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 has signed.

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

The new law will take effect Jan. 1, 2020, and lawmakers say they will likely make alterations to improve the policy before then.

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 also aims to give consumers control over use of their data.

Read more