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CPPA enforcement division reports surge in complaints, outlines multi‑track strategy
Summary
Deputy Director Michael Macko told the board the enforcement division has opened hundreds of investigations and received more than 8,200 consumer complaints since launching its portal; the division described a strategy to build precedent across CCPA and Delete Act matters.
The California Privacy Protection Agency’s enforcement division reported substantial growth in consumer complaints and outlined a multi‑track enforcement strategy at the Sept. 26 board meeting.
Deputy Director Michael Macko told the board the agency’s consumer portal has received "8,265 consumer complaints since launching that system," and said the division currently averages "about, a 150 complaints or so every single week." He said complaints most commonly involve the right to delete, collection/use/sharing, and the right to limit.
Macko described how the division has pursued both public enforcement actions and non‑public investigations: public cases announced since November 2024 include actions against multiple data brokers (examples cited by staff included Robots, Uplead, Infillion, BackgroundAlert, National Public Data and Accurate Append) and consumer‑facing CCPA matters such as Honda and Todd Snyder. Macko said the agency is balancing deeper, high‑resource investigations with a broader set of inquiries designed to develop foundational precedent across different parts of the law.
Why it matters: The influx of complaints and the agency’s stated strategy signal the CPPA’s intent to use both enforcement and education to shape how companies comply with California’s privacy laws. Macko told the board that the enforcement team is "the largest in The United States that's dedicated solely to privacy enforcement" and described additions of technologists and experienced enforcement attorneys to the staff.
Priorities and resources: Macko said the division is pursuing hundreds of open investigations (many non‑public), prioritizing cases that will help the greatest number of Californians and build legal precedent. He urged continued investment in enforcement resources as the agency develops its FY 26–27 budget.
Board reaction and next steps: Board members asked about staffing, automation and technical approaches to triage complaints. Macko said the division is pursuing technical solutions to improve efficiency and that the enforcement division will continue coordinating with other states and federal partners on sweeps and multi‑state enforcement.
Ending: The board heard that enforcement will continue to emphasize data‑broker registration/compliance, implementation of consumer requests, and privacy request portability; staff will return with budget requests and updates on investigation outcomes in future meetings.
