Californian privacy regulator fines two marketing firms for selling health information

The California Privacy Protection Agency Board (CalPrivacy) has imposed fines on two data brokers. One of them sold personal and sensitive information of Alzheimer patients, drug addicts, and other patients.

The first marketing firm, Datamasters, is a Texas-based data broker known for selling personal information for targeted advertisements. The company must pay a fine of $45,000 for failing to register as a data broker, which constitutes a violation of California’s Delete Act.

According to CalPrivacy, Datamasters bought and resold the personal and highly sensitive information of millions of people with Alzheimer’s disease, drug addiction, bladder incontinence, and other health conditions for targeted advertising, including names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses.

This information was divided into categories, such as age and race, but also political views, grocery store purchases, banking activity, and health-related purchases.

The data broker launched these activities in 2024, but did so without registering with the California Data Broker Registry. As a result, Datamasters will no longer sell this kind of sensitive information in California.

The second company that was fined by CalPrivacy is S&P Global, a New York-based provider of data and technology. The firm is ordered to pay a fine of $62,200 for not registering as a data broker due to an administrative order. Additionally, the company must implement safeguards to ensure this doesn’t happen again in the future.

“Reselling lists of people battling Alzheimer’s disease is a recipe for trouble. In the wrong hands, these lists could be used to target people for more than just advertising. The same risks apply to selling lists of seniors, people who identify as conservative or liberal, or people who purchase sensitive health products. History teaches us that certain types of lists can be dangerous,” Michael Macko, Head of Enforcement at CalPrivacy, says in a statement.

“Californians have a clear way to push back and regain control now that CalPrivacy’s DROP system is live. If you are concerned about data brokers selling your personal information, I highly recommend that you sign up for DROP,” Tom Kemp, CalPrivacy’s Executive Director, adds.

‘DROP’ is short for Delete Requests and Opt-Out Platform and offers Californians greater control over their data. The tool helps citizens of the State of California limit the information that data brokers collect and sell.

Furthermore, DROP reduces the number of unwanted text messages, calls, and emails, and offers greater security because it decreases the risk of identity theft, fraud, and data breaches.

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