US Edition
Data Brokers Just Gave Us Another Reason to Hate Them
Eight of nine data brokers removed code hiding opt-out pages from Google, improving consumer access to privacy rights under California law, The Markup and CalMatters reported.
- The Markup and CalMatters confirmed on July 31 that eight of nine data brokers removed code hiding their opt-out pages from search engines.
- This issue arose because some data brokers deliberately or accidentally used code to prevent search engines from indexing privacy or deletion instruction pages.
- These companies included small, hard-to-find links on their homepages, creating significant hurdles for consumers seeking to delete personal data under California law.
- Policy analyst Matthew Schwartz described this as a 'clever work-around' that undermines privacy rights by making opt-out pages difficult to locate despite legal requirements.
- The removals highlight ongoing enforcement challenges as California strengthens data privacy with measures like the Consumer Privacy Act and the forthcoming Delete Act.
17 Articles
17 Articles
Data brokers just gave us another reason to hate them
If you were holding a competition for the scummiest business model, then data brokers would be very high up the list. These companies make money by buying personal data from app and website owners and selling it to companies who want to spam us. A US Senator has now drawn attention to the latest sketchy practice by these companies: making it harder for us to opt out by hiding that option from search results … more…
Cal Matters
You have a right to delete your data. Some companies are making it extra difficult
Dozens of companies are hiding how to delete your personal data — instructions required under California law, CalMatters and The Markup found
Data Brokers Face New Pressure For Hiding Opt-Out Pages From Google - Cybernoz - Cybersecurity News
United States senator Maggie Hassan is pressing major data brokers after an investigation by The Markup/CalMatters and copublished by WIRED found at least 35 firms hid opt-out information from search results, making it harder for people to take control of their own data and safeguard their privacy online. Hassan, the top Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee, put five of the top firms—IQVIA Digital, Comscore, Telesign Corporation, 6sense Insi…
Cal Matters: Data companies found hiding mandatory privacy pages | ResearchBuzz: Firehose
Cal Matters: Data companies found hiding mandatory privacy pages. “As CalMatters and The Markup’s Colin Lecher and Tomas Apodaca explain, California requires companies that make most of their money from selling consumer data to provide customers a way to request their data be deleted. But among the state’s most recent database of nearly 500 data brokers, Colin and Tomas found that 35 companies had code that hid their deletion instructions from s…
Why some companies are making it extra difficult to delete your data
By Colin Lecher and Tomas Apodaca, CalMatters Data brokers are required by California law to provide ways for consumers to request their data be deleted. But good luck finding them. More than 30 of the companies, which collect and sell consumers’ personal information, hid their deletion instructions from Google, according to a review by The Markup and CalMatters of hundreds of broker websites. This creates one more obstacle for consumers who wan…
Coverage Details
Bias Distribution
- 67% of the sources lean Left
Factuality
To view factuality data please Upgrade to Premium
