Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
California May Broaden Far-Reaching Data Privacy Law
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
February 26, 2019

Share

SACRAMENTO — California consumers would have more power to sue corporations for misusing their data under a proposal announced Monday to expand what already is the nation’s most far-reaching law protecting personal information.
The revision to the law passed last year is among several sought by Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Santa Barbara Democratic state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson to make it easier to enforce once it takes effect on Jan. 1, 2020.

The new legislation would expand a consumer’s right to sue for damages to include other violations under the law, even if they don’t result in a data breach.
“This is basically a bill to enforce the law,” Jackson said.

Expands Consumers’ Right to Sue

Consumers are able to sue companies that collect their data if their information is stolen or disclosed in a data breach, but only if the company was found to be careless or negligent. That allows suits if the data was not encrypted or the company didn’t take other reasonable security measures.
The new legislation would expand a consumer’s right to sue for damages to include other violations under the law, even if they don’t result in a data breach.
California’s European Union-style privacy law will require companies to tell consumers upon request what personal data they’ve collected, why it was collected and what categories of third parties have received it. It will bar companies from selling data from children younger than 16 without consent. Customers will also be able to ask companies to delete their information and refrain from selling it, so violations could be subject to individuals’ and class action lawsuits.

Industry, Business Groups Oppose Changes

The Internet Association’s California government affairs director, Kevin McKinley, said it opposes the change, “as it would unwind a key piece of the deal that was struck last year to pass (the law) and to make the law workable for companies both big and small.”
The California Chamber of Commerce said the goal of the legislation “appears to be lawsuits and attorney’s fees” with “significant new avenues of litigation that will primarily benefit trial attorneys.” The chamber predicted the measure would harm small businesses and “kill jobs and innovation.”

Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month said consumers should get a “data dividend” from the billions of dollars that technology companies make by capitalizing on personal data they collect.
Californians for Consumer Privacy chairman Alastair Mactaggart and Common Sense CEO James Steyer, who both supported the privacy law, praised changes they said would strengthen the measure.
The proposed legislation also removes requirements that the attorney general provide companies legal advice about the law and give them 30 days to fix a problem before he can sue. Becerra said unless the pending law is revised, he will be required to provide unlimited legal opinions to the very companies that are breaking the law.
 

Newsom Calls for ‘Data Dividend’

The law responds to several huge breaches in recent years including those at Target and Equifax. Facebook also has faced criticism after it was revealed that Republican-linked consulting firm Cambridge Analytica collected data from millions of Facebook users without their knowledge.
Monday’s announcement is among several attempts to build on the state’s privacy law.
Gov. Gavin Newsom earlier this month said consumers should get a “data dividend” from the billions of dollars that technology companies make by capitalizing on personal data they collect, for instance by selling the data to outside businesses that target ads to users.
Another pending bill would require companies to disclose how much consumers’ data is worth to them.

DON'T MISS

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

DON'T MISS

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

DON'T MISS

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

DON'T MISS

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

DON'T MISS

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

DON'T MISS

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

DON'T MISS

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

DON'T MISS

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

DON'T MISS

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

DON'T MISS

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

UP NEXT

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

UP NEXT

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

UP NEXT

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

UP NEXT

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

UP NEXT

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

UP NEXT

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

UP NEXT

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

UP NEXT

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

UP NEXT

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

6 hours ago

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

6 hours ago

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

7 hours ago

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

7 hours ago

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

7 hours ago

Why Project Labor Agreements Are Good for Our Schools and Students: Opinion

8 hours ago

Trump Proposes Tax Deduction for Auto Loan Interest on US-Made Cars

8 hours ago

Western US Sees Sharp Increase in Extreme Weather Impact

8 hours ago

Amazon Said to Make a Bid to Buy TikTok in the US

8 hours ago

Fresno Man Found Dead, Coroner’s Office Seeks Help Finding Family

8 hours ago

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a resolution Wednesday night that would thwart President Donald Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada, ...

1 hour ago

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., center, is joined from left by Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., and Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., as they speak to reporters about President Donald Trump's tariffs on foreign countries, at the Capitol, in Washington, Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
1 hour ago

Senate Rebukes Trump’s Tariffs as Some Republicans Vote to Halt Taxes on Canadian Imports

5 hours ago

Supreme Court Sides With the FDA in Its Dispute Over Sweet-Flavored Vaping Products

5 hours ago

Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars

A young Labrador mix rescued from a Fresno canal on Sunday, March 2, 2025, is thriving in a foster home after overcoming fear and trauma. (Instagram/Fresno Animal Center)
6 hours ago

Fresno Firefighters Save Dog From Canal and Now She’s Ready for Adoption

6 hours ago

Big Brands Spend Just Enough on X to Avoid Musk’s ‘Naughty List’

7 hours ago

Judge Dismisses Corruption Case Against New York City Mayor Eric Adams

7 hours ago

State Center Trustees Render Split Decision on Future of PLAs

7 hours ago

California’s Schools Chief Has a $200,000 Salary and a Side Gig

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend