The California Privacy Protection Agency (CPPA) issued a record fine earlier this month to Tractor Supply, the country’s self-proclaimed largest “rural lifestyle” retailer, for apparently ducking its responsibilities under the California Consumer Privacy Act. Under that law, companies are required to respect California customers’ and job applicants’ rights to know, delete, and correct information that businesses collect about them, and to opt-out of some types of sharing and use. The law also requires companies to give notice of these rights, along with other information, to customers, job applicants, and others. The CPPA said that Tractor Supply failed several of these requirements. This is the first time the agency has enforced this data privacy law to protect job applicants. Perhaps best of all, the company's practices came to light all thanks to a consumer complaint filed with the agency. Your complaints matter—so keep speaking up.  Tractor Supply, which has 2,500 stores in 49 states, will pay for their actions to the tune of $1,350,000—the largest fine the agency has issued to date. Specifically, the agency said, Tractor Supply violated the law by: Failing to maintain a privacy policy that notified consumers of their rights; Failing to notify California job applicants of their privacy rights and how to exercise them; Failing to provide consumers with an effective mechanism to opt-out of the selling and sharing of their personal information, including through opt-out preference signals such as Global Privacy Control; and Disclosing personal information to other companies without entering into contracts that contain privacy protections. In addition to the fine, the company also must take an inventory of its digital properties and tracking technologies and will have to certify its compliance with the California privacy law for the next four years. It may surprise people to see that the agency’s most aggressive fine isn’t levied on a large technology company, data broker, or advertising company. But this case merely highlights what anyone who uses the internet knows: practically every company is tracking your online behavior.  The agency may be trying to make exactly this point by zeroing in on Tractor Supply. In its press release on the fine, the agency's top enforcer was clear that they'll be casting a wide net.   “We will continue to look broadly across industries to identify violations of California’s privacy law,” said Michael Macko, the Agency’s head of enforcement. “We made it an enforcement priority to investigate whether businesses are properly implementing privacy rights, and this action underscores our ongoing commitment to doing that for consumers and job applicants alike.” It is encouraging to see the agency stand up for Californians’ rights. For years, we have said privacy laws are only as strong as their enforcement. Ideally we'd like to see privacy laws—including California’s—include a private right to action to let anyone sue for privacy violations, in addition to enforcement actions like this one from regulators. Since individuals can't stand up for the majority of their own privacy rights in California, however, it's even more important that regulators such as the CPPA are active, strategic, and bold.  It also highlights why it's important for people like you to submit complaints to regulators. As the agency itself said, “The CPPA opened an investigation into Tractor Supply’s privacy practices after receiving a complaint from a consumer in Placerville, California.” Your complaints matter—so keep speaking up. 

Privacy laws are only as strong as their enforcement. In California, the state’s privacy agency recently issued its largest-ever fine for violation of the state’s privacy law—and all because of a consumer complaint. The state’s  privacy law, the California Consumer Privacy Act or CCPA, requires many companies to respect California customers' and job applicants' rights to know, delete and correct information that businesses collect about them, and to opt-out of some types of sharing and use. It also requires companies to give notice of these rights, along with other information, to customers, job applicants, and others. (Bonus tip: Have a complaint about something else, such as a data breach? Go to the CA Attorney General.) If you’re a Californian and think a business isn’t obeying the law, then the best thing to do is tell someone who can do something about it. How? It’s easy. In fewer than a dozen questions, you can share enough information to get the agency started. Start With the Basics First, head to the California Privacy Protection Agency’s website at cppa.ca.gov. On the front page, you’ll see an option to “File a Complaint.” Click on that option. That button takes you to the online complaint form. You can also print out the agency’s paper complaint form here. The complaint form starts, fittingly, by explaining the agency’s own privacy practices. Then it gets down to business by asking for information about your situation. The first question offers a list of rights people have under the CCPA, such as a right to delete or a right to correct sensitive personal information. So, for example, if you’ve asked ABC Company to delete your information, but they have refused, you’d select “Right to Delete.” This helps the agency categorize your complaint and tie it directly to the requirements in the law.  The form then asks for the names of businesses, contractors, or people you want to report. It also asks whether you’re a California resident. If you’re unsure, because you split residency or for other reasons, there is an “Unsure” option. Adding the Details From there, the form asks for more detailed information about what’s happened. There is a character limit on this question, so you’ll have to choose your words carefully. If you can, check out the agency’s FAQ on how to write a successful complaint before you submit the form. This will help you be specific and tell the agency what they need to hear to act on your complaint. In the next question, include information about any proof you have supporting your complaint. So, for example, you could tell the agency you have your email asking ABC Company to delete your information, and also a screenshot of proof that they haven’t erased it. Or, say “I spoke to a person on the phone on this date.” This should just be a list of information you have, rather than a place to paste in emails or attach images. The form will also ask if you’ve directly contacted the business about your complaint. You can just answer yes or no to this question. If it’s an issue such as a company not posting a privacy notice, or something similar, it may not have made sense to contact them directly. But if you made a deletion request, you probably have contacted them about it. Anonymous or Not? Finally, the complaint form will ask you to make either an “unsworn complaint” or a “sworn complaint.” This choice affects how you’ll be involved in the process going forward. You can file an anonymous unsworn complaint. But that will mean the agency can’t contact you about the issue in the future, since they don’t have any of your information. For a sworn complaint, you have to provide some contact information and confirm that what you’re saying is true and that you’d swear to it in court. Just because you submit contact information, that doesn’t mean the agency will contact you. Investigations are usually confidential, until there’s something like a settlement to announce. But we’ve seen that consumer complaints can be the spark for an investigation. It’s important for all of us to speak up, because it really does make a difference.

Trump's Department of Energy wants to cancel billions more in awards that were granted by the Biden administration, and startups are in the crosshairs.

In this episode, the Common Core Diva Lynne Taylor and Private Families Founder Arica Kildea join me as we take a look at holding representatives accountable via their oath and bond, as well as some tips for setting up a private trust for your property. Visit Common Core Diva  Visit Private Families Subscribe on Rumble: https://rumble.com/user/sonsoflibertyradiolive …

Will Generation Z be our next great generation?

Did not have the White House responding to Zach Bryan on my 2025 bingo card. Last week, Zach Bryan teased an unexpectedly political new song called “Bad News,” which criticized the ongoing immigration raids by ICE and bemoaned the “fading of the red white and blue” in a what can only be described as one of the most controversial unreleased songs in recent memory. And we haven’t even heard the full song yet… The song starts out pretty typical for a Zach Bryan song, but ends with a quick dig at police officers: “Didn’t wake up dead or in jail Some out of town boys been giving us hell I got some bad news I woke up missing you My friends are all degenerates but they’re all I got The generational story of dropping the plot I heard the cops came Cocky mother******* ain’t they?” However, once the song gets to its second verse, it dives into the political side of things. Right off the bat, Bryan took aim at the ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). And towards the end of the verse, the country star reveals that the “Bad News” he’s singing about is the “fading of the red, white and blue.” He also mentions the polarization of Bruce Springsteen as a sign that the country is in decline: “And ICE is gonna come, bust down your door Try to build a house no one builds no more But I got a telephone Kids are all scared and all alone The Boss stopped bumping, the rock stopped rolling The middle fingers rising and it won’t stop showing I got some bad news The fading of the red, white and blue” Unsurprisingly, the unreleased track has called an immense amount of uproar among both the left and right respectively. While many on the right are calling for a boycott of the “Something in the Orange” singer and criticizing him for being anti-law enforcement, members on the left are praising Bryan for his controversial stance on the administration’s current immigration policies. Of course, they called him MAGA when took a picture with Trump after the Super Bowl, and “canceled” him for being a terrible boyfriend to Brianna Chickenfry. But earlier today, TMZ reached out to the Department of Homeland Security (the agency that oversees ICE) for comment on the new song, and Tricia McLaughlin, the DHS Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs, provided a short, concise clap-back on behalf of the department: “Stick to ‘Pink Skies.’” And the department issued another response to Bryan in the afternoon – while not directly responding. In one of their now-famous (or infamous, depending how you look at it) videos highlighting the department’s work on deportations and immigration enforcement, DHS decided to use his hit song “Revival” as the soundtrack for footage showing immigration raids and deportation flights: We’re having an All Night Revival pic.twitter.com/o7q8DExPra — Homeland Security (@DHSgov) October 7, 2025 Just when you thought the administration was done responding to Bryan, they followed it up another quote, this time directly from the White House. Using not one but six references to different hits from the Oklahoma native, White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson remarked that Bryan wants to “Open The Gates to criminal illegal aliens” in a statement to Newsweek. “While Zach Bryan wants to Open The Gates to criminal illegal aliens and has Condemned heroic ICE officers, Something in the Orange tells me a majority of Americans disagree with him and support President Trump’s great American Revival. Godspeed, Zach!” Clever. In a year filled with altercations, ranging from the aftermath of his public breakup with Barstool’s Brianna Chickenfry to his physical altercation with Gavin Adcock at Born & Raised Fest last month, I think Bryan’s somewhat accidental feud with both the DHS and the current administration has to rank as the highest profile of his many controversies. As of now, Bryan has yet to respond to the DHS and the White House’s remarks… and something tells me he won’t. He also turned the comments off on the original song teaser. Stay tuned…The post “Zach Bryan Wants To ‘Open The Gates’ To Criminal Illegal Aliens” – The White House Responds To Country Star’s New Anti-ICE Song first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Test your knowledge of the best and worst Halloween candies in this timed quiz.