In today's ExchangeWire news digest: the CPRA passes into law thanks to a narrow majority; Netflix trials a new linear channel in France; and Apple introduces "nutrition labels" to make apps' privacy policies clearer.

CPRA passes vote

The people of California have voted in favour of the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA). Passing with a slim majority of 56%, the CPRA will replace the pre-existing California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) which was introduced in 2018.

The new Act, which seeks to amend some of the potential work-arounds within the CCPA, will provide the state’s residents with the right to know in which instances a company has collected their personally identifiable information, and why. Set to be made enforceable in 2023, the CPRA will bring California’s data privacy legislation into closer comparison with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

The result could have significant ramifications on some of the world’s leading tech companies, of which many are based in the West-Coast state. Whilst the CPRA is set to keep many of the same enforcement criteria of its predecessor, the new Act takes a firmer stance on whether subsidiary companies should be subjected to the legislation, and sets out a broader definition of what constitutes “selling” consumer data.  The CPRA will also give consumers the right to opt-out of receiving geolocation-based ads, and has established a new legal definition of “sensitive personal information”.

Whilst companies have until 2023 to prepare for the new law, the CPRA’s clear stipulation that non-compliant firms will be fined should encourage them to begin adapting sooner rather than later.

Netflix trials linear channel

Leading streaming service Netflix is trying out a programmed linear content channel in France. Titled Netflix Direct, the offering was introduced to a select number of regions last Thursday (5^th November), and more closely resembles a traditional broadcast or cable TV channel.

According to the company, Direct seeks to meet the needs of subscribers who don’t want to have to choose specifically what next to watch. Netflix previously introduced a “shuffle” button that would automatically play content from a user-specific list of recommended programmes as a solution to this issue. Unlike the Shuffle feature, however, Direct will show a fixed set of listings that is the same for all users.

Despite emulating the traditional television set up, Direct will only be available to Netflix subscribers via the platform’s browser-based website. The firm is believed to be planning to extend the offering to more areas in France before the end of the year.

Having already snatched swathes of linear TV’s audience, it remains to be seen how imitating its programming model will affect the traditional box.

Apple introduces compulsory ‘nutrition labels’ for apps to convey data policies

Apple has announced that it will soon require apps to display their privacy policies via what it calls “nutrition labels”. The notices, which will become compulsory from 8^th December, will provide users with the key information regarding the kind of data an app collects, and how it uses said data, in a more easily-digestible format.

Outlined on the company’s Developer site, the new feature will make it mandatory for developers to share the information that they and their third-party partners collect with Apple. It will also be the onus of the developer to update their app's “label” to reflect any changes to their data policies.

The change marks an effort to better inform consumers about how the apps they download from the App or Mac Store will use their information by doing away with the traditional long-form policies documents. However, as the responsibility of updating and verifying the data policies will remain in the hands of the developers, with no details of any external policing having been set out, it remains to be seen just how effective the move will be.