California may broaden far-reaching data privacy law

California consumers would have more power to sue corporations for misusing their data under a proposal by the attorney general 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.

Jackson says "this is basically a bill to enforce the law."

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 wasn’t 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.