The Right to Know Law proposed by Assemblywoman Lowenthal was shot down by big time business interests lead by the California Chamber of Commerce as well as tech companies, insurers and many others. Here is the language in the bill that most scared these interests:
“any business that has a customer’s personal information, as defined, to provide at no charge, within 30 days of the customer’s specified request, a copy of that information to the customer as well as the names and contact information for all 3rd parties with which the business has shared the information during the previous 12 months, regardless of any business relationship with the customer.”
This would require businesses to engage in a major effort to disclose information that they probably don’t want to disclose anyway.
How Much Is Too Much?
We have allowed social media companies like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to take our information in return for “free” profiles. We give away all kinds of information willing or not to all kinds of companies in hope that we will get convenience – at best and at worse – we get nothing and we only know that our information has been disclosed to people who we don’t want to have it, after the fact.
