SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KEYT) – On Monday, the California Privacy Protection Agency Board issued its first decision requiring an out-of-state data broker to pay $116,490 and change its practices after rolling out a privacy platform to protect Californian's private information earlier this month.
According to the state privacy regulator, Iowa-based data broker LocateSmarter LLC. failed to register in time as a data broker through the state's new Delete Act and unlawfully required users to submit their social security numbers before allowing them to opt-out.
The state agency noted it has brought multiple prior enforcement actions against data brokers, but this week's decision is the first under the authority of the California Privacy Act and the Delete Act.
LocateSmarter provides "data solutions and analytics" to its clients after harvesting personal information from third-party sources.
The company then sells that private information to other third parties through its batch data, Application Programming Interface (API) data, online search platform, and data licensing as their website details.
According to the Final Order issued this week, information collected and then sold included names, dates of birth, Social Security numbers, telephone numbers, email addresses, employment information, driver's license information, bankruptcy and litigation information, and military and deceased status.
"By knowingly collecting and selling consumers' personal information to third parties outside of a direct relationship, LocateSmarter conducted business as a data broker during the 2025 calendar year," concluded state regulators in the stipulated final order this week. "LocateSmarter failed to register as a data broker with the Agency by the January 31, 2026 deadline for its data broker activity during the 2025 calendar year."
The Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP), which became active August 1 of this year, is intended to give Californians the opportunity to have more control over their digital data as well as who gathers and sells it.
Anyone who accesses the internet leaves behind digital footprints, usually connected to the unique identifier assigned to our device.
Common devices include cell phones or computers, but unique identifiers are used for anything that connects to the internet, such as smart TVs and even vehicles.
Details on how to find the unique identifier for your devices can be found here.
Under state law, a business may require consumers to submit information to complete a request to opt-out, but may not require a customer to submit more personal information than necessary to do so explained Monday's stipulated final order.
In 2025, LocateSmarter provided an opt-out form online, but required requesters to provide their full name, mailing address and last four digits of their Social Security number to complete the request.
"By requiring consumers to submit their mailing address and part of their Social Security number, LocateSmarter unlawfully required consumers to provide more information than necessary to exercise their right to opt-out of sale/sharing," noted the final order. "A mere handful of California's population of nearly 40 million consumers submitted a request to opt-out of sale/sharing to the company. By requiring consumers to provide a partial Social Security number with their full name and mailing address to submit a request to opt-out of sale/sharing, LocateSmarter violated section 1798.100(c) of the CCPA [California Consumer Privacy Act] and sections 7002(d) and 7026(d) of the regulations."
LocateSmarter was ordered to pay a $30,600 administrative fine within 30 days of the order, pay a $6,000 annual fee required by state law to act as a data broker, and an additional $79,890 in administrative fines within 30 days of the order stated the final order.
Monday's agreement also required the data broker to waive their right to additional hearings, appeals, or other right to review the decision and included the signatures of LocateSmarter's President Jonathan Brooks and Attorney James J. Ward showed the final order.
Your News Channel reached out to LocateSmarter LLC. in Cedar Falls, Iowa for more information and its response will be added to this article when it is received.
Interested in more information about the new data protection law?
The state law allows Californians who sign up to upload the unique identifiers for their devices to the DROP system, information gathered about that specific device can be included in lists that data brokers will have to delete once you sign up.
Once confirmed as a California resident and the requested unique identifier for your device(s) is uploaded, no additional documentation or steps are required noted the California Privacy Protection Agency.
You can sign up here for the process which is estimated to take less than ten minutes to complete.
This YouTube video explains how to use the system and this toolkit can help answer additional questions.
Visit here for more information.
"DROP makes it easier than ever for Californians to have real control over their personal information," shared Tom Kemp, Executive Director of CalPrivacy in June of this year. "We built DROP to make data deletion simple, accessible, secure, and effective for everyone in our state. Seeing over 300,000 people sign up in just a few months shows how strongly Californians value their privacy."
According to the California Privacy Protection Agency, data brokers face a $200 per day enforcement cost for failing to register in addition to a $200 per day, per consumer cost for failing to delete private information.
Notably, the new privacy protection program does not require data brokers to delete all information about people who sign up.
It does not force data brokers to remove information you share directly, such as signing up for a newsletter or when making a purchase.
Specific types of information, including publicly available court records and financial information used to generate credit scores, are also still available to data brokers even if you sign up for DROP.
State Regulators Fine Iowa Data Broker Over $100,000 in First Delete Act Decision News Channel 3-12.
Hence then, the article about state regulators fine iowa data broker over 100 000 in first delete act decision was published today ( ) and is available on News channel ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( State Regulators Fine Iowa Data Broker Over $100,000 in First Delete Act Decision )
Also on site :
- All Haul The King is a co-op comedy corpse-dragging simulator from the makers of Eclipsium, one of 2025's best horror games
- Fans of This Classic 1948 Board Game Are Scooping Up Walmart’s ‘Beautiful’ Vintage-Style Bookshelf Version
- 1964 Julie Andrews-Led Disney Movie Soundtrack Is Ranked Among Billboard's Greatest Albums of All Time