I Deleted Myself From the Internet-Here’s Why You Should Too

& an Update on the Big Ugly Bill

*This post is sponsored by DeleteMe. I paid for DeleteMe with my own money about a year ago and found the service they provide to be valuable. I don’t usually do sponsored content on my Substack but I think this is a great service. DeleteMe was also just named Wirecutter’s best data removal service, so they agree. Use can go to joindeleteme.com/emily20 and use the code EMILY20 for 20% off. Thanks for your continued support. *

News Update:

• The Senate is going to start voting on the Big spending bill this (Monday) morning at 9am. There is going to be a ‘vote-a-rama’ today where Senators can offer amendments. The voting could last through the night till tomorrow.

• If it passes, the bill would need to pass the House. House Freedom Caucus is objecting to the Senate version which adds $1.3 trillion to the deficit. There’s also a continued battle over SALT. The same text needs to pass both houses to go to the President’s desk, rumors are that House Speaker Mike Johnson is making promises about changes in the fall if they can finish by the 4th.

• CALL TO ACTION:

  • In the Senate the goal is to pressure Murkowski, Collins and Johnson to vote no, and people are commenting on their corporate donors pages, you can find that info here.

• The Senate version of the bill will add at least $3.3 trillion to the national debt over the next decade. It includes lots of things, increasing electricity costs by 30%, instituting work requirements for medicaid and food stamps, and eliminating a $200 tax on gun silencers and short-barreled rifles and shotguns.

• Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina announced he’s not running for re-election after opposing this bill and Trump saying he’d punish him by supporting a challenger. Lara Trump is a likely candidate for the seat.

Probably the single most common question I get at speaking engagements is: Aren’t you scared? And I understand why they ask. We’re living in a time when speaking out, especially as a woman, especially about politics, can feel like sticking a target on your back.

The online world is filled with vitriol, and so much of it is aimed at silencing people. It’s not just rude comments or trolls in DMs. But it can be a lot worse, especially if you’re a woman. You can be threatened, people can reveal your personal information and sometimes you might even be harassed in real life.

What people are really asking me is: How do you keep speaking out when the risks feel so real? And the honest answer is that it’s something I think about all the time. I don’t think I’m particularly famous or visible, but I know what it means to live with a certain level of exposure. I’ve had my identity stolen. I’ve had friends who’ve been stalked, doxxed, or forced to move. I know what it feels like to look over your shoulder or Google your name and see information that shouldn’t be public staring back at you.

Political violence has been on the increase recently, including the assassination of Former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, her husband and their golden retriever Gilbert just a few weeks ago. Authorities reported that the killer had a list of other politicians and advocates, particularly those who have been supportive of abortion, and while I don’t think I am sufficiently well known to be on a list of that nature – I understand how people get concerned about speaking out against things like the current attack on reproductive rights.

But I have no interest in quieting down, and so that means taking steps to protect myself.

There is also more data about you out there than ever before. Data brokers collect tons of personally identifiable information (PII) and then sell it. Their entire business model is collecting your name, address, phone number, past addresses, family members, and even political affiliations… and selling it to the highest bidder. They pull the data from public records, contest entries, social media and other seemingly innocuous places to create a detailed story (in data) about who you are.

This started for me because of identity theft, which is a nightmare I don’t wish on anyone. The FTC receives 1.4 million identity theft reports annually, and the total fraud and identity theft cases have tripled over the last decade. Getting your info out of these data brokers won’t necessarily reduce the amount of spam mail you get but it’s a step to take to protect yourself.

DeleteMe sponsored this post, but I would recommend them regardless. In fact, I already did a few months ago in my post about how to protect your privacy in the Trump era. Since I signed up DeleteMe has removed my personal information from 93 data brokers and reviewed 1,974 listings. 58% of those were selling my home address. It updates every quarter so I can see what’s been removed. And yes, I sleep better knowing that if someone is trying to find my address, they’re going to hit a wall instead of a spreadsheet.

Wirecutter recently named DeleteMe the best data removal service, so you can check out their review for lots of details. There was no way I was going to review thousands of listings and submit requests to take down my information on my own – for me this was $200 worth spending. You can use the code EMILY20 for 20% off at joindeleteme.com/emily20, and once you have an account you get a discounted rate for family members.

The truth is, we shouldn’t have to live like this, constantly calculating how much of ourselves to reveal, wondering who might be watching, or what they could do with the details of our lives. But until the laws catch up or the platforms get serious about safety, this is the reality we’re in.

Using DeleteMe doesn’t fix the whole system, but it gives me one small layer of control back. And in a world that feels increasingly out of control, I’ll take it.

Thanks, as always, for being here.