Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz

California Delete Act and DROP Raise Broker Risk

AdExchanger reports that new U.S. privacy rules and enforcement are placing a renewed regulatory spotlight on companies that collect and sell consumer data. California’s Delete Act takes effect August 1 and introduces DROP, a centralized Delete Request and Opt‑Out Platform that allows residents to send one deletion request to all registered data brokers. Registered brokers must check DROP at least every 45 days and comply with deletion requests within 90 days; failures can trigger fines of $200 per request per day. Connecticut’s SB 4 (effective October 1 if signed) creates a separate data‑broker registry and defines “brokered personal data,” potentially sweeping in firms that buy, organize and resell third‑party information. Industry counsel warn companies cannot rely on informal self‑assessments (“I don’t think I’m a data broker”) and should reassess practices to avoid significant enforcement risk from CalPrivacy and state regulators.

Experts Predict Key Privacy Shifts to Reshape AdTech in 2026

AdExchanger asked industry experts from Cadent, Vevo, Future Today, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz, Affinity Solutions, Basis and Accretive to identify the single data-privacy shift likely to reshape digital advertising in 2026. Respondents highlighted several converging trends: heightened regulatory scrutiny of automated decision-making, profiling and the use of inferred data; a surge in state-level youth privacy and age-gating laws (including momentum around a so-called “COPPA 2.0”); rising compliance and brand-safety concerns around AI-generated and AI-edited content and its metadata; and stronger enforcement of existing rules treating precise location and inferred behavioral signals as sensitive. Experts warned that organizations relying on opaque ad-tech supply chains, legacy data brokers, DSPs, measurement vendors, or plug-and-play AI tools — and brands with large teen audiences that assumed one-size-fits-all controls — will be least prepared.

FTC Tightens Grip on AdTech Without New Rules

The article analyzes the U.S. Federal Trade Commission under Chair Andrew Ferguson, a Republican majority that has shifted toward stricter enforcement while avoiding sweeping new rulemaking. It notes Ferguson’s stance against broad rulemaking, AI regulation, and DEI initiatives, yet highlights the agency’s increased activity in antitrust-advertising matters and consumer protection, including a conditional approval of the Omnicom/IPG merger with strings to prevent political or ideological ad spending. The piece discusses privacy tensions, especially children’s privacy, noting COPPA updates that require verifiable parental consent for sharing a child’s data with third parties for targeted ads. It also cites enforcement actions on junk fees and deceptive reviews, such as Sitejabber, and mentions Ferguson’s focus on protecting minors’ data. Legal voices, including Holly Melton, anticipate more privacy-focused actions and greater oversight in consumer reviews and data collection practices.