A key point is that it's not indeed the law. Many (probably most) of the recipients - including the author of the original article - are not actually required b

A key point is that it's not indeed the law. Many (probably most) of the recipients - including the author of the original article - are not actually required by Section 1798.130 of the California Civil Code do do anything even if it was a legitimate question from a real person, because their websites are far below the limits were those CCPA requirements start to apply. The survey was making a fraudulent legal threat, requiring the recipient do some things for the benefit of the sender (namely, providing them with data for the study; also lying about how that data will be used) based on false allegations that there is a legal duty for them to respond in some certain time, while in fact there is none.