SB 362 Will Let Californians Take Control of Their Personal Information & Require Data Brokers to Delete Data
(SACRAMENTO) – Today, Senator Josh Becker’s (D-San Mateo) Delete Act advanced off the Senate floor with overwhelming support. The bill would allow Californians who want to control access to their personal information to hit the “delete” button when it comes to a data broker’s ability to collect and maintain information on them.
“We are one step closer to finally giving consumers the power to control who accesses their most sensitive personal information,” said Senator Becker. “Data brokers spend their days and nights building dossiers with millions of people’s reproductive healthcare, geolocation, and purchasing data so they can sell it to the highest bidder. The Delete Act is based on a very simple premise: Every Californian should be able to control who has access to their personal information and what they can do with it.”
“The Privacy Rights Clearinghouse appreciates Senator Becker’s dedication to protecting the privacy and security of all Californians by authoring SB 362. We thank the Senate for passing the bill today and look forward to continuing our efforts as we head into the Assembly,” said Meghan Land, Executive Director of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and sponsor of SB 362.
Data brokers collect, analyze, and sell personal information about consumers, aggregating data from public records, social media platforms, online transactions, and much more to create detailed profiles on millions of people. Data brokers have to register with the California Attorney General, but they don’t have to report what kinds of information they collect and sell. Under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), you have a right to require a data broker to delete information they collected directly from you, but you can’t require a broker to delete information they may have acquired about you from other sources.
Under SB 362:
- Data brokers would have to register with the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) and disclose the types of personal information they collect.
- The CPPA would create a simple way for Californians to direct all data brokers to delete their personal information, free of charge.
- Data brokers that fail to adhere to the law would face civil penalties and administrative fines set by the Attorney General and the CPPA.
SB 362 will be heard in an Assembly Policy Committee in June, 2023.
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First elected in 2020, Senator Becker represents the 13th Senate District covering portions of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties and includes the cities of Atherton, Belmont, Half Moon Bay, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Menlo Park, Millbrae, Mountain View, Pacifica, Palo Alto, Redwood City, San Bruno, San Carlos, San Mateo, South San Francisco, and Woodside.