By Mary O’KEEFE

When the internet was new I would feed it so much information just to get back a little bit of information. But as the internet began to take over our lives a situation arose we have been slow to realize – in fact, we now think it is a natural thing. We need to put less and less into a search to get back an amazing amount of information. Sometimes I get information I never asked for but there it is on the search engine waiting for me. 

For a while I was getting information (and advertising) that was geared for young parents but then the AI/internet partnership powers realized their mistake and I began getting advertising better suited for a grandma.

If you are a science fiction lover like me, this type of “Big Brother” of knowledge is frightening. In fact, I find it difficult to think of any sci-fi story that doesn’t have a connection to having the masses being monitored in one way or another. 

Our political leaders have been agreeing with many who have said this monitoring is out of control; however, not a lot has been done about it. Our inner thoughts are being found, researched and then marketed to all in a matter of minutes. AI even suggests ways to write or text. 

I think the line between our privacy and information-gathering by marketing firms is more blurred – and I am not alone. 

“Under the Supreme Court’s existing Fourth Amendment doctrines, an individual generally loses a reasonable expectation of privacy in information when that individual exposes the information to others. This is because the Court says that individual has assumed the risk that the information may be used against them in any way. These doctrines presume that an individual is, at least theoretically, aware of the ways the information can be used against them when they expose it. This presumption makes sense if the timespans between when the information is exposed, when it is collected and when it is used are short – days, weeks, and months, for example. However, if exposure, collection and use are spread out over longer intervals – years or decades – new technologies can fundamentally alter expectations about the ways information can be used, undermining the presumption,” according to the American University Law Review. 

Many of you may have heard this week about a new privacy tool offered to Californians. 

California has become the first state in the nation to offer a privacy tool for residents of the state. As of Jan. 1 of this year, Californians can tell data brokers to stop selling their personal information through an online platform titled DROP (Delete Request and Opt-out Platform). This is part of the Delete Act that was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023. 

“Data brokers quietly work to collect, combine, analyze, trade and sell personal information, usually without a person’s knowledge or explicit consent, creating risks for fraud and other nefarious outcomes. As of Jan. 1, Californians can submit a single deletion request to registered data brokers through DROP. DROP quickly verifies the user’s California residency and then transmits the deletion request to the data brokers. Under the Delete Act, data brokers must start processing deletion requests Aug. 1, 2026,” according to the governor’s office.  

I suggest you check out this DROP tool. Go to https://privacy.ca.gov/drop and read the information provided. 

“DROP gives you more control over your data. You can tell data brokers to delete and not sell your personal information,” according to the DROP website. 

When people click “Sign Up” they will have to verify that they are a California resident. They will have to provide personal information, like name, date of birth and email – how much information is provided is up to them. Data brokers are required to process deletion requests at least once every 45 days beginning on Aug. 1 of this year. 

“Your submission of personal information through DROP is governed by CalPrivacy’s Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference,” according to the website. 

As with anything, it is important the fine print is read and researched before a person signs up or agrees to anything. 

The one area that caused me to pause was this:

“DROP may contain links to other websites and access to content and services of third parties, including verification services provided by our contracted vendors (Third-Party Content). We exercise no control over such Third-Party Content and the Third-Party Content is governed by the respective third party’s website terms and conditions. We are not responsible for Third-Party Content’s accuracy, completeness or legality. By using DROP, you acknowledge and agree that your use of any Third-Party Content is at your own risk. We shall not be liable for any damages arising from your reliance on or use of such Third-Party Content.”

This was part of the “agreement” that needs to be signed to move forward with DROP.  I am going to reach out to the DROP office to find out exactly what this means. I do not want to swap one peeping internet for another. 

I will follow up next week with what I find. 

For our weather, we will be seeing temperatures rise starting today, Thursday, through Saturday with highs in the 80s, which is well above the norm of 68 degrees. On Sunday we will dip down to the mid 70s, still above our normal temperature for this time of year. We will continue with temperatures in the 70s, but will start going back up to the 80s next week, according to NOAA.

“We are seeing a pretty warm pattern,” a NOAA meteorologist said. “We see no rain in the forecast through the first 10 days of February.”