution for 2020 to get ahead of the cookie compliance curve so that cookies don’t become commercial indigestion!