Assembly Approves Online Privacy Bill to Protect Personal Information, Including Medical Records

The Assembly last week approved a bill (AB 2297) that would help protect personal information, such as consumers' medical records. The Online Privacy and Disclosure Act of 2002 would require online companies to develop privacy policies that inform consumers about the personal information they collect over the Internet and the groups or individuals with which they may share the information. The privacy policies also would have to disclose their effective dates, as well as whether consumers could review their personal information and request changes. In addition, the bill would require Internet companies to inform consumers about privacy breaches that may compromise the security of their personal information, as well as who may have received access to the information. The legislation would apply only to information collected online. The bill moves to the Senate Rules Committee for consideration (AB 2297 text, 5/29). For more iHealth & Technology stories, visit iHealthBeat.org, a new Web publication sponsored by the California HealthCare Foundation.