California State Senator Josh Becker

California’s Delete Act

Championed by State Senator Josh Becker

The DELETE Act will give consumers

unprecedented digital privacy rights.

The DELETE Act strengthens consumers’ data privacy by:

  • Charging the California Privacy Protection Agency with creating a simple system for consumers to submit a single removal request to all data brokers.

  • Consumers can request that data brokers stop selling or sharing their information permanently.

  • Requiring data brokers to undergo independent audits every three years, starting in 2028. 

  • Empowering the California Privacy Protection Agency to issue civil penalties and administrative fines, up to $200 per day per individual, if data brokers fail to comply with deletion requirements. 

Why Data Privacy Matters

Numerous companies collect, analyze, and sell consumers’ data. Data brokers are companies that traffic in consumer data without having a direct relationship with the consumer. 

In the 21st century, digital data privacy is fundamental to actualizing an individual right to privacy. This privacy is critical for many Californians who might find themselves subject to discrimination based on information traded by data brokers. 

Josh Becker, Privacy Rights Champion

Before the Delete Act became law, the California Consumer Privacy Act sought to provide consumers digital privacy rights. However, these protections are inadequate. This is because:

  • It was perfectly legal for unknown, third party data brokers to purchase all of your personal online information and sell it to the highest bidder.

  • If you wanted to delete your data, you needed to contact over 500 data broker companies and request that they delete your data. There is no way to be sure if data brokers have complied with your request or if they will stop collecting your data in the future. 

The California Delete Act was written by State Senator Josh Becker. This legislation was introduced by Sen. Becker on Feb 8th, 2023, passed with bipartisan support and super majorities, and was signed into law by the Governor on October 10th.

The Delete Act strengthens consumers’ data privacy by:

  • Charging the California Privacy Protection Agency with creating a simple system for consumers to submit a single removal request to all data brokers. Data brokers must process requests every 45 days.

  • Requiring that data brokers register with the California Privacy Protection Agency. 

  • Requiring data brokers to undergo independent audits every three years, starting in 2028. 

  • Empowering the California Privacy Protection Agency to issue civil penalties and administrative fines, up to $200 per day per individual, if data brokers fail to comply with deletion requirements. 

Josh's Privacy Tips:

The top things consumers need to do to protect themselves while shopping online include:

  • Don’t get hooked on phishing. Email scams have gotten incredibly sophisticated. They look like they’re coming from your bank, but they aren’t. People can also call you pretending to be your bank. If you sense something suspicious, call your financial institution before you do anything or provide any personal information.

  • If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. If you see an offer that says “like our page, and we will send you a free gift, it’s almost always a con.

  • When it comes to websites like Google, limit ad personalization and cookies you share about yourself online. Limiting cookies might be a little annoying, but it can help prevent you from having companies track you and sending you unwanted ads.

  • Develop a security plan with your family. If your kids click on something, it could compromise your whole network. You need to decide as a family what areas you want to protect and how you will protect them. Don’t be lazy with passwords. Don’t use birthdays or easy-to-guess passwords, and use two factor authentication.

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