Facebook, Google (News - Alert), Twitter and many other leading Internet companies have joined forces to fight a proposed California bill that would require them to change their user privacy policies.

The bill, introduced by California State Senator Ellen Corbett in February, would force social networking companies and other sites to receive permission from users before displaying their private information, other than their name and city of residence. Currently, the default privacy settings for most websites are as wide open as is legally acceptable.

Corbett's legislation would also require Internet companies to force new users to choose their privacy settings – such as who can view their profile and what information would be made public – during the registration period. In addition, websites would also have to remove the personal information of users under the age of 18 if requested by their parents.

If the bill passes, websites would be penalized $10,000 for each violation.

More than a dozen Web giants formally protested the bill earlier this week in a united letter to Corbett. The companies said that the proposed legislation would “significantly undermine the ability of Californians to make informed and meaningful choices about use of their personal data.”

The letter also said that the series of mandates, collectively known as SB 242, would interfere with the right to free speech and cause “significant damage” to California's thriving Internet commerce market.

Finally, the letter accuses Corbett of “gratuitously singling out social networking sites “without demonstration of any harm. Facebook (News - Alert) and the other participating companies claim that no indication exists that California residents are demanding such legislation.

The bill has already passed its first test in a committee vote and is on its way to the state senate. If passed there, the bill would be voted on by the full legislature and would then need to be signed into law by the governor.

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Beecher Tuttle is a TMCnet contributor. He has extensive experience writing and editing for print publications and online news websites. He has specialized in a variety of industries, including health care technology, politics and education. To read more of his articles, please visit his columnist page.

Edited by Jennifer Russell