Consumer Confidential: Businesses really, really don't like this privacy bill, which is why you should

It's my experience that the more fuss businesses kick up about consumer-related legislation, the more likely it is such a bill is needed and would be an effective deterrent to bad practices.

That seems to be the case with a bill scheduled to be heard this week in the California Senate, SB 1121, which would make it potentially very costly for businesses to play fast and loose with people's personal information.

The bill would make it easier for consumers to sue companies that haven't put adequate safeguards in place. If there's a security breach, consumers could seek up to $1,000 "per consumer per incident or actual damages, whichever is greater."