Privacy
How Californians can use a new state website to block hundreds of data brokers
A tool called DROP lets California residents fill out a few forms to keep their personal data from being tracked or sold by data brokers.
Colin Lecher
Investigative Reporter
Colin Lecher is a reporter based in New York. His work on technology and society has received honors from the Association of Health Care Journalists, the Deadline Club, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and more.
Before joining The Markup, he was a senior reporter with The Verge. There, he reported on issues like automated cuts to healthcare, access to phone services in prisons, and the online gun market.
News
Could this mysterious California news site influence the 2026 election?
The California Courier uses the name of an established paper and doesn’t disclose apparent Republican ties. Critics call it “pink slime”
Privacy
Why a new California law could change the way all Americans browse the internet
Legislation recently enacted in California will make it easier for consumers nationwide to protect their data
Privacy
We caught companies making it harder to delete your personal data online
Dozens of companies are hiding how you can delete your personal data, The Markup and CalMatters found. After our reporters reached out for comment, multiple companies have stopped the practice.
Pixel Hunt
House lawmakers demand answers from California health exchange on sending data to LinkedIn
The lawmakers cite a Markup and CalMatters investigation that first revealed Covered California’s data practices in April.
Pixel Hunt
We caught 4 more states sharing personal health data with Big Tech
Healthcare exchanges in Nevada, Maine, Massachusetts and Rhode Island shared users’ sensitive health data with companies like Google and LinkedIn
The BreakdownPixel Hunt
This is how you stop data trackers from sucking up your health data
The Markup and CalMatters found multiple ways consumers can block the trackers quietly sending your data to tech companies, including those used on state-run health exchange websites.
The NYC Algorithm Deciding Which Families Are Under Watch for Child Abuse
How a family’s neighborhood, age, and mental health might get their case a deeper look
Impact
After Markup investigation, LinkedIn and Google face lawsuit alleging improper access to health data
The suit accuses the companies of receiving personal information through California’s state health insurance exchange.
Pixel Hunt
How California sent residents’ personal health data to LinkedIn
The state’s health insurance exchange transmitted pregnancy and domestic abuse data during a marketing campaign. It is reviewing its website practices.
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