Tech bros, we’ve got a privacy apocalypse brewing in the Golden State.

In a shocking twist that’ll make your data-loving heart sink, California’s privacy watchdog just rolled over for Big Tech faster than you can say “targeted ads”. The California Privacy Protection Agency, once a beacon of digital hope, has gutted its own proposed AI regulations after pressure from tech giants and Governor Gavin Newsom.

The Privacy Sellout

What used to be stringent rules protecting your online data have been watered down to essentially meaningless guidelines. The agency’s estimated compliance costs plummeted from $834 million to just $143 million, effectively giving tech companies a free pass to track, target, and monetize your digital existence.

The Silent Threat

Behavioral advertising - that creepy mechanism that builds profiles based on your online activity - is now essentially unregulated. Companies like Google, Meta, and TikTok can continue to perpetuate inequality and exploit your personal information with minimal oversight.

The Industry’s Victory

Consumer advocacy groups are rightfully furious. As Sacha Haworth from Tech Oversight Project bluntly put it: “By the time these rules are published, what will have been the point?”

The revised draft rules have effectively neutered any meaningful AI regulation, allowing corporations to dodge accountability by claiming algorithmic tools are merely “advisory” to human decision-making.

The public has until June 2 to comment, but let’s be real - this looks like another win for Silicon Valley’s data-hungry overlords.