For consumers who want their personal data scrubbed from data brokering companies, removing your information isn’t always clear cut — despite a state law that aims to assist with just that.
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 showing up in Google searches.
Telesign, for example, which advertises fraud-prevention services for businesses, buried the link to its “Data Deletion” and “Opt Out / Do Not Sell” form about 7,000 words deep into its legalese-ridden privacy policy. This form is also hidden from search engines and isn’t linked on its homepage.
To help Californians protect their privacy, lawmakers in 2023 passed the Delete Act, which established the creation of the “Delete Request and Opt-out Platform.” Beginning 2026, DROP will enable consumers to send a single request to data brokers on the registry for their data to be deleted.
Speaking of tech: Last week Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a partnership between some of the tech industry’s top companies and California’s community college system.
As artificial intelligence usage proliferates, AI training has become vital to remain competitive in the tech job market. Google, Microsoft, Adobe and IBM plan to work with the state’s community colleges to roll out AI training for teachers and provide students exclusive versions of some of their AI technology.
One concern among some education experts, however, is whether educators could lose control over how AI is used in their classrooms. Read more from CalMatters’ Adam Echelman.
CalMatters events: Join us on Sept. 17, CalMatters’ Alejandro Lazo will moderate a panel on how California can tackle clean energy challenges as President Trump and congressional Republicans push to roll back climate policies. Speakers include Sen. Scott Wiener, CARB Chairperson Liane Randolph, and CA FWD CEO Kate Gordon. Register here to attend in person at Manny’s in San Francisco or virtually.
Other Stories You Should Know
CA may be on the hook for PG&E loan
To keep California’s last nuclear power plant running, the Newsom administration in 2022 successfully requested a $1.4 billion loan from the Legislature in 2022. But while lawmakers expected a federal award to fully cover the loan down the road, an analysis by CalMatters’ Malena Carollo found that nearly half may not get repaid.
Diablo Canyon is run by Pacific Gas and Electric and provides roughly 8% of the state’s total energy. Though it was slated to shut down this year due to economic reasons, state regulators voted to extend its operations until 2030.
While seeking approval for the loan, Newsom’s administration said a federal program from the U.S. Department of Energy would pay for the loan. But by law, the department could only award $1.2 billion each cycle, and PG&E applied for a $1.1 billion loan that was shy of that maximum. The utility company is also unlikely to use profits from the plant to make up the difference, since PG&E said it expects its costs for the plant to exceed the loan.
CA congressmember faces constituents’ wrath
Leaders in the GOP in recent months have been discouraging Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives from hosting face-to-face forums after a series of town hall confrontations went viral earlier this year. But Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who represents parts of California’s rural north, held one anyway — and it was about as raucous as one would expect.
More than 650 people attended LaMalfa’s town hall in Chico on Monday, reports CalMatters’ Maya C. Miller. For nearly 90 minutes, the crowd interjected, booed and jeered the congressmember, slamming LaMalfa’s vote for President Donald Trump’s budget bill. The budget guts Medicaid spending by more than $1.1 trillion over the next 10 years, a move that will harm rural hospitals and people, the crowd said.
During the event, Navy veteran Ryan Rogoski told LaMalfa that he must drive three hours round-trip to see a therapist for PTSD due to the lack of mental health providers in the Chico area. Though LaMalfa acknowledged that Rogoski’s situation was unacceptable, LaMalfa blamed local Chico VA leadership for mismanagement.
Rogoski left the meeting in tears, and later told CalMatters that LaMalfa’s answer was “extremely false.”
And lastly: CA’s less talkative lawmakers 🤫
The average California legislator has talked for more than six hours since the beginning of the legislative session. But eight lawmakers stand out for being far quieter than the rest. Find out who they are from CalMatters’ Ryan Sabalow and Omar Rashad.
California Voices
CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Newsom’s proposal to redraw California’s congressional maps faces an uphill battle that could include opposition campaigns, legal battles and intervention by Trump’s U.S. Department of Justice.
The rich underground deposit of lithium near the Salton Sea presents a big opportunity for renewable energy — but infighting, regulation and litigation have stalled the potential of California’s Lithium Valley, writes Adela de la Torre, president of San Diego State University.
Other things worth your time:
Trump’s new congressional map in TX still stymied as Newsom urges president to give up // AP News
Cal State wants more housing. Can it add 18,000 beds? // EdSource
Has CA turned the page on its reading crisis? // The Mercury News
Imagine fire-safe communities where residents can live and evacuate in record time // Los Angeles Times
15 teens. 300 miles. One mighty ancestral river, running free // The Washington Post
The children facing quick deportation, alone, in SF immigration court // The San Francisco Standard
Silicon Valley lawmakers want to decriminalize homelessness // San José Spotlight
What happened when Mark Zuckerberg moved in next door // The New York Times
Newsom and UC go to battle against Trump’s UCLA sanctions // Los Angeles Times