GoKawiilWIRED reporter's 100 CCPA data requests reveal widespread compliance failures
A WIRED journalist filed data access requests with more than 100 companies under the California Consumer Privacy Act, seeking to see what personal information had been collected. Instead of providing the requested data, many firms sent deletion confirmations the reporter never asked for, or refused to honor the contact method listed in their own privacy policies. McDonald's, notably, returned a 515-page file detailing app usage and predictive behavioral profiling.
GoKawiil's interpretation of the reporting above, not reported fact.
The findings expose how privacy laws like the CCPA depend heavily on voluntary corporate compliance, with little enforcement muscle to catch companies that mishandle or ignore consumer requests. As more states weigh similar privacy statutes, this experiment suggests that legal rights on paper don't guarantee functional access in practice, leaving consumers to fight bureaucratic friction just to see what's been collected on them.
- Over 100 CCPA access requests were filed; many companies replied with deletion notices instead of data.
- McDonald's returned a 515-page report detailing granular app behavior and purchase predictions.
- Consumer advocates say the results show current privacy law enforcement relies too much on company goodwill.
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Published there as: “I Asked 100 Companies for My Data. I Got Deletion Notices Instead”
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