Navigating Data Privacy Governance: A Guide for Data Brokers [Updated 2025]

With the passage of California’s DELETE Act and the coming release of its Delete Request and Opt-out Platform (DROP) on January 1, 2026, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) extending the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), and the FTC’s settlement with data broker Outlogic, it’s clear regulators are scrutinizing the data broker industry more and more.

In light of these developments, data brokers need a thorough, efficient approach to privacy and data governance—one that enables agility against shifting regulation and robust compliance as enforcement ramps up. 

With Transcend’s all-in-one privacy solution, many top data brokers have been able to better navigate the world of privacy regulation—saving hundreds of hours and thousands of dollars, while significantly improving their overall compliance stance.

Not only that, but most of Transcend’s data broker customers transitioned from legacy privacy platforms: tools with minimal automation, clunky manual workflows, and a lack of technical depth—all of which make it difficult to adequately respond to the unique challenges presented by modern privacy regulation. 

In this guide on privacy compliance for data brokers, we explore the key governance issues affecting data brokers today and provide a roadmap for improving compliance as regulators continue to crack down. 

1) Establishing a data inventory  

Creating a comprehensive data inventory is foundational to any successful privacy program. This is doubly true for data brokers, as they handle huge quantities of personal and sensitive data from a wide variety of sources. 

To build your data inventory and create a solid governance foundation, start by establishing your baseline in Transcend Data Inventory. This will act as the single source of truth for all personal and sensitive data moving through your organization. 

From there, use powerful, automated tools like System Discovery, Structured Discovery, and Unstructured Discovery to uncover, catalog, and classify the data within your organization’s data ecosystem.

By automating this process, your teams gain a consistent, 360-degree view of the data your organization holds, as well as a transformative understanding of any potential data risks. They’ll also save hundreds of hours and thousands in resourcing—opening opportunities to focus on more strategic work. 

2) Honoring consent preferences

As regulators levy fines and pursue enforcement actions based on consent violations, prioritizing a robust consent management platform (CMP) is critical. Not only that, but as regulators clarify and expand requirements around consent (for example, requiring companies to honor browser-based opt-out signals), data brokers will need a CMP that synchronizes consent preferences across different web applications, mobile applications, backend databases, and third party tools. 

Transcend Consent Management is the only solution on the market that governs both client-side and backend user consent—honoring GPC, LDU, and other Do Not Sell signals, while offering custom consent experiences for any region, device, or domain.

As you launch new lines of business, enter new markets, add new domains, and deal with new state regulations, Transcend Consent Management can help your teams handle that growth and complexity with ease. Plus, you’ll gain tools to confidently manage your complex, global digital footprint with records of consent, audit logs, and enterprise-level reporting.

3) Automating data deletion workflows

For 2026, arguably the biggest piece that data brokers need to consider is how to efficiently manage data subject request workflows. Though data subject requests can include requests for access, correction, and transfer, the key piece for data brokers is requests for deletion. 

California’s DELETE Act mandates that the California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) create a one-stop-shop deletion mechanism—one that, once filled out by a consumer, would instruct every data broker in the state of California to delete their personal data.

The CPPA has in turn created DROP, officially launching the platform on January 1, 2026. DROP allows California consumers to quickly send out bulk deletion and out-opt requests to registered data brokers.

For 2026, that means every data broker in the state should expect a significant influx of consumer deletion and opt-out requests, and they will need to begin downloading, processing, and reporting those requests every 45 days starting August 1, 2026. 

Fulfilling these requests promptly and efficiently will be key to compliance. The shift from individual consumer requests to mass registry lists (DROP) poses a significant operational challenge: how do you process thousands of regulator-supplied IDs without manual spreadsheets?

At Transcend, we have developed a Bulk Ingestion Pipeline to supplement our powerful features like centralized request management, the ability to integrate with existing Privacy Center intake forms, automated data subject identity authentication, data integration, and options to customize workflows based on location, relationship, and relevant regulations, allowing Transcend's DSR Automation to streamline the process end-to-end no matter the scale of requests. 

Instead of managing these lists in a silo, Transcend lets you:

1. Ingest raw DROP registry files (via CSV or API download, with DROP's API integration coming in Spring 2026).
2. Harmonize the state's schema to your internal identity map automatically.
3. Execute downstream erasure across your tech stack instantly.

This level of automation eliminates clunky manual workflows and unruly spreadsheets, turning DELETE Act compliance into a background process complete with the audit trails you’ll need for the CPPA.
Beyond saving your teams significant time and resources fulfilling these requests, automation also supports stronger compliance. Because deletion requests are fulfilled automatically, your teams can sidestep avoidable errors and increase the overall security of data deletion workflows by minimizing the number of people accessing and processing the data.

You can also use tools like Transcend’s Privacy Center for automated DSR intake and authentication, allowing your team to focus on more strategic initiatives.

Conclusion

2026 is shaping up to be a vital year for data brokers—and proactive data governance will be essential. Using powerful, all-in-one privacy solutions, data brokers will be able to better navigate complex compliance requirements posed by DROP, build trust with consumers, and stay ahead in an ever-changing regulatory landscape.

Automate processes, stay informed, and collaborate with the privacy community to ensure your data processing practices align with rapidly evolving privacy and data protection requirements.

About Transcend

Transcend is an all-in-one platform for modern privacy and data governance. Encoding privacy at the code layer, we provide solutions for any privacy challenge your teams may be facing—including getting you ready for the latest privacy trends and challenges in 2025 and beyond.

From Consent Management, to automated DSR Fulfillment, to a full suite of data mapping solutions (Data Inventory, System Discovery, Structured Discovery, and more), Transcend has you covered as your company grows and evolves in a swiftly changing regulatory environment.