I asked 100 companies for my data. Some deleted it instead.

9:17 AM ETDeveloping

Technology Desk

BUTTES AND PONDS WERE CREATED AFTER COAL COMPANIES FINISHED STRIP MINING THIS AREA OFF ROUTE ^519 - NARA - 555575 — Photo: Erik Calonius / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

Most exasperating during this process were the companies that either responded to my access requests with messages concerning the deletion of information, which I explicitly said not to do, or refused to process the request through a method listed in their privacy policy.

I found solace in chatting with an academic researcher who had previously helped place access requests with over 500 data brokers under the same California law and also encountered multiple misclassifications. Testing 100 companies found privacy requests often led to confusion and dead ends.

What's confirmed

What's still developing

Testing 100 companies found privacy requests often led to confusion and dead ends.
Most exasperating during this process were the companies that either responded to my access requests with messages concerning the deletion of information, which I explicitly said not to do, or refused to process the…
I found solace in chatting with an academic researcher who had previously helped place access requests with over 500 data brokers under the same California law and also encountered multiple misclassifications.

Sources

Ars Technicalink