Morgan McKay is reporting for State of Politics the New York state Senate is poised to vote on a bill that would give consumers more control over their personal data. The New York Privacy Act would require businesses to obtain written consent from customers before using or transferring personal data to a third party. The bill's sponsor, state Sen. Kevin Thomas, said there is no reason these companies should be able to hold on to the information indefinitely. The New York Privacy Act would allow someone to choose if they want their information sold, fix incorrect personal information online, have control over where the information is going and give consumers the right to request that their personal data be deleted. Consumers will also have the right to bring forward civil lawsuits. Tom Stebbins, executive director of the Lawsuit Reform Alliance, said that holding businesses accountable should be left up to the attorney general or regulators. But opening it up and allowing anyone to bring forward a lawsuit will allow for some to take advantage of the system. States like California, Washington and Virginia already have very similar laws on their books, but most do not include the section which allows consumers to bring forward suits in their own names for injunctive relief, as well as actual damages and attorney’s fees. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.