With the Delete Act, California becomes the first state in the nation to allow consumers to request universal deletion of their information from data brokers
Sacramento, CA — Governor Newsom today signed the Delete Act into law, a historic pro-consumer bill that will allow consumers to request universal deletion of their information from more than 500 registered data brokers with a single click.
“California is a true champion of data rights. It was the first state in the country to sign a comprehensive data privacy bill into law and it is paving the way yet with the Delete Act. Data brokers have built a multi-billion dollar industry by collecting and selling personal information about individuals, typically without our knowledge or consent. This law will empower individuals to take back control of their data and personal information. California consumers who do not wish to be surveilled by these companies will have 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 and supported the California Consumer Privacy Act. CR encourages other states to follow the lead of California by introducing similar legislation that provides individuals with the ability to take back their personal information from data brokers. CR is also working on technical solutions to further empower consumers to take control of their data, including a new free app called Permission Slip.
CR also previously submitted a letter to California assembly members in support of the Delete Act.