Californians often get ungrounded calls, texts, and emails with deceptive information and harmful links that can lead to identity theft or even identity theft.

If you've ever wondered how these organizations, known as "data brokers," get hold of your personal information to contact you, it's that, frequently, when you use or purchase products online or submit applications online, you are instantly authorizing various websites to market your data to intermediaries. You may be authorizing the price of your data by accepting the terms of use from time to time.

California has created the Delete and Request Opt-out Platform ( DROP) through the Privacy Protection Agency ( CalPrivacy ), which enables state residents to request a one-time request that their personal information not be shared with third parties.

Your telephone number, email address, social security number, seek history, and other personal data may be among the data that these companies may gather.

Californians can submit a single request to more than 500 data brokers to delete and stop selling and sharing our personal information through DROP, according to CalPrivacy spokesperson Ana Cubas during a virtual forum hosted by the Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications ( OCPSC), in which the use of this tool was explained.

Do not Delete, discard, or done

California residents can then sign up for the DROP programme, which mandates that all personal information submitted by applicants must be deleted as soon as August 1 for businesses that sell this data.

Ventura native Simón Quiroz shared that he has already submitted his demand to prevent having his information offered to third parties.

Simón said," They are calling and calling and you want to concentrate on doing your job or being with the people you love. This stress also affects mental health because you can't rely on what you are doing," adding that one of the factors that drove him to sign up for DROP was the fear of falling into the hands of scammers.

The scammers and devil agents who have all our knowledge are the biggest problem for me because they pose a danger to my personal integrity and privacy, he added, and it's crucial for me to feel calm.

Cubas agreed that this tool is very useful to reduce the risks related to identity theft and scams.

“DROP is a free tool created by the CalPrivacy agency to protect our information and thus eliminate fraud and illegal use of our identity.”

Millionaire industry in the crosshairs of the law

Data brokers generate billions of dollars in the United States from the buying and selling of personal information and it is presumed that there are at least 500 companies that do this around the world.

DROP is based on a law passed in 2023, known as the Delete Act, legislation that regulates the functions of the sale of personal data.

“This law is a response to the risks posed by data brokers, who are the ones who buy and sell our information, but now we have the opportunity to have more control over how our information is collected and sold,” said Cubas.

Starting August 1, all Californians who register with DROP can rest assured that their personal information, by law, must be removed from these companies' databases, otherwise they can file a complaint with the California Privacy Office.

Even under the Delete Act, companies that do not comply with the law can be fined.

“The promise is very encouraging, and when I signed up I thought it was going to take a long time, but no, nothing to see, it took me five minutes maximum, everything very secure and easy to use,” said Simón, who looks forward to starting in August, unwanted calls, texts and emails will no longer be a problem.

Fast and secure

California residents interested in submitting their DROP request can do so at privacy.ca.gov. This data deletion platform is valid for life. You only need to verify your residence and provide basic information such as full name and email.

“This information is never sold or shared, it is only used to process this deletion request, DROP uses security and encryption tools to ensure that the data is protected,” said Cubas.

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