When the Opt-Out Fails: Data Brokers, Assassination Culture, and the Rising Risk to Leaders

photo by Tima Miroshnichenko

In June, a group of researchers from UC Irvine published a comprehensive audit of data brokers registered under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The objective: test whether consumers could meaningfully exercise their legal right to opt out of data collection and sale.

What they found is both alarming and somewhat validating:

• Over 40% of brokers didn’t respond at all to access requests.

• Many of those who did respond demanded more personal data to process the request.

• Less than 5% delivered meaningful results to consumers trying to protect their digital footprint.

This is both a privacy issue and a risk intelligence issue, and when filtered through the lens of emerging sociopolitical trends, it’s a blinking red light.

From Exposure to Justification: The Digital Path to Violence

The failure of data brokers to comply with consumer privacy laws becomes even more dangerous when viewed alongside a recent Network Contagion Research Institute (NCRI) survey that concluded what they refer to as “assassination culture,” which is a world where memes, digital narratives, and fringe echo chambers are beginning to normalize violence as a politically justified act.

Combined with unrestricted access to personal information, we see how the ideation to activity begins with a data broker.

Assassins Don’t Need Access—They Need Justification

Luigi Mangione didn’t break into a database to find the CEO of UnitedHealthcare. He searched. He read. He assembled a target package using publicly available data and open-source intelligence (OSINT). His horrific acts in New York earlier this year were built off grievance + visibility, the two essential elements of modern targeting.

This is where the UC Irvine study matters. It tells us that even when individuals take steps to remove themselves from that ecosystem, the system doesn’t listen. This exposes a hard truth:

• If the data exists, it will be used
• If the narrative fits, it will be weaponized

This is where digital exposure becomes a tactical enabler for lone actors and ideologues, and it’s why the idea that “you can just opt out” is not only false, but also dangerous.

Echo Chambers and Extremist Validation

The radicalization pipeline is no longer limited to the isolated and disaffected. A recent UC Davis study  reported by Vox found that individuals with vast networks (50+ close relationships) were 1.5x more likely to support political violence than those with only a few connections. These aren’t loners; they’re often socially active, plugged in, and reinforced by their echo chamber.

That matters because many threat actors aren’t just acting alone, they’re acting with online validation, and sometimes with explicit encouragement from digital communities.

You don’t need a group to conspire. You need a narrative that makes you feel righteous, and you need a way to find your target.

The first part is psychological, and the second is logistical. The third is digital.

What This Means for Our Clients

At 360 Privacy, we see these connections not as academic hypotheticals but as operational realities. Here’s how it all ties together:

• The failure of opt-outs means we cannot rely on compliance to protect visibility. Our team operates under the assumption that broker ecosystems are porous, disjointed, and often hostile to consumer rights.
• The rise in justification for violence increases the likelihood that high-profile individual executives, thought leaders, political figures—will become acceptable targets, not just symbolic ones.
• Social network amplification is feeding self-radicalization, and the faster that exposure data circulates, the quicker a threat actor can go from grievance to action.

If you or someone in your organization is in the public eye, being proactive isn’t a luxury—it’s the new baseline.

Our Response: Going Beyond Compliance

We don’t ask permission to protect your privacy. We act.

Our approach includes:

• Continuous takedown cycles from high-risk data brokers
• Real-time re-exposure alerting across aggregators and OSINT platforms
• Situational awareness briefings based on emerging digital threat patterns
• Custom escalation plans for clients facing politically or ideologically motivated risks

This is not checkbox privacy. This is protection rooted in protective intelligence.

Final Thought

The right to opt out is a good idea. But as we’re seeing from broken data broker systems to rising public support for political violence, good ideas don’t stop bad actors.

Visibility invites justification, and narrative fuels targeting. In today’s world, data is the first weapon.

We’re here to make sure it’s not used against you.

—

Chuck Randolph

SVP, Strategic Intelligence & Security

360 Privacy