Privacy News Why the California Delete Act Matters

[vtqhtr413]

Content source

https://www.darkreading.com/endpoint/why-the-california-delete-act-matters

A new California privacy bill should make it easier for residents to take their personally identifiable information (PII) off data brokers. But Californians won't be the only ones to benefit if the California Delete Act (Senate Bill 362) passes. Like other tech developments, where California goes, the rest of the nation tends to follow. Bill 362 provides a perfect template for a nationwide win against data brokers and the dangerous privacy infringements they cause.


One of the largest sources of online exposure (i.e., how your phone number pops up when someone Googles you), data brokers are companies that aggregate information about consumers. They, mostly legally, take this data from various different sources (public records, credit card transactions, social media, etc.) and then sell it to third parties.

Data brokers rarely vet their customers. As a result, anyone — from marketers and law enforcement agencies to cybercriminals — can get their hands on our personal information, such as contact details, family information, sexuality, reproductive health, and even geolocation. We know that criminal groups use data brokers for reconnaissance and targeted phishing emails.

If Senate Bill 362 passes (which looks likely), it could trigger a sequence of state copycat laws. Get enough of these over the line, and a federal data broker opt-out process will likely follow.

 

[vtqhtr413]

The California State Legislature passed Senate Bill 362, the Delete Act, which is designed to streamline consumers' ability to request the deletion of their personal information collected by data brokers. The proposal originally passed the California Senate 31 May before receiving approval with amendments from the Assembly 13 Sept. The bill cleared the legislature with Senate concurrence on 14 Sept., the final day of the 2023 legislative session.

The bill now awaits the signature of Gov. Gavin Newsom, D-Calif., though he reportedly has given no indication whether he will sign the bill, according to CBS News. Newsom has until 14 Oct. to sign the bill. California Privacy Protection Agency Executive Director Ashkan Soltani said he anticipates Newsom to sign the bill. Should it become law, the Delete Act would empower the CPPA to develop a system by 2026 that allows residents to make a single data deletion request across the nearly 500 registered data brokers operating in the state.

The CPPA would also be charged with enforcing provisions of the Delete Act, such as requiring data broker registration and ensuring brokers delete an individual's personal information every 45 days upon receipt of a verified request.

California Legislature passes Delete Act regulating data brokers

The California legislature passed the Delete Act, which is designed to streamline consumers’ ability to request the deletion of their personal information.

iapp.org

 

[vtqhtr413]

Kochava, the self-proclaimed industry leader in mobile app data analytics, is locked in a legal battle with the Federal Trade Commission in a case that could lead to big changes in the global data marketplace and in Congress’ approach to artificial intelligence and data privacy.

The stakes are high because Kochava’s secretive data acquisition and AI-aided analytics practices are commonplace in the global location data market. In addition to numerous lesser-known data brokers, the mobile data market includes larger players like Foursquare and data market exchanges like Amazon’s AWS Data Exchange.

The FTC’s recently unsealed amended complaint against Kochava makes clear that there’s truth to what Kochava advertises: it can provide data for “Any Channel, Any Device, Any Audience,” and buyers can “Measure Everything with Kochava.”

Data brokers know everything about you – what FTC case against ad tech giant Kochava reveals

It’s no surprise that corporations harvest vast amounts of data about people, but documents in an FTC lawsuit detail the stunning amount that data brokers know about you and everyone else.

theconversation.com

 

[vtqhtr413]

The National Security Agency (NSA) has admitted to buying records from data brokers detailing which websites and apps Americans use, US Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) revealed Thursday.

This news follows Wyden's push last year that forced the FBI to admit that it was also buying Americans' sensitive data. Now, the senator is calling on all intelligence agencies to "stop buying personal data from Americans that has been obtained illegally by data brokers."

"The US government should not be funding and legitimizing a shady industry whose flagrant violations of Americans' privacy are not just unethical but illegal," Wyden said in a letter to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Avril Haines. “To that end, I request that you adopt a policy that, going forward," intelligence agencies "may only purchase data about Americans that meets the standard for legal data sales established by the FTC.”

NSA finally admits to spying on Americans by purchasing sensitive data

Violating Americans’ privacy "not just unethical but illegal," senator says.

arstechnica.com

 

[Jonny Quest]

Thank you @vtqhtr413 for keeping up to date with this thread. This is now on my Watched thread list, to help keep track of where all of this is heading.

 

[vtqhtr413]

Thank you @vtqhtr413 for keeping up to date with this thread. This is now on my Watched thread list, to help keep track of where all of this is heading.

These are the kind of stories that can easily be missed but are so important to us all. Thanks Jonny

 

[vtqhtr413]

Data brokers and other companies peddling Americans’ personal information to hostile countries such as Russia and China are now in the crosshairs of the Biden administration, which on Wednesday will issue an unprecedented executive order limiting such transfers of Americans’ most sensitive personal data.

The order seeks to protect Americans’ data from being exploited by adversarial countries and entities tied to them — China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba — for use in blackmail, fraud, surveillance and other violations. Under the order, the Justice Department will be able to bar what the administration referred to as the “large-scale” transfer of Americans’ private data.

The focus is on genomic, biometric, personal health, geolocation and financial data, which a senior administration official told reporters is already being used for “malicious cyber-enabled activities,” espionage and blackmail, with military members, national security officials, journalists and dissidents among the most vulnerable.

Biden order will limit how much data can be sold to Russia and China

The White House wants to protect Americans’ data from being exploited by adversarial countries — Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Venezuela and Cuba — for use in blackmail, fraud, surveillance and other violations.

therecord.media

 

[vtqhtr413]

Digital Surveillance is good?​

Intro
In the modern era of technological advancement, the concept of surveillance, particularly through the sharing of private information with large technology companies, has emerged as a contentious topic. However, when explored from a nuanced perspective, this phenomenon can be understood as more than a simple intrusion of privacy. It represents a complex, reciprocal relationship between consumers and data custodians.

This is not an advocacy for indiscriminate surveillance or the accrual of points based on perceived personality traits. Instead, it's an acknowledgment of a potential future where the relationship between individuals and corporations mirrors that of mutual benefit, akin to the dynamics of personal relationships.

Consider the scenario where an individual seeks to enhance their engagement with a company, because the company secures one due to the value he's providing, perhaps by increasing their patronage. In such instances, it becomes advantageous for the company to gain a deeper understanding of its customer. This is where the concept of surveillance, reimagined as an intimate knowledge-sharing process, finds its merit.

Digital Surveillance is good?

Intro In the modern era of technological advancement, the concept of surveillance, particularly...

dev.to

 

[vtqhtr413]

A bill that would bar data brokers from selling Americans’ sensitive data to foreign adversaries like China, as well as to the companies under their thumb, passed the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously on Wednesday.

Along with companion legislation that would require TikTok to divest from its Chinese ownership or effectively be blocked from operating in the U.S., the data privacy bill advanced out of the House Energy and Commerce Committee on March 7. The movement from committee passage to House vote moved at lightning speed compared to the typical pace for Congressional votes.

“Today’s overwhelming vote sends a clear message that we will not allow our adversaries to undermine American national security and individual privacy by purchasing people’s personally identifiable sensitive information from data brokers,” House Energy and Commerce Committee leaders Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA) and Frank Pallone (D-NJ) said in a joint statement.

House unanimously passes bill to block data brokers from selling Americans’ info to foreign adversaries

A bill that would bar data brokers from selling Americans’ sensitive data to foreign adversaries like China, as well as to the companies under their thumb, passed the U.S. House of Representatives unanimously on Wednesday.

therecord.media