
Tell the FTC: Stop tech companies from selling kids’ data
Starting July 1, 2024 a new Global Privacy Control tool makes it easier for Coloradans to opt-out of data collection. Here's a step-by-step guide to install the data privacy plug-in on your browser.
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Executive Director, CoPIRG Foundation
Director, Don't Sell My Data Campaign, PIRG
Starting on July 1st, 2024, data privacy and protecting your personal data in Colorado got easier. Instead of having to contact every website individually to opt out of your data being sold or used for targeted advertising, you can do it automatically by downloading what’s called global opt-out mechanism.
A universal opt-out mechanism is a piece of data privacy technology that helps you automatically opt-out of data collection online. Once you’ve downloaded the tool, the mechanism will broadcast to every site you visit that you don’t want your data collected or sold. That way you don’t have to individually contact every website you visit to opt out.
You will, however, need to do a bit of work to get the tool working.
The Global Privacy Control is a type of universal opt-out mechanism. Once you download the plug-in on your browser, the Global Privacy Control sends a signal to every website you visit that you don’t want your data to be collected and sold. This way, instead of manually opting out of data collection for every website, the universal opt-out mechanism will automatically do it for you, all the time.
The Colorado Privacy Act required the Colorado Attorney General to select a universal opt-out tool websites must heed. On January 1st, 2024, the Colorado AG’s office announced it had selected the Global Privacy Control as its first approved universal opt-out tool.
To automatically opt-out of data collection on websites while using your Chrome browser, you need to download a special browser extension. You have a couple of options.
To automatically opt-out of data collection on websites in Safari, you need to download a special browser extension. Apple currently doesn’t allow our favorite tool – Privacy Badger – in Safari, but there is another option you can use.
To automatically opt-out of data collection on websites in Edge you’ll need to download a special browser extension. You have a couple of options:
Firefox is the only major browser that has a GPC signal built into it automatically, so you don’t have to download any special tools. But you do have to go turn it on.
Right now, there are no rules stopping tech companies from monetizing the data of kids and teens.
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Danny has been the director of CoPIRG for over a decade. Danny co-authored a groundbreaking report on the state’s transit, walking and biking needs and is a co-author of the annual “State of Recycling” report. He also helped write a 2016 Denver initiative to create a public matching campaign finance program and led the early effort to eliminate predatory payday loans in Colorado. Danny serves on the Colorado Department of Transportation's (CDOT) Efficiency and Accountability Committee, CDOT's Transit and Rail Advisory Committee, RTD's Reimagine Advisory Committee, the Denver Moves Everyone Think Tank, and the I-70 Collaborative Effort. Danny lobbies federal, state and local elected officials on transportation electrification, multimodal transportation, zero waste, consumer protection and public health issues. He appears frequently in local media outlets and is active in a number of coalitions. He resides in Denver with his family, where he enjoys biking and skiing, the neighborhood food scene and raising chickens.
R.J. focuses on data privacy issues and the commercialization of personal data in the digital age. Her work ranges from consumer harms like scams and data breaches, to manipulative targeted advertising, to keeping kids safe online. In her work at Frontier Group, she has authored research reports on government transparency, predatory auto lending and consumer debt. Her work has appeared in WIRED magazine, CBS Mornings and USA Today, among other outlets. When she’s not protecting the public interest, she is an avid reader, fiction writer and birder.