Technology companies are fighting a behind-the-scenes battle in California to undermine new privacy legislation before it comes into effect.The California Consumer Privacy Act was approved back in June
It will give new rights to the state's 40 million inhabitants, including the ability to view the data that companies hold on them and, critically, request that it be deleted and not sold to third parties. It's not too far off Europe's GDPR.
Any company that holds data on more than 50,000 people is subject to the law, and each violation carries a hefty $7,500 fine. But, in order to help companies prepare, the law will only come into effect in January 2020. And that has given Big Tech a window to try to pressure lawmakers into making changes.
A 20-page letter [PDF] from a 38 different trade groups, led by the California Chamber of Commerce and sent to key Californian lawmakers, outlines in precise detail the changes that tech companies want made to the law before it comes into effect
