The State Legislature is currently debating consumer information being gathered by online companies and sold to third parties, but if the California Right to Know Act (AB 1291) passes, consumers can soon demand companies issue a report on what type of personal information is being gathered about them, and to whom it is given.

It’s mind boggling to think that our actions online can enable companies to use tracking tools in order to monetize our behavior, and to monitor certain information that users consider private.

Trade groups and companies such as Google and Facebook are acting lawless, raising suspicion and the concern of many people who spend considerable time online.

AB 1291, if passed would empower Californian consumers with the right to request that an online company which has shared or is selling users’ information to a third party must disclose all the names and addresses of those entities, in writing or by e-mail, to the customer.

“A business that has a customer’s personal information shall make available to the customer free of charge access to personal information held by the business,” if also disclosed to a third party, the law states.

The problem with creating an account, or choosing to become a consumer of a particular online company, is that some of your personal information is being gathered for purposes like marketing, mining data on your recent purchases, locations you’ve checked into, and recently visited websites.

Social networking sites, among others, may utilize up to 100 different tracking tools that monitor and store sensitive information that may end up compromising your privacy.

Unknown third parties may know your religion, sexual orientation, gender, location, income and health, which the data can be shared between networks to help businesses better market their products and advertising around what (you), the consumer would want or desire.

“One of the fastest-growing businesses on the Internet is the business of spying on Internet users,” a Wall Street Journal investigation found.

Assembly member Bonnie Lowenthal D-Long Beach, authored AB 1291 which has the official support from the American Civil Liberties Union.

Businesses are opposing the bill which enshrines a consumer’s right to privacy and transparency.

Facebook, Microsoft and Google along with 15 other tech companies signed a letter to Lowenthal, asking her to drop the bill, which only highlights their eagerness to keep their tracking practices opaque.

“A lot of companies don’t want consumers to know what’s happening to their personal information,” said Nicole Ozer, an attorney who represents the ACLU. “Companies are collecting and sharing this information with third parties in ways the people might not realize and in ways they might not want.”

The proposed bill acts as a stepping stone to give more power back to the people.

If there is to be any success  towards an evolution of online consumer rights, preventative measures must be in place to control a company’s ability to legally monitor their users’ activity.