Keypoint: Based on the appellate court’s ruling, the new CCPA regulations are enforceable immediately instead of on March 29, 2024.

On February 9, 2024, a three-judge panel of the California Court of Appeals issued an order overruling a California trial court decision and holding that the new CCPA regulations approved by the Office of Administrative Law (OAL) on March 29, 2023, could be enforced immediately and not – as the trial court held – one year after OAL approval. The appellate decision also means that any new regulations promulgated by the California Privacy Protection Agency (Agency) could be enforced once approved by the OAL and not after a one-year delay. For reference, the Agency is currently working on six different sets of regulations. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that section 7301(b) of the new CCPA regulations allows the Agency to consider “the amount of time between the effective date of the statutory or regulatory requirement(s) and the possible or alleged violation(s) of those requirements, and good-faith efforts to comply with those requirements” when deciding whether to pursue an investigation or possible alleged investigation.