Data privacy bill OK’d in Calif.

Customers will have more control over their personal data

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California will soon have what experts call the nation’s most far-reaching law to give consumers more control over their personal data under a bill the governor signed Thursday.

The law will compel companies to tell customers on request what data they’ve collected, why and what categories of third parties have received it.

The new law will take effect Jan. 1, 2020, and lawmakers say they will likely improve the policy before that date.

Consumers will also be able to ask companies to delete their information and refrain from selling it.

It’s similar to data privacy regulation in the European Union, which aims to give consumers some control over the use of their data.

The California bill signed by Gov. Jerry Brown will apply only to California consumers. However, internet users in other states will likely see changes, said Cynthia Larose, a cybersecurity expert at the law firm Mintz Levin.

“It’s going to be impractical for companies to maintain two separate sets of privacy protections — one for California and one for everyone else,” she said.

The move by California came after large breaches in recent years at companies including Target and Equifax. Facebook also has faced intense scrutiny amid revelations that Republican-linked consulting firm Cambridge Analytica collected data from millions of Facebook users without their knowledge.

The bill gives companies the ability to offer discounts to customers who allow their data to be sold and charge those who opt out a reasonable amount based on how much the company makes selling the information.