New free California privacy tool lets residents delete personal information
WELCOME BACK. EVERY DAY, COMPANIES COLLECT AND SELL PERSONAL DATA ABOUT CONSUMERS ONLINE. BUT NOW THE CALIFORNIA PRIVACY PROTECTION AGENCY IS GIVING RESIDENTS A NEW WAY TO TAKE CONTROL OF THAT INFORMATION. IT’S CALLED THE DELETE REQUEST AND OPT OUT PLATFORM OR DROP. SO YOU’RE TAKING SOME TAKING A LOOK AT SOME VIDEO HERE OF THEIR BOOTHS THAT THEY’VE BEEN SET UP. THIS IS CAL PRIVACY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR TOM KEMP. SO TOM, WE WERE TALKING A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THIS. THIS IS A FIRST OF ITS KIND TOOL IN CALIFORNIA FOR CALIFORNIANS. EXPLAIN HOW IT WORKS. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. WELL, THANKS FOR HAVING ME. SO THE DELETE REQUEST AND OPT OUT PLATFORM OR DROP IS A FREE TOOL AVAILABLE TO CALIFORNIANS. AND IT GIVES CALIFORNIANS THE ABILITY TO BASICALLY HAVE A SINGLE CLICK MECHANISM TO GET THEIR DATA DELETED FROM DATA BROKERS. NOW, DATA BROKERS ARE THESE COMPANIES THAT WE DON’T HAVE A DIRECT RELATIONSHIP WITH THAT COLLECT AND SELL OUR INFORMATION TO BASICALLY ANYONE WITH A CREDIT CARD. SO THIS IS A WAY FOR CALIFORNIANS TO GET BETTER CONTROL AND REDUCE THEIR DIGITAL FOOTPRINT THAT’S OUT THERE ABOUT THEM. AND TALK ABOUT THE HOW IT’S BEING PAID FOR. SO AGAIN, YOU SAID IT’S FREE FOR CALIFORNIANS, BUT HOW IS THE PLATFORM BEING PAID FOR? YEAH, THE DROP SYSTEM IS FUNDED BY DATA BROKERS THAT PAY A REGISTRATION FEE. AND SO THERE’S NO COST TO THE TAXPAYERS FOR THIS. AND THE SYSTEM IS AVAILABLE AS OF JANUARY 1ST OF THIS YEAR. AND STARTING IN AUGUST, THE DATA BROKERS WILL CONNECT INTO THE SYSTEM AND BEGIN THE DELETION OF OUR PERSONAL INFORMATION BASED ON THE REGISTRATIONS OF CALIFORNIANS INTO THE SYSTEM. AND SO YOU SAID IT’S A ONE CLICK PROCESS, BUT WHAT WAS THE SYSTEM TO DELETE YOUR DATA BEFORE NOW? SEE, THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM IS THERE’S JUST HUNDREDS OF COMPANIES THAT COLLECT AND SELL OUR INFORMATION WITHOUT US KNOWING ABOUT IT. AND FOR US TO ACTUALLY HAVE TO CONTACT EACH AND EVERY ONE, IT MAY TAKE, SAY, TEN, 15 MINUTES TO REACH OUT TO THESE COMPANIES. AND YOU KIND OF GO BACK AND FORTH AND THEN MULTIPLY THAT BY 500 PLUS DATA BROKERS. THAT COULD TAKE TEN FULL DAYS. BUT WITH THE DROP SYSTEM, YOU SIMPLY JUST SPEND ABOUT 5 OR 6 MINUTES, VALIDATE THAT YOUR CALIFORNIA PUT SOME BASIC PERSONAL INFORMATION, HIT THE SUBMIT BUTTON. AND THEN IN AUGUST, THE DATA BROKERS WILL CONNECT IN AND BEGIN DELETING ALL YOUR INFORMATION. SO IT’S KIND OF A SINGLE CLICK MECHANISM AS OPPOSED TO HAVING TO MANUALLY CONTACT ALL THESE COMPANIES. YOU KNOW, I HAVE TO ASK THIS THOUGH. HOW CAN PEOPLE BE SURE THAT THE INFORMATION THEY’RE PUTTING INTO THE SYSTEM IS ALSO PROTECTED? I MEAN, AGAIN, YOU’RE SAYING THEY HAVE TO VERIFY, WHICH MEANS THERE’S SOME PERSONAL INFORMATION THAT PEOPLE HAVE TO SUBMIT TO THE STATE. HOW CAN YOU ENSURE THAT THAT INFORMATION WILL BE PROTECTED? WELL, FIRST OF ALL, YOU JUST HAVE TO PUT SOME BASIC INFORMATION IN. SO IT’S NOT THE FULL SET OF INFORMATION ABOUT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US. BUT ONCE YOU PUT THE INFORMATION IN AND HIT THE SUBMIT BUTTON, IT’S ACTUALLY STORED IN A SECURE, ENCRYPTED MANNER. AND THEN WHAT THE DATA BROKER IS STARTING IN AUGUST, THEY WILL ACTUALLY ENCRYPT THEIR DATA AND THEN MATCH THEIR DATA TO THE DATA THAT’S IN THE DROP SYSTEM. AND ONLY IF THERE’S A MATCH, THEN THEY’LL ACTUALLY DELETE THE INFORMATION. SO THEY DON’T KNOW WHO ACTUALLY SO IT IS VERY SECURE SYSTEM THAT WE’VE PUT IN PLACE HERE. AND HOW DO YOU ENSURE THAT ALL THE DATA BROKERS WILL BE DOING THAT IN AUGUST? WELL, WE’VE DONE A GREAT JOB OF GETTING ALL THESE DATA BROKERS TO REGISTER. AS I SAID BEFORE, THERE’S CLOSE TO 600 DATA BROKERS THAT HAVE ACTUALLY REGISTERED IN THE SYSTEM. BUT IF THEY DON’T ACTUALLY FOLLOW THROUGH ON THE DELETIONS, THE FINES ARE IMMENSE. IT IS $200 PER DAY PER CALIFORNIAN THAT’S IN THE SYSTEM. SO WE’RE TALKING FINES. THAT COULD BE 4050 $60 MILLION A DAY. AND THE CAL PRIVACY AGENCY THAT I’M WITH IS THE ACTUAL ENFORCER OF THAT AS WELL. AND SO WE WILL BE VERY AGGRESSIVE TO ENSURE THAT CALIFORNIANS DO HAVE THEIR DATA DELETED FROM THESE ENTITIES. AND GIVE ME THE WEBSITE. I KNOW WE’VE HAD IT UP HERE. THIS WEBSITE, PRIVACY.CA.GOV/DROP. THAT’S WHERE PEOPLE CAN GO RIGHT NOW AND INPUT THEIR DATA AND VERIFY THAT THEIR CALIFORNIAN TO BE ABLE TO BE ON THIS LIST. RIGHT? ABSOLUTELY. SO PRIVACY.CA.GOV/DROP. AND AGAIN, IT ONLY TAKES A FEW MINUTES. AND COMPARE THAT TO MAYBE SPENDING TEN PLUS DAYS OF HAVING TO REACH OUT TO ALL THESE COMPANIES. SO THIS REALLY REPRESENTS THE FIRST WAY THAT CALIFORNIANS CAN REALLY TAKE CONTROL OVER THEIR PERSONAL INFORMATION. WHO SELLS IT AND GETTING IT DELETED FROM COMPANIES THAT YOU MAY NOT WANT TO BE SELLING YOUR INFORMATION. AND I KNOW CAL PRIVACY HAS DONE A ROAD SHOW. YOU STARTED A ROAD SHOW TO TELL PEOPLE ABOUT THIS IN THE STATE, AND THERE’S ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY COMING UP. I THINK IT’S TOMORROW FOR PEOPLE TO LEARN MORE. RIGHT. TELL ME ABOUT THAT. YEAH, ABSOLUTELY. SO WE’RE GOING TO BE AT THE JUNETEENTH RUN RIGHT THERE. AND SO WE FEEL REALLY GOOD ABOUT GETTING THE WORD OUT AND JUST EDUCATING TO CALIFORNIANS THAT NOW THERE FINALLY IS A TOOL THAT’S FREE. YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR IT, THAT THAT CAN ENABLE MASS DELETION OF THESE COMPANIES. AND WHAT WILL RESULT IN IS A SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN TEXTS, SPAMS, EMAIL SPAMS, AND MAKE YOU MORE SECURE FROM AN IDENTITY THEFT AND IDENTITY FRAUD. BECAUSE WHAT WE’RE SEEING IS A LOT OF THESE HACKERS ARE LEVERAGING THE DATA THAT DATA BROKERS HAVE ON EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US A
New free California privacy tool lets residents delete personal information
Updated: 10:57 AM PDT Jun 19, 2026
The California Privacy Protection Agency is spreading the word about DROP, a free online tool that allows Californians to request the deletion of their personal information from all registered data brokers with a single request.Data brokers collect and sell consumer information, which can include contact details, location data and other personal information. State officials say using DROP can help reduce spam, scam messages, identity theft risks and exposure from data breaches.Residents can sign up for DROP here by verifying their California residency, creating a profile and submitting a request. Then, starting Aug. 1, registered data brokers will be required to begin processing requests and delete consumer data every 45 days.To learn more about how DROP works, agency representatives will attend the Greater Sacramento Urban League’s Juneteenth Celebration 4K Run from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday at 3800 W. Land Park Drive in Sacramento.CalPrivacy’s Executive Director, Tom Kemp, joined KCRA 3 on Friday morning.Click the video above to watch the full interview.See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
The California Privacy Protection Agency is spreading the word about DROP, a free online tool that allows Californians to request the deletion of their personal information from all registered data brokers with a single request.
Data brokers collect and sell consumer information, which can include contact details, location data and other personal information.
State officials say using DROP can help reduce spam, scam messages, identity theft risks and exposure from data breaches.
Residents can sign up for DROP here by verifying their California residency, creating a profile and submitting a request.
Then, starting Aug. 1, registered data brokers will be required to begin processing requests and delete consumer data every 45 days.
To learn more about how DROP works, agency representatives will attend the Greater Sacramento Urban League’s Juneteenth Celebration 4K Run from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. Saturday at 3800 W. Land Park Drive in Sacramento.
CalPrivacy’s Executive Director, Tom Kemp, joined KCRA 3 on Friday morning.
Click the video above to watch the full interview.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel | Make KCRA a preferred news source in Google