Penalty Amount
$375,703
The California Privacy Protection Agency settled with Ford Motor Company for $375,703 after finding that Ford violated the CCPA by requiring email verification for opt-out requests, creating unnecessary friction. Ford must implement easier opt-out methods, conduct a website audit, and comply with global privacy controls.
Ford must pay a $375,703 fine, change its business practices to provide easy opt-out requests with minimal steps, conduct an audit of tracking technologies on its website, and ensure compliance with opt-out preference signals like Global Privacy Control.
In-house legal teams should review all customer-facing agreements, including privacy policies, terms of service, and data processing addendums. Focus on clauses governing opt-out rights for the sale/sharing of personal information, identity verification procedures, and compliance with preference signals like Global Privacy Control. Specific changes needed include removing mandatory email verification steps for opt-out submissions, ensuring opt-out methods are accessible with minimal steps, and auditing tracking technologies to guarantee alignment with CCPA's requirement to honor user preference signals. Vendor contracts may also need updates to reflect these simplified processes.
Entity
Ford Motor Company
Also known as: Ford
Industry
AutomotiveOfficial Press Release
https://privacy.ca.gov/2026/03/ford-to-change-practices-pay-fine-for-adding-unnecessary-friction-to-opt-out-process/
Order of Decision Ford Motor Co
https://privacy.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/357/2026/03/Order-of-Decision-Ford-Motor-Co.pdf
California Privacy Protection Agency Enforcement Page
https://cppa.ca.gov/enforcement/
$376K
The California Privacy Protection Agency (CalPrivacy) settled with Ford Motor Company requiring the company to pay a $375,703 fine and change its practices. Ford violated the CCPA by requiring consumers to complete an email verification step before they could opt-out of the sale and sharing of their personal information collected through digital properties and connected vehicle services. In addition to the fine, Ford must provide easy methods to submit opt-out requests with minimal steps, audit its tracking technologies, and ensure compliance with opt-out preference signals including Global Privacy Control.
$19.2M
Ford Motor Company agreed to a $19.2 million multistate settlement for falsely advertising the fuel economy of 2013–2014 C-Max hybrids and the payload capacity of 2011–2014 Super Duty pickup trucks. The settlement requires Ford to cease deceptive advertising practices and pay penalties to participating states.
CalPrivacy (the California Privacy Protection Agency) issued Enforcement Advisory 2026-01 warning data brokers that providing incorrect information in their annual registration with California's data broker registry carries liability of a $200 fine per day. The advisory observes that the Enforcement Division has already brought multiple enforcement actions over reporting errors, and emphasizes that accurate registry disclosures are what make the newly launched Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform (DROP) work for Californians. No specific company was named and no penalty was imposed by the advisory itself; it functions as forward-looking guidance.
$36K
The California Privacy Protection Agency Board issued a Decision and Final Stipulated Order requiring Virginia-based data broker SalesIntel Research, Inc. to pay a $36,400 fine for operating as a data broker without registering by the 2025 deadline under the Delete Act. SalesIntel sells consumer personal information, including more than 200 million professional contacts and de-anonymized website traffic data, for targeted advertising. In addition to the fine, the company must post privacy rights metrics on its website, integrate with CalPrivacy's Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP), and process future deletion requests through that system.
The California Privacy Protection Agency announced that more than 500,000 Californians have registered for the Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) since its January 1, 2026 launch. After the August 1, 2026 deadline for brokers to begin processing requests, 654 data brokers are in the system and approximately 25% have reported processing deletion requests, with tens of millions of records already deleted. No enforcement action has been announced yet; the agency warned that brokers who fail to delete eligible personal information face significant fines.
$52K
The California Privacy Protection Agency Board issued an Order of Decision and Stipulated Final Order requiring Boston-based data broker Cybba, Inc. to pay a $52,400 fine for failing to register with the Agency's Data Broker Registry by the 2025 deadline, as required by the Delete Act. The order also requires Cybba to post metrics about privacy rights on its website, access the Agency's Delete Request and Opt-Out Platform (DROP), and process future deletion requests through that system. This is CalPrivacy's second data broker enforcement action announced in less than a week, following its action against LocateSmarter.