Laws

As digital privacy becomes more important, the law has tried to keep up with the ever-changing digital landscape.  Many states, led by California, have passed data privacy laws like the California Consumer Rights Act and the California Privacy Rights Act that give their citizens the right to access what personal information of theirs is online as well as the right to have it removed from the sites selling that information.  Additionally, the U.S. government has proposed the American Privacy Rights Act, a new piece of legislation that would make the same rights available to everyone. 

This is extremely important because it allows you to have control over your personal information and stop its spread.  Stopping the spread of your personal information is crucial because it protects you from scam calls and texting, as well as financial and identity fraud.  Information such as your home address, banking details, date of birth, contact information, relatives, and legal name may already be publicly available, putting yourself and others at risk.

To remove your personal information from the internet, you must first identify where your information is publicly available, which requires searching across thousands of brokerage sites.  Then, you must contact each one individually to request that your information be removed and no longer sold.  Even then, some companies will only take down your information temporarily; that’s why it’s important to monitor these sites regularly to ensure your data stays safe. Companies like Higbee & Associates can do all of these things for you, potentially saving you hundreds of hours of difficult work and putting the utmost care into ensuring the privacy of your data.