Data privacy experts are talking about the recently filed “Delete Act,” also known as California Senate Bill 362. There has been a lot of discussion about a measure that would allow customers to have all state-based data brokers erase their personal information upon a single, valid consumer request.
Josh Becker, a state senator from Menlo Park in California, introduced the legislation in April 2023.
The measure would also compel data brokers to maintain a webpage that describes how customers can exercise their privacy rights and is free of dark patterns.
Having had a successful career in corporate security and risk management, Max Anderson, the Chief Revenue Officer of 360 Privacy, a vendor for reducing digital footprints, is a trustworthy source for advice on securing a person’s digital data. Anderson gives a summary of the laws governing digital journals.
According to Anderson, steps must be taken to provide citizens the power to decide how and with whom their data is shared. A highly lucrative market where no remuneration is given to the individual is created because most individuals are unaware that their personal information is being purchased and sold.
The main problems, according to Anderson, are: “Significant worries arise on “how” people will submit proof to data brokers as part of the opt-out procedure. Data brokers may want your personal information as part of the opt-out procedure, including your SSN, DOB, and possibly even copies of your driver’s license or passport. It is paradoxical to send personal information to a broker actively selling it.
According to Anderson’s assessment of its potential consequences, the proposed legislation will take effect in the summer of 2026. Over the past two years, hundreds of new data brokers have appeared, and it is impossible to predict how big the data broker sector will be in three years.
Anderson elaborates on this argument by saying that “with the advancement of AI and machine learning, by the time the bill could even be enacted into law, the databases are likely to be archived and “closed,” but still accessible and full of personal information.”
“There are many unanswered questions regarding data brokers who are not based in California and how the law will apply to them,” Anderson concludes. What about Californians who reside in many states, as well? Some subtleties and flaws will favor data brokers and their capacity to reject opt-out requests.
