SB 362 Will Let Californians Take Control of Their Personal Information and Require Data Brokers to Delete Our Data upon Request
Sacramento, CA – Today, the California State Assembly Appropriations Committee voted to advance to the Assembly Floor Senate Bill No. 362, also known as The DELETE Act, authored by Senator Josh Becker (D-San Mateo). SB 362 would create a one-stop-shop website to 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, maintain and sell information on them.
“Today’s vote by the Assembly Appropriations Committee signals that California is taking seriously the need to empower consumers to control their own personal data from unknown third party data brokers,” said Senator Becker. “The time of uncontrolled gambling with our personal information is almost over. Data brokers currently have the ability to use data on reproductive healthcare, geolocation, and purchasing data to sell it to the highest bidder, and the DELETE Act would protect our most sensitive information.”
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.
SB 362 has a simple premise:
- 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 CPPA.
The bill heads to the Assembly Floor for a vote and must be passed by September 14.