Blue Data Law's plain-English guide to the digital rights Californians can actually use.

Victoria: Here's a creepy fact most people never think about. There are companies you've never heard of, never signed up with, and never spoken to — and they have your name, address, phone, family details, shopping habits, maybe your location history — all packaged up and sold. They're called data brokers. California now keeps an official registry of them, and brokers who fail to register face fines of $200 per day. So the state knows who these companies are. The question is: can you make them delete you?

Michael, Esq.: As of this year, yes — and in a way no other state has matched. The law is the California Delete Act, Senate Bill 362, signed by Governor Newsom on October 10, 2023. It amended and added sections of the California Civil Code starting at § 1798.99.80. The Delete Act does something genuinely new: instead of forcing you to chase down hundreds of data brokers one at a time, it directs the California Privacy Protection Agency — the CPPA, sometimes branded "CalPrivacy" — to build a single, one-stop deletion tool.

Victoria: One request, all the brokers. What's it called?

Michael, Esq.: DROP — the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform. You make one verified request through DROP, and every data broker registered with the state is required to find your information, delete it, and stop selling it. You don't have to know who they are. You don't have to fill out hundreds of forms. The platform pushes your single request out to all of them.

Victoria: That sounds almost too good. Is it actually live, or is this one of those "coming soon" laws?

Michael, Esq.: It's real, and the rollout has two key dates — both important, and both in 2026. First: DROP became available to consumers on January 1, 2026. The regulations implementing it took effect the same day. So you can go register and submit your deletion request right now. Second — and this is the one to mark on your calendar — data brokers are required to begin honoring deletion requests through DROP starting August 1, 2026.

Victoria: So between now and August 1, I can file the request, but brokers don't have to act on it yet?

Michael, Esq.: That's the honest framing. The consumer-facing portal is open now, January 1, 2026. The hard obligation on brokers to process and honor those requests kicks in August 1, 2026. After that, brokers must check the DROP platform at least once every 45 days and delete the personal information of every consumer who's submitted a request — on an ongoing basis. So filing early means you're in the queue the moment the obligation goes live.

Victoria: Let me back up to the brokers themselves. How does the state even know who they are?

Michael, Esq.: Through mandatory registration. Under the Delete Act, any business that qualifies as a data broker must register with the CPPA every year. The deadline is January 31 annually, and there's a registration fee. The Delete Act moved this registry from the Attorney General's office to the CPPA and expanded what brokers must disclose. A "data broker," by the way, is defined in Civil Code § 1798.99.80 as a business that knowingly collects and sells to third parties the personal information of a consumer with whom the business does not have a direct relationship. That last part is the key — these are companies you never dealt with directly.

Victoria: And if they don't register?

Michael, Esq.: $200 per day in penalties for failing to register on time, plus administrative fines. The CPPA has stood up a dedicated Data Broker Enforcement Strike Force to go after non-compliant brokers. The state is taking this seriously.

Victoria: Where does this fit with the privacy laws people have already heard of — the CCPA, CPRA?

Michael, Esq.: The Delete Act builds on both, and it fills a real gap. The CCPA (the California Consumer Privacy Act) and the CPRA (which strengthened it) already give you the right to ask a business to delete personal information it collected from you directly. But that only works when you know who has your data and had a relationship with them. Data brokers are exactly the companies you never dealt with — so the old "go ask each company yourself" model broke down. The Delete Act's DROP platform closes that gap: it lets you reach the brokers you'd never be able to find on your own, through one centralized request.

Victoria: So CCPA/CPRA is "delete what I gave you," and the Delete Act is "delete what brokers scraped about me from everywhere else."

Michael, Esq.: That's a clean way to say it. They stack. You still have your CCPA/CPRA rights against businesses you deal with directly, and now you have DROP for the broker ecosystem behind the curtain.

Victoria: The honest limits — what does this not do?

Michael, Esq.: A few things. One: DROP reaches registered data brokers. It is not a magic erase button for the entire internet — it doesn't delete your social media, your bank, or businesses you have a direct relationship with (those fall under CCPA/CPRA and their own processes). Two: there are lawful exceptions — brokers can retain certain information where the law requires or permits it (for example, certain legal, security, or compliance purposes). Three: timing. The portal is open now, but the enforceable deletion obligation starts August 1, 2026, and deletion is ongoing rather than instantaneous. Patience and follow-through matter.

Victoria: Okay — can you actually use it? Walk me through the real steps.

Michael, Esq.: Step one: go to the CPPA / CalPrivacy DROP portal and create a verified request. The official information lives at cppa.ca.gov and privacy.ca.gov. You'll verify your identity so brokers delete the right person. Step two: submit your single deletion request — that one request fans out to all registered brokers. Step three: know the dates. The portal is live as of January 1, 2026; brokers must honor requests beginning August 1, 2026 and must check the platform at least every 45 days thereafter. Step four: if a broker that's required to comply ignores a valid request after the obligation date, that's an enforcement matter for the CPPA — and potentially the kind of pattern worth bringing to a lawyer.

Victoria: And what should someone do today?

Michael, Esq.: Don't wait for August. File your DROP request now, while the portal is open, so you're in the system when the obligation goes live. Keep a record — screenshot your confirmation, note the date you filed. Separately, exercise your CCPA/CPRA deletion rights with the companies you do deal with directly. And if you're someone with a real safety concern — a stalking victim, a domestic-violence survivor, anyone trying to get their address off the market — getting into DROP early is one of the most concrete privacy steps available in California right now.

Victoria: If brokers are profiting off your private information and you want help getting it deleted — or you've hit a wall with a company that's ignoring your rights — Blue Data Law works in California's privacy and data-rights space. Free consultation: (707) 362-4166.

Sources: - CPPA — About DROP and the Delete Act — https://privacy.ca.gov/drop/about-drop-and-the-delete-act/ - CPPA — DROP System Requirements / regulations — https://cppa.ca.gov/regulations/drop.html - CPPA — Information for Data Brokers — https://cppa.ca.gov/data_brokers/ - SB 362 (Delete Act) full text — https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202320240SB362 - CPPA — Data Broker Registration Enforcement Advisory (Dec 2025) — https://cppa.ca.gov/announcements/2025/20251217.html

Attorney Advertising. Blue Data Law is a brand of the law practice of Michael Benavides, Esq. (State Bar of California #270714). "Victoria" is an editorial brand voice and narrative persona — not an attorney — and does not provide legal advice; all legal analysis is provided by Michael Benavides, Esq. This article is general information only, is not legal advice, and does not create an attorney–client relationship. Laws change and some statutes referenced may be subject to litigation; verify current status before relying on them. Serving Sacramento and Northern California. Free consultation: (707) 362-4166.