By Mary O’KEEFE

Assemblymember Nick Schultz brought agencies together to talk about scams and how people can protect themselves from online predators. Information was also presented about online brokers that use personal information to control messages and the advertising people receive. 

“Do you remember a couple of years ago [when] we started getting those pop-up messages where you either opted in or you opted out?” asked Melissa Rosser from California Privacy Protection, aka CalPrivacy. 

She said before she started working at CalPrivacy she thought people had to “opt in” to access information from websites. 

“You don’t [have to],” she said, “so you can opt out.”

Choosing to opt out limits what a data collector can do with any data collected, like selling it or using it to track a user across the web for targeted advertising.

She admitted that it takes about an extra 15 seconds to opt out of a site and said that a lot of times while she is researching she gets tired of opting out of each site she visits; however, if people don’t want more of their information accessible to scammers it’s a good idea to opt out. They can utilize the “opt-out preference signal” or “OOPS.” 

“We call it OOPS, [and] that’s very deliberate,”  Rosser said. “It’s a way to tell every website that you visit ‘Do not sell, do not share my information’ … As you’re going around to the different websites you’re visiting and you’re doing searches it is communicating with every website that you go to [and stating] ‘Do not sell or share my information’ – and websites are required to honor that.”

People can go to the https://cppa.ca.gov/pdf/oops.pdf for more information. 

This is the first law in the nation to require web browsers to include a built-feature that allows people to tell all websites visited not to sell or share personal information – with a single option. This is due to a 2025 law called the California Opt Me Out Act — AB 566. By Jan. 1, 2027 all web browsers, whether accessed on a desktop or mobile device, must include OOPS, according to CalPrivacy. 

But people don’t have to wait until 2027 to opt out. Some browsers already support OOPS. For those that do, this is what can be done to utilize the programming methodology(or paradigm), according to CalPrivacy:

1. Look for the browser’s Settings menu. 
2. In the Settings menu, look for Privacy and Security settings. 
3. In the Privacy and Security settings, look for a selection that lets you restrict the sale and sharing of your data. 
4. If the browser has that feature, it can be enabled if it is not already on.  

For example, people who use Safari as their browser can find Settings by clicking on Safari and scrolling down to Settings. Click on Privacy and check “Prevent cross-site tracking” and “Hide IP address from trackers.” Click on the About Safari and Privacy to get more information. 

People can opt out or use OOPS with other browsers, like Firefox, Chrome and duckduckgo.com.

Rosser added that when she first started working at CalPrivacy she used this type of opting out and was surprised at how much information was blocked. She also noticed much less targeted advertising.

She reminded people that all of the information asked for does not have to be shared.

“They [the websites] may have a real reason for needing it, and they should be prepared to explain that, but you can limit what you provide,” Rosser said. 

Rosser asked those in the audience how many had heard of a “data broker.” 

“A data broker is a business that makes money off of buying and selling information,” she explained. “What distinguishes them from businesses of other kinds is that you don’t have a direct relationship with them; you didn’t give them your information – they got it from another source.”

She added that in California data brokers are required to be registered. There are 585 registered data brokers in California. 

“The data brokers are required to delete your information when you ask. It’s tricky because how do you know who has [your information] if you don’t do business with them?” Rosser said. 

Some data brokers are small, but others are very large with a massive amount of information collected and sold. 

“They sell [your information] to each other, to anyone who wants to buy it. Most consumers don’t know that’s happening, so your data is getting sold to many entities, including entities that would do things with your personal information you wouldn’t like, like try to scam you or try to scam a relative because one of the other things they do is build profiles,” Rosser added. 

They can do this because an individual’s life intersects with other lives, including those of family members. Those who buy the information can use it for online and over the phone scams. 

“Another problem is that data brokers, like other businesses, are not immune from breaches. They get hacked, too,” Rosser said. “So they have all of this information that is highly unregulated and so it just puts your information on a silver platter for hackers, scammers and fraudsters.”

The audience showed concern after hearing how easily its information is shared with so many. 

“We do have a new system that’s called Drop. As I have told you, [Californians] have the right to request that data brokers delete your information but you had to submit requests one by one. But starting Jan. 1 [2026] California came out with a new system called DROP (Delete Request and Opt-out Platform), which enables you to request the deletion of your personal information from all data brokers at once,” Rosser said. 

DROP can be found at https://privacy.ca.gov or by calling (916) 572-2900 with any questions.

Next week, CVW will explore more ways people can protect themselves.