The Aporia · Californians can protect their personal data with one click. Help us test if it works

California residents can now use a tool called DROP to request that data brokers delete their personal information and stop tracking them. Starting in August, data companies are required to process these requests. The California Privacy Protection Agency has established this platform for consumers to send instant requests to hundreds of data brokers at once. CalMatters and The Markup journalists Colin and Mohamed want readers' help testing the effectiveness of DROP by using it themselves and reporting back on their experiences with data brokers.

Written locally by qwen2.5:14b on 2026-08-24, using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the same event (that is the story summary below).

Story summary

Here's a summary of the news story:

Californians now have an easier way to protect their personal data thanks to a new tool called DROP (Delete Request and Opt-out Platform) launched by the California Privacy Protection Agency in January. This platform allows residents to send instant requests to hundreds of data brokers, asking them to delete their data and stop tracking them. The data brokers are required to start processing these requests in August. In response to previous reporting from The Markup and CalMatters, including a Senate investigation, many companies have changed their practices, making it harder for consumers to delete their personal data online by hiding the application pages on search results using "no-index" code. The new DROP tool aims to make it easier for Californians to protect their data with just one click.

Written for “Californian Data Protection Measure” on 2026-10-16, grounded in this article and the 1 other(s) covering the same event.

📰 Californian Data Protection Measure

Technology · 2 article(s) covering the same event. See how they differ ↓

This article reads unscored and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.

It’s easier for Californians to escape data brokers following a Markup investigation same event · 100%

The Markup

⚖️ leaning not scored 🔴 9% hedged 2 of 23 📰 publisher trust 94

“Both articles report on the same effort by California to protect personal data, with the same entities involved (The Markup, CalMatters) and a direct mention of an investigation”

Brazil gives parents social media controls for their kids. Should the US? different event · 80%

The Markup

⚖️ Leans left 🔴 12% hedged 9 of 78 📰 publisher trust 94

“Although both articles mention California's new laws, Article A is focused on protecting children online, while Article B focuses on protecting personal data in general”

Leaders Pivoting on Data Centers Require More Than Roads, Water, and Power Promises different event · 80%

TIME

⚖️ Leans left 🔴 6% hedged 6 of 107 📰 publisher trust 60

“Article A discusses a new way for Californians to protect their data, while Article B mentions data centers and a change in leadership stance on them, but no mention of California's rollout or effectiveness”

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability

Source leaning vs. consistency

The Markup · 21 article(s) · 0 correction(s) detected

No corrections detected for this publisher. That may mean careful reporting, or simply that nothing has been checked.

Colin Lecher

10 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 Doctoralia said it would conduct a detailed review of its online practices but noted it does not monetize patient data.

2026-09-14 · assertive framing · How TikTok and Google ended up with information about doctor’s appointments around the world

🔮 The upshot, some believe, could be new forms of regulation, including at the federal level.

2026-09-05 · mixed framing · ‘We’re basically pushers:’ How a battle over kids on social media is unfolding in two California courtrooms

🔮 In a press conference this week on New York City’s $12 billion budget gap, Mayor Zohran Mamdani zeroed in on the previous administration’s artificial intelligence chatbot as one of “a number of different things we’re going to pursue for savings.”

2026-09-05 · assertive framing · Mamdani to kill the NYC AI chatbot we caught telling businesses to break the law

🔮 But The Markup and CalMatters’ August story examined how several data brokers used code called the “no-index” tag on pages where consumers could exercise their right to opt out.

2026-09-04 · assertive framing · Following Markup investigation, Congress finds data brokers cost consumers tens of billions of dollars

🔮 Kevin DeLuca, an assistant professor of political science at Yale University who has studied similar news sites, sometimes called “pink slime” news, told The Markup and CalMatters earlier this year that such sites may not be outright lying.

2026-09-04 · assertive framing · It was John Wayne’s political club. Now it’s spending millions on online influence

🔮 A new audit has found that websites across the internet may be failing to abide by California privacy law, ignoring a requirement to not track visitors who set a privacy control.

2026-09-04 · mixed framing · Websites break California privacy law at ‘industrial scale,’ survey finds

🔮 Meanwhile, the Defense Department has signed off on the earliest contracts for the “Golden Dome,” a proposal to build a missile-defense system above the United States that may eventually cost hundreds of billions of dollars.

2026-09-03 · assertive framing · Defense tech has unleashed a new weapons boom in Southern California

🔮 The “no-index” code tells search engines like Google not to catalog those pages, making it less likely that anyone would see them.

2026-08-25 · assertive framing · It’s easier for Californians to escape data brokers following a Markup investigation

🔮 If you don’t live in California, but have friends or family in California who would be interested in helping us investigate, please share this article with them.

2026-08-24 · assertive framing · Californians can protect their personal data with one click. Help us test if it works

🔮 This story was produced in partnership with Agência Pública as part of a series on how regulatory solutions adopted in Brazil could point the way for the U.S.

2026-08-24 · assertive framing · Brazil gives parents social media controls for their kids. Should the US?

Also by Colin Lecher

How TikTok and Google ended up with information about doctor’s appointments around the world

2026-09-14 · The Markup

‘We’re basically pushers:’ How a battle over kids on social media is unfolding in two California courtrooms

2026-09-05 · The Markup

Mamdani to kill the NYC AI chatbot we caught telling businesses to break the law

2026-09-05 · The Markup

Following Markup investigation, Congress finds data brokers cost consumers tens of billions of dollars

2026-09-04 · The Markup

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

All 10 articles by Colin Lecher →

Mohamed Al Elew

2 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction

🔮 When CalMatters and The Markup asked dancers and choreographers about whether AI could disrupt their industry, most concluded that human dancers could not be replaced.

2026-09-05 · assertive framing · How we tested and evaluated AI-generated dance videos

🔮 If you don’t live in California, but have friends or family in California who would be interested in helping us investigate, please share this article with them.

2026-08-24 · assertive framing · Californians can protect their personal data with one click. Help us test if it works

Also by Mohamed Al Elew

How we tested and evaluated AI-generated dance videos

2026-09-05 · The Markup

Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Hello World is a special edition newsletter that goes deep into our original reporting, our own interactions with technology and the questions we put to big thinkers in the field.

framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-08-24

🔮 If you don’t live in California, but have friends or family in California who would be interested in helping us investigate, please share this article with them.

2026-08-24 · The Markup

Californians can protect their personal data with one click. Help us test if it works · assertive framing

Hello World is a special edition newsletter that goes deep into our original reporting, our own interactions with technology and the questions we put to big thinkers in the field. asserted

we → go → field

Hello there, Our names are Colin and Mohamed, and we’re both journalists at CalMatters and The Markup. asserted

we → ’re → CalMatters

If you haven’t heard yet, California is offering a new way for people to protect their data — and we want your help tracking its rollout and effectiveness. asserted

we → hear → rollout

Data brokers are largely unknown companies that make a business out of collecting often-sensitive data on consumers. asserted

that → make → consumers

That data can include where you and your family are at all times, what you buy, what medications you’re taking and much more. asserted

you → include → medications

Starting at the beginning of this year, the California Privacy Protection Agency allowed residents of the state to sign up for the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform, or DROP. asserted

residents → start → Platform

The tool lets consumers send an instant request to hundreds of data brokers, asking them to delete their data and stop tracking them. asserted

consumers → let → them

The brokers are required to start processing those requests in August. asserted

brokers → require → August

We reported on the tool’s launch, and as new requests are processed, we’ll keep following the story. asserted

we → report → story

CalMatters and The Markup want to keep tabs on whether data companies comply with DROP, and that’s where we need your help. asserted

we → want → help

Californians have the right to know about the personal information a business collects about them and to control how it is used and shared. asserted

it → have → them

We’ll walk you through how to exercise those rights with some of the largest data brokers in the country and how to share what they tell you with us. asserted

they → walk → us

Then, after the DROP deadline, we’ll walk you through how to do it again, and we’ll help you figure out if the information companies have about you changed, grew, or was deleted. asserted

companies → walk → you

If you live in California, get started by following the steps in this article. asserted

you → live → article

If you don’t live in California, but have friends or family in California who would be interested in helping us investigate, please share this article with them. asserted

us → live → them

We appreciate the help! asserted

We → appreciate → help

Californians can protect their personal data with one click. Help us test if it works

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