Miriam Farhi was interviewed in “Spotlight on: Miriam Farhi, Perkins Coie,” an article in Luxury Law Alliance, regarding her practice on advising retail, luxury, and technology companies on privacy and data security issues.

Luxury Law Alliance: How has the fashion industry–particularly in the luxury space–been affected by the California Consumer Privacy Act?

Miriam Farhi: The CCPA went into effect in January 2020, but enforcement did not begin until July, so we are in the early stages of understanding the law’s impact on the fashion industry. Many of our clients have been working carefully to prepare for CCPA compliance and have invested time and resources to respond to their new obligations under the law. Covid-19 has accelerated the pressure on many retailers to get up-to-speed on data compliance issues. As brick and mortar stores shut down, the luxury brands who may have been slower to embrace e-commerce are adopting new technologies and digital strategies.

I have a number of clients in the beauty space, for instance, that are experimenting with AR/VR so customers can try on products in a digital context. Other clients, who have traditionally offered only physical products, like apparel, are engaging customers by providing new offerings, like online workout classes, self-care tutorials, or virtual fitting rooms. All of these technologies involve the collection of more (and new) types of data, which means there are privacy and data security considerations companies need to work through, including compliance with the CCPA.