text: Effective January 1, 2005, California Civil Code Section 1798.83 (known as the "Shine the Light" law) provides that, if an individual who is a California resident has provided his/her personal information to a business in connection with a business relationship that is primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, and if that business has within the immediately preceding calendar year disclosed such individual's personal information to a third party and knows or should have known that such third party used the information for its own direct marketing purposes, then that business is obligated to disclose in writing to such individual upon request, what personal information was shared and with whom the information was shared. A business may comply with this law by: (1) having EITHER a published privacy policy of not sharing a customer's personal information for third-party direct marketing use unless the customer has first affirmatively opted in to such sharing OR a published privacy policy of not sharing a customer's personal information for third-party direct marketing use if the customer has opted out to prevent his/her personal information from being shared for third-party direct marketing use; AND (2) notifying the customer of his/her right to opt out and providing a cost-free means for the customer to exercise that right.