California’s DROP Privacy Law—and Why It’s a Win for Everyone

If you live in California and care about your privacy, there’s a new tool on the scene: the Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform (DROP). DROP is a free, centralized way to submit opt-out requests to hundreds of registered data brokers—similar in spirit to the Do Not Call Registry.

This is a meaningful step forward.

But history tells us something important: registries and laws create rights; they don’t enforce themselves.

When the Do Not Call Registry launched, it didn’t magically stop spam calls. Enforcement took time, workarounds emerged, and bad actors adapted. The same will be true here.

That’s why DROP is most powerful when paired with DeleteMe.

Laws Create Leverage. DeleteMe Delivers Results.

Since founding DeleteMe in 2010, we’ve believed in—and helped shape—the combination that actually works: strong regulation plus expert, ongoing privacy protection.

Laws alone rarely stop data brokers from collecting, republishing, and reselling personal information. The data economy is too fragmented, too fast-moving, and too motivated by profit.

DeleteMe exists to do what laws can’t:

• Track where your data spreads after opt-outs
• Identify brokers that ignore or evade compliance
• Submit custom, persistent removal requests
• Continuously monitor and re-remove your data as it resurfaces

That’s not theoretical. It’s what we do every day.

Why Data Brokers Don’t Want You to Use Either

The companies that profit from your personal information benefit when privacy feels confusing, overwhelming, or futile. They win when people give up.

Using DROP asserts your rights.
Using DeleteMe enforces them.

Don’t let data brokers off the hook.

So What Should You Do?

Use every tool available.

The data broker ecosystem is complex and constantly changing. Your personal information moves across hundreds of sites, gets scraped, repackaged, and re-published—often within weeks.

Effective privacy protection requires layers:

• Regulation establishes baseline rights
• DeleteMe delivers continuous, real-world enforcement

The Bottom Line

You don’t have to accept that your personal information is someone else’s business model.

DROP is progress.
DeleteMe is protection.

Use both—and take back control of your personal data.