Individual consumers did not choose to be Equifax customers, and as far as I know there is no way for me to "opt out" and effectively have all of my data removed from Equifax (including all future data).
The way to "opt-out" is to never use credit.
In most of the US it's against code to live in an apartment without electricity. In order to get electricity, you have to open an account with a utility, who opts-in to submit all your data to Equifax.
Their Workforce Solutions division does the same thing with employment data-- so simply by applying for a job from a participating employer, you're consenting to ultimately let the employer report that you work for them, what your current salary is, your SSN and all the rest of the juicy PII.
Fall on hard times? Need some government assistance? Applying for food stamps will also result in your state agency making an inquiry with Equifax to confirm your location of residence and last reported income. If you didn't have a profile before, you do now.
There is no way to opt out unless you work for yourself, live in a home you paid cash for, generate your own power/gas, and never use credit. So basically Unabomber life.
I'm already trying to figure out how to push locally for dropping SSNs from processes, no matter how Sisyphean it feels.