Sacramento, CA — Consumer Reports is urging the California Legislature to approve the Delete Act, a pro-consumer bill that would empower consumers by allowing them to delete their information from all of the state’s more than 500 registered data brokers with a single click. The bill is headed for a vote by the California State Assembly this week. If approved and signed into law, the Delete Act would be the first law in the nation to allow consumers to request universal deletion of their data.
“California has been a leader in extending new digital rights to consumers. This latest effort is another step in helping individuals take back control of their data and personal information. Most consumers have no interaction with data brokers and many don’t even know they exist. But by purchasing and scraping data from all across the web, brokers have amassed extremely detailed data dossiers on individuals that they will sell to virtually anyone who asks; political groups, social media companies, ex-spouses, law enforcement, and more. The Delete Act will help address this issue by giving California consumers who do not wish to be surveilled by these companies the ability to delete themselves from data broker databases with the click of a single button,” said Matt Schwartz, policy analyst for privacy and technology policy at Consumer Reports.
CR has long been an advocate for the data rights of consumers. CR supported the California Consumer Privacy Act and has advocated for other strong comprehensive consumer privacy laws in states across the country. CR is also working on technical solutions to further empower consumers to take control of their data.
CR also previously submitted a letter to California assembly members in support of the Delete Act.
Contact: cyrus.rassool@consumer.org