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Does the term personal information include information that a business obtains from government records?

By David A. Zetoony on December 8, 2020
personal information magnifying glass

Typically, no.

The CCPA excludes from the definition of “personal information” information that is “publicly available” and defines that term to mean “information that is lawfully made available from federal, state, or local government records.”[1]

Although the majority of information received from government records is, therefore, excluded from the definition of “personal information,” the California Attorney General has noted that “some information collected from government entities” is not “publicly available” and, therefore, still falls within the scope of “personal information.”[2] The California Attorney General did not, however, provide an example of such data.


[1] Cal. Civil Code 1798.140(o)(2) (Oct. 2020).

[2] FSOR Appendix A at 18 (Response 66).

  • Posted in:
    Privacy & Data Security
  • Blog:
    Data Privacy Dish
  • Organization:
    Greenberg Traurig, LLP
  • Article: View Original Source

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