Equivocation. My stock broker doesn't own my stocks either, they merely hold my assets in a brokerage account.

I encourage you to present that analogy to an actual court and see how far it gets you. It's very easy to find the statutory definition of a "data broker" under California law.

This is what I mean by the fruitlessness of these kinds of legal discussions on HN. What do you want me to argue, that you're wrong to want the law to work that way?

And you would (rightfully) be angered if your stock broker sold your shares and pocketed the proceeds, because you own them.