Cyber & Technology

The nation’s strictest privacy law just took effect, to data brokers’ chagrin

January 22, 2026 at 04:16Z
BIAS: Lean Left
RELIABILITY: High

Political Bias Rating

This rating indicates the source’s editorial stance on the political spectrum, based on analysis from Media Bias/Fact Check, AllSides, and Ad Fontes Media.

Far Left / Left: Progressive editorial perspective
Lean Left: Slightly progressive tendency
Center: Balanced, minimal editorial slant
Lean Right: Slightly conservative tendency
Right / Far Right: Conservative editorial perspective

Current source: Lean Left. Stories with cross-spectrum coverage receive elevated prominence.

Reliability Rating

This rating measures the source’s factual accuracy, sourcing quality, and journalistic standards based on third-party fact-checking assessments.

Very High: Exceptional accuracy, rigorous sourcing
High: Strong factual reporting, minor issues rare
Mixed: Generally accurate but occasional concerns
Low: Frequent errors or misleading content
Very Low: Unreliable, significant factual issues

Current source: High. Higher reliability sources receive elevated weighting in story prioritization.

Ars Technica Security
21:42Z

Californians are getting a new, supercharged way to stop data brokers from hoarding and selling their personal information, as a recently enacted law that’s among the strictest in the nation took effect at the beginning of the year. According to the California Privacy Protection Agency, more than 500 companies actively scour all sorts of sources for scraps of information about individuals, then package and store it to sell to marketers, private investigators, and others. The nonprofit Consumer Watchdog said in 2024 that brokers trawl automakers, tech companies, junk-food restaurants, device makers, and others for financial info, purchases, family situations, eating, exercising, travel, entertainment habits, and just about any other imaginable information belonging to millions of people.

Re

Source Assessment

Political Bias
Lean Left
Reliability
High

Continue reading at the original source

Read Full Article at Ars Technica Security →