California has activated a new consumer privacy tool aimed squarely at data brokers, companies whose business model involves buying, aggregating, and reselling personal information. The tool is not directed at real estate brokers. However, it carries important implications for how real estate websites, MLSs, and agents manage consumer data and disclose their practices.
The launch of the Delete Requests and Opt-Out Platform, known as DROP, operationalizes the Delete Act and signals a broader shift toward enforceable, consumer-controlled data systems overseen by the California Privacy Protection Agency.
California residents can remove their information here.
First, a Clear Distinction
It is important to separate two very different roles that unfortunately share the word “broker.”
Data brokers collect personal information from many sources and sell or license that data to others. These companies are the direct targets of California’s new deletion platform.
Real estate brokers, MLSs, and agents collect information directly from consumers in the course of providing services. That includes information submitted through websites, property searches, market reports, home valuation tools, newsletters, and client portals. They are not data brokers under the Delete Act.
However, they are data stewards. That distinction matters.
What California Has Built for Consumers
DROP allows verified California residents to submit a single deletion request that is distributed to every registered data broker in the state. Data brokers must begin processing these requests in August 2026 and have 90 days to delete covered data or explain why it cannot be located.
The law applies to third-party data sellers, not to first-party data collected directly by a business from its own customers. Public records and certain regulated categories of information are excluded.
Penalties for noncompliance are material, reaching $200 per day per violation, plus enforcement costs.
Where Other States Stand
Many states now provide consumers with rights to access, delete, or opt out of the sale of personal data. California is currently unique in offering a centralized, state-run deletion platform that makes those rights easy to exercise.
Other states should move quickly toward similar systems. Rights that require consumers to chase hundreds of individual companies are rarely used in practice.
Real estate organizations sit at the intersection of consumer trust, data accuracy, and regulated marketing. Even though DROP targets data brokers, it raises expectations around transparency, disclosure, and ease of opting out.
Regulators, consumers, and plaintiffs’ attorneys increasingly expect that if a consumer shares information on a real estate website, they can easily understand how it is used and how to stop future communications.
That expectation applies equally to:
- Brokerage websites
- MLS consumer-facing sites
- Individual agent websites and landing pages
A Compliance Reminder for Real Estate Websites
Now is an appropriate time for brokerages, MLSs, and every agent operating a personal website to review and update foundational website documents and controls.
At a minimum, organizations should ensure the following are current and accurate:
Privacy Policy
- Clearly describe what data is collected and for what purpose
- Identify categories of third-party vendors and integrations
- Explain consumer rights, including access, deletion, and opt-out options
- Reflect the states and jurisdictions in which the site operates
Terms of Use
- Align terms with how listings, valuations, and content are actually delivered
- Remove outdated references to tools, feeds, or practices no longer in use
- Ensure disclaimers are consistent with MLS rules and brokerage policy
Copyright Notices
- Update copyright dates across websites and subdomains
- Confirm ownership statements accurately reflect the brokerage, MLS, or agent
Easy Opt-Out Features
- Provide a clear, visible way to opt out of marketing communications
- Ensure opt-out requests propagate across email, CRM, and marketing systems
- Avoid unnecessary friction or multi-step processes
These are not advanced compliance measures. They are baseline expectations for any consumer-facing real estate platform.
California’s DROP platform is not about real estate brokerage. It is about accountability at scale. But it reinforces a simple truth for the real estate industry. Consumer trust increasingly depends on clarity, control, and follow-through.
Brokerages, MLSs, and agents who keep their digital policies current, understandable, and easy to act on will be better positioned as privacy regulation continues to evolve. Those who ignore these basics may find that the risk is not regulatory alone, but reputational.
WAV Group can shepherd your compliance update. Please contact Victor Lund or David Gumpper. Remember, real estate brokers are responsible for agent websites. If you have not audited them, you could have significant risk.
