*CALIFORNIA'S DIGITAL CORONATION*

CALIFORNIA BALLOT measure would create a tough law on personal data privacy.

The staging ground for one of the biggest regulatory fights facing the technology industry is far removed from Washington or Brussels -

''One of the reasons why it's brought as a ballot initiative is that there is a consensus that Silicon valley owns Sacramento,'' said Chris hoofnagie, an adjunct professor at the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law and an adviser on for the initiative.

''There's no prospect of any consequential consumer privacy legislation.''

Many spent months talking to technologists, academics and lawyers. They conducted polls and focus groups to understand what people wanted.

After considering various options, they decided against taking a hard-line approach. Companies can still use personal data for their own purposes to sell advertising or improve products.

They would be restricted, however, from selling or disclosing their data to someone else for  ''business purposes'' upon a consumer's request.

The proposed ballot measure is the latest challenge facing Silicon Valley's web giants. There is a backlash to data collection practices that underpin the way they make money.

In the rest of the world, the clamor for regulation is building. The most notable effort is coming from Europe, which is preparing to enact late this month a stringent set of laws that will restrict how tech companies collect, store and use personal data from people across the region.

IN THE UNITED STATES, the California ballot initiative is part of wave of activities aimed at reining the in the sprawl of personal data across the Internet after revelations -

That the voter profiling firm Cambridge Analytica gained access to the personal information of up to  87 million Facebook users.

Last month, Senators Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat from Connecticut, and Edward Markey a Democrat fro Massachussetts, introduced a bill that sought to establish an online protections for consumers -

By forcing companies to get consent to share or sell personal data. Senator Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota, and John Kennedy, a Republican from Louisiana, also introduced a privacy bill in April.

Gabriel Weinberg, chief executive of DuckDuckGo, a privacy-minded search engine, and a supporter of the California initiative said he wished the measure had gone further - but any progress is good -

''You have to start somewhere,'' he said.