12/23/2024

Major online privacy bill becomes law after whirlwind week

A far-reaching online privacy bill that got next-to-no vetting or legislative debate was signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown last Thursday – the product of a quickly hammered-out agreement among state legislators, privacy advocates, tech firms and a real estate tycoon whose qualifying of an even more sweeping privacy measure for the November ballot triggered a frenzy of action at the Capitol in the past week.

Assembly Bill 375 – the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 – would change the playing field in the relationship between users of some online services and the companies that provide the services. It would allow users to ask companies to delete their personal information and to be informed what information about them that the companies were collecting and selling. It would also allow online consumers to sue over some unauthorized breaches of their information – but only for up to $750.

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