Gavin Christopher Newsom, the 40th governor of California, has put his signature on the California Senate Bill 362 (SB 362), also known as the California Delete Act. Thanks to this historic law, SB 362 will make it easy for Californians to demand the right to delete any information that data brokers have with them.
Citizens of California, through a free, easy-to-use, single-page online portal, can request the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) to delete any private information data brokers have with them, also preventing tracking people online.
The bill defines data brokers as businesses that don’t directly relate to ordinary consumers but collect information about them through online and offline sources and sell those data. Data brokers collect sensitive information pertaining to healthcare, geolocation, spending habits, and employment status.
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If data brokers don’t comply with the rules stated in the Delete Act, they might be fined or penalized, according to a report by the Guardian.
According to a recent poll, Californians are overjoyed with SB 362, as 81% of the surveyed Californians embrace the Delete Act, while only 7% give their thumbs down to the bill.
Josh Becker, who first introduced the bill back in April 2023, said, “Data brokers possess thousands of data points on each and every one of us, and they currently sell reproductive healthcare, geolocation and purchasing data to the highest bidder. The Delete Act protects our most sensitive information.”
In today’s day and age, our digital footprints contain information of great significance to us. Consequently, the right to have a voice regarding the use of our information synchronizes with our right to privacy, and the California law-making agency, through the California Delete Act, has addressed the impending obvious.
