A data broker is an individual or
company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
that specializes in collecting
personal data (such as income, ethnicity, political beliefs, or
geolocation data) or data about companies, mostly from
public records
Public records are documents or pieces of information that are not considered confidential and generally pertain to the conduct of government.
For example, in California, when a couple fills out a marriage license application, they have the optio ...
but sometimes sourced privately, and selling or licensing such information to third parties for a variety of uses. Sources, usually
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
-based since the 1990s, may include
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
and
electoral roll
An electoral roll (variously called an electoral register, voters roll, poll book or other description) is a compilation that lists persons who are entitled to vote for particular elections in a particular jurisdiction. The list is usually broke ...
records,
social networking sites
A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, act ...
, court reports and purchase histories. The information from data brokers may be used in
background check
A background check is a process a person or company uses to verify that an individual is who they claim to be, and this provides an opportunity to check and confirm the validity of someone's criminal record, education, employment history, and oth ...
s used by employers and housing.
There are varying regulations around the world limiting the collection of information on individuals;
privacy laws
Privacy law is the body of law that deals with the regulating, storing, and using of personally identifiable information, personal healthcare information, and financial information of individuals, which can be collected by governments, public o ...
vary. In the United States there is no federal regulation protection for the consumer from data brokers, although some states have begun enacting laws individually. In the European Union,
GDPR
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a European Union regulation on data protection and privacy in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA). The GDPR is an important component of EU privacy law and of human rights law, in parti ...
serves to regulate data brokers operations. Some data brokers report to have large numbers of population data or "data attributes".
Acxiom
Acxiom (pronounced "ax-ee-um") is a Conway, Arkansas-based database marketing company. The company collects, analyzes and sells customer and business information used for targeted advertising campaigns. The company was formed in 2018 when Acxi ...
purports to have data from 2.5 billion different people.
Overview
Information broker is sometimes abbreviated to IB, and other terms used for information brokers include data brokers, independent information specialists,
information or data agents,
data providers, data suppliers,
information resellers, data vendors,
syndicated data brokers, or information product companies.
Information
consultant
A consultant (from la, consultare "to deliberate") is a professional (also known as ''expert'', ''specialist'', see variations of meaning below) who provides advice and other purposeful activities in an area of specialization.
Consulting servic ...
s, freelance
librarian
A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users.
The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...
s, and
information specialist
An information professional or information specialist is someone who collects, records, organises, stores, preserves, retrieves, and disseminates printed or digital information. The service delivered to the client is known as an information service ...
s are also sometimes termed information brokers.
Credit scores were first used in the 1950s,
and information brokering emerged as a career for individuals during that decade.
However the business of information brokering did not become widely known or specifically regulated until the 1990s.
During the 1970s, "information brokers" often had a
library science
Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, an ...
degree; however, towards the end of the 20th century, people with degrees in science, law, business, medicine, or other disciplines entered the profession, and the line between the terms information professional and information broker became more blurred.
In 1977, Kelly Warnken published the first fee-based information directory, followed by the ''Journal of Fee-Based Information Services'' in 1979
and the book ''The Information Brokers: How to Start and Operate Your Own Fee-based Service'' in 1981.
Beginning in the late twentieth century, technological developments such as the development of the
Internet
The Internet (or internet) is the global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a '' network of networks'' that consists of private, pub ...
, increasing computer
processing power
In computing, computer performance is the amount of useful work accomplished by a computer system. Outside of specific contexts, computer performance is estimated in terms of accuracy, efficiency and speed of executing computer program instruction ...
, and declining costs of
data storage
Data storage is the recording (storing) of information (data) in a storage medium. Handwriting, phonographic recording, magnetic tape, and optical discs are all examples of storage media. Biological molecules such as RNA and DNA are conside ...
made it much easier for companies to collect, analyze, store and transfer large amounts of data about individuals. This gave rise to the information broker or data broker industry.
, there is no required academic qualification for the job of information broker; some people may have a
bachelor’s degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six y ...
in business or marketing, while others may have a background in
library science
Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, an ...
, or may have worked for a database provider.
Services
Information brokering has been described as the "business of buying and selling information as a commodity". Information brokers have been defined by the (US)
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
as "companies that collect information, including personal information about consumers, from a wide variety of sources for the purpose of reselling such information to their customers for various purposes, including verifying an individual’s identity, differentiating records,
marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
products, and preventing
financial fraud
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...
".
[ ]Gartner
Gartner, Inc is a technological research and consulting firm based in Stamford, Connecticut that conducts research on technology and shares this research both through private consulting as well as executive programs and conferences. Its clients ...
defines an information broker as "a business that aggregates information from a variety of sources; processes it to enrich, cleanse or analyze it; and licenses it to other organizations". It states that data is "licensed for particular or limited uses" rather than sold to a client.
Information brokers (IBs) collect and collate data concerning myriad topics, ranging from the daily communications of an individual to more specialized data such as product registrations, patent
A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...
s and copyright
A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, education ...
data, mostly from publicly available sources, usually obtained from online database An online database is a database accessible from a local network or the Internet, as opposed to one that is stored locally on an individual computer or its attached storage (such as a CD). Online databases are hosted on websites, made available as s ...
s. They may also provide various other services, such as analysing the data and writing reports on them; creating database
In computing, a database is an organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically. Small databases can be stored on a file system, while large databases are hosted on computer clusters or cloud storage. The design of databases sp ...
s for clients; or updating clients whenever new information on a specific topic or person. Clients use data brokers to save themselves time and money, as the brokers are trained in the skills needed to retrieve such information effectively and efficiently.[ Information brokers are ]secondary research
Secondary research involves the summary, collation and/or synthesis of existing research. Secondary research is contrasted with primary research in that primary research involves the generation of data, whereas secondary research uses primary res ...
ers, who find information on a variety of subjects, including companies (often competitors[), markets, people, and products. Their role includes analysis and synthesis of the data they find,] Brokers may find everything else they can about an individual on the Internet, and aggregate that data with information from a variety of other sources.[
Information brokers sometimes specialise in a specific area, such as ]market research
Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers: know about them, starting with who they are. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining competitiveness. Mark ...
, statistics
Statistics (from German language, German: ''wikt:Statistik#German, Statistik'', "description of a State (polity), state, a country") is the discipline that concerns the collection, organization, analysis, interpretation, and presentation of ...
, or scientific data
In the pursuit of knowledge, data (; ) is a collection of discrete values that convey information, describing quantity, quality, fact, statistics, other basic units of meaning, or simply sequences of symbols that may be further interpr ...
.[
Clients of information brokers come from a wide range of industries and professions, including manufacturing, financial institutions, ]political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...
, government agencies and historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...
s. Non-profit organization
A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...
s might benefit from information which helps them to apply for grant funding
A grant is a fund given by an end entity grant – often a public body, charitable foundation, or a specialised grant-making institution – to an individual or another entity (usually, a non-profit organisation, sometimes a business or a loc ...
, and real estate agent
A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and age ...
s often use IBs to undertake land title search
In real estate business and law, a title search or property title search is the process of examining public records and retrieving documents on the history of a piece of real property to determine and confirm property's legal ownership, and find o ...
es.[ ]Advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
, fraud detection
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compensa ...
and risk mitigation are three common reasons for using data brokers,[ and these are the three broad categories defined by the Federal Trade Commission.] Information brokers need to screen their clients carefully to avoid criminals obtaining data on individuals for nefarious purposes: US broking companies Lexis-Nexis
LexisNexis is a part of the RELX corporation that sells data analytics products and various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper search, and consumer informa ...
and ChoicePoint
LexisNexis Risk Solutions is a global data and analytics company that provides data and technology services, analytics, predictive insights and fraud prevention for a wide range of industries. It is headquartered in Alpharetta, Georgia (part of ...
have both been duped by phoney clients, leading in one case to identity theft
Identity theft occurs when someone uses another person's personal identifying information, like their name, identifying number, or credit card number, without their permission, to commit fraud or other crimes. The term ''identity theft'' was co ...
on a large scale.[
Data may be harvested from various sources, including ]census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
, change of address
Post offices and other mail service providers typically offer a mail forwarding service, commonly known as hybrid mail or virtual post office box services, to redirect mail addressed to one location to another address – usually for a given per ...
, motor vehicle
A motor vehicle, also known as motorized vehicle or automotive vehicle, is a self-propelled land vehicle, commonly wheeled, that does not operate on Track (rail transport), rails (such as trains or trams) and is used for the transportation of pe ...
-related records, user-contributed material and social networking sites
A social networking service or SNS (sometimes called a social networking site) is an online platform which people use to build social networks or social relationships with other people who share similar personal or career content, interests, act ...
, media and court reports, voter registration
In electoral systems, voter registration (or enrollment) is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll, which is usually a prerequisite for being entitled or permitted to vote.
The ru ...
lists, consumer purchase histories, most-wanted lists and terrorist watch lists, bank card transaction records, health care authorities, and Web browsing histories. IBs may also purchase information from other companies (such as a credit card
A credit card is a payment card issued to users (cardholders) to enable the cardholder to pay a merchant for goods and services based on the cardholder's accrued debt (i.e., promise to the card issuer to pay them for the amounts plus the o ...
company).[ The information collected may include name, address, ]social security number
In the United States, a Social Security number (SSN) is a nine-digit number issued to U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and temporary (working) residents under section 205(c)(2) of the Social Security Act, codified as . The number is issued to ...
, driver's licence
A driver's license is a legal authorization, or the official document confirming such an authorization, for a specific individual to operate one or more types of motorized vehicles—such as motorcycles, cars, trucks, or buses—on a public r ...
number and other such identifying information, as well as occupation, property ownership, income, etc. Advertising companies are most often only interested in profiles and categories rather than personal information about an individual.
Information from property records, tax filings, etc. may also be available via "people-search" whitepage sites, either for a small fee or no cost. These websites can thereby have implications for stalking
Stalking is unwanted and/or repeated surveillance by an individual or group toward another person. Stalking behaviors are interrelated to harassment and intimidation and may include following the victim in person or monitoring them. The ter ...
, harassment
Harassment covers a wide range of behaviors of offensive nature. It is commonly understood as behavior that demeans, humiliates or embarrasses a person, and it is characteristically identified by its unlikelihood in terms of social and moral ...
, and domestic violence
Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...
.
The data are aggregated to create individual profiles, often made up of thousands of pieces of information, such as a person's age, race, gender
Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
, height, weight, marital status
Civil status, or marital status, are the distinct options that describe a person's relationship with a significant other. ''Married'', '' single'', ''divorced'', and ''widowed'' are examples of civil status.
''Civil status'' and ''marital stat ...
, religious affiliation, political affiliation, occupation, household income, net worth
Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an individual or institution minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities. Since financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets, net ...
, home ownership status, investment habits, product preferences and health-related interests. Brokers then sell the profiles to other organizations that use them mainly to target advertising
Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...
and marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
towards specific groups, or to verify a person's identity including for purposes of fraud
In law, fraud is intentional deception to secure unfair or unlawful gain, or to deprive a victim of a legal right. Fraud can violate civil law (e.g., a fraud victim may sue the fraud perpetrator to avoid the fraud or recover monetary compens ...
detection, and to sell to individuals and organizations so they can research people for various reasons. Some datasets may also include geolocation data and is included in marketing resources from Acxiom
Acxiom (pronounced "ax-ee-um") is a Conway, Arkansas-based database marketing company. The company collects, analyzes and sells customer and business information used for targeted advertising campaigns. The company was formed in 2018 when Acxi ...
. Experian
Experian is an American–Irish multinational data analytics and consumer credit reporting company. Experian collects and aggregates information on over 1 billion people and businesses including 235 million individual U.S. consumers and more t ...
and Oracle
An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination.
Description
The word '' ...
also advertise location-based marketing services.
Many brokers work independently, while others are employees of large companies such as LexisNexis
LexisNexis is a part of the RELX corporation that sells data analytics products and various databases that are accessed through online portals, including portals for computer-assisted legal research (CALR), newspaper search, and consumer informa ...
or ProQuest
ProQuest LLC is an Ann Arbor, Michigan-based global information-content and technology company, founded in 1938 as University Microfilms by Eugene B. Power. ProQuest is known for its applications and information services for libraries, provid ...
.[
]
In the United States
Data brokers in the United States include Acxiom
Acxiom (pronounced "ax-ee-um") is a Conway, Arkansas-based database marketing company. The company collects, analyzes and sells customer and business information used for targeted advertising campaigns. The company was formed in 2018 when Acxi ...
, Experian
Experian is an American–Irish multinational data analytics and consumer credit reporting company. Experian collects and aggregates information on over 1 billion people and businesses including 235 million individual U.S. consumers and more t ...
, Epsilon
Epsilon (, ; uppercase , lowercase or lunate ; el, έψιλον) is the fifth letter of the Greek alphabet, corresponding phonetically to a mid front unrounded vowel or . In the system of Greek numerals it also has the value five. It was der ...
, CoreLogic
CoreLogic, Inc. is an Irvine, CA-based corporation providing financial, property, and consumer information, analytics, and business intelligence. The company analyzes information assets and data to provide clients with analytics and customized ...
, Datalogix
Oracle Advertising, formerly Datalogix, is a cloud-based consumer data collection, activation, and measurement platform for use by digital advertisers. Datalogix was a consumer data collection company based in Westminster, Colorado that provided ...
, Intelius
Intelius, Inc. is a public records business headquartered in Seattle, Washington, United States. It provides information services, including people and property search, background checks and reverse phone lookup. Users also have the ability to p ...
, PeekYou
PeekYou is a people search engine that indexes people and their links on the web. Founded in April 2006 by Michael Hussey, PeekYou claims that they have indexed over 250 million people, mostly in the United States and Canada. The search results ...
, Exactis
Exactis LLC is a data broker established in 2015 and based in the U.S state of Florida. The firm reportedly handles business and consumer data in an effort to refine targeted advertising.
Data leak
Exactis became notable in June 2018, after a di ...
, and Recorded Future
Recorded Future is a privately held cybersecurity company founded in 2009, with headquarters in Somerville, Massachusetts.
The company specializes in the collection, processing, analysis, and dissemination of threat intelligence. Recorded Future ...
.[http://educationnewyork.com/files/rockefeller_databroker.pdf ] Acxiom claims to have files on 2.5 billion people, with about 11,000 data points per consumer (quoted in Senate.gov
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and powe ...
). The company Oracle
An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination.
Description
The word '' ...
has publicly noted it has connections with 80 data broker companies. The US Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
has purchased cell phone location data and home utility data from data brokers to facilitate deportation
Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
s. The Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) has purchased personal data from the company Venntel. Under both of these circumstances, a warrant is not required to acquire this data, due to the fact that it is "open source" or "commercially obtained". Use of the data also has implications in background check
A background check is a process a person or company uses to verify that an individual is who they claim to be, and this provides an opportunity to check and confirm the validity of someone's criminal record, education, employment history, and oth ...
s (used in rent/housing and job applications).
In 2012, Spokeo
Spokeo is a people search website that aggregates data from online and offline sources.
History
Spokeo was founded in 2006 by four graduates from Stanford University—Mike Daly, Harrison Tang, Ray Chen, and Eric Liang. The original idea of aggr ...
, a people search website, settled with the US Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction ov ...
for $800,000 over violations of the Fair Credit Reporting Act
The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 ''et seq'', is U.S. Federal Government legislation enacted to promote the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of consumer information contained in the files of consumer reporting agencies. It ...
.
In 2017, Cambridge Analytica
Cambridge Analytica Ltd (CA), previously known as SCL USA, was a British political consulting firm that came to prominence through the Facebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal. It was started in 2013, as a subsidiary of the private intellig ...
claimed that it has psychological profiles of 220 million United States citizens, based on 5,000 separate data sets, with another source reporting 230 million. A scandal emerged after it was found that after 270,000 Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
users consented to sharing their data, data was scraped from about 50 million profiles on the social media platform. This was seen as breach of trust by Facebook.
In 2018, American companies spent $19 billion acquiring and analyzing consumer data, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau
The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) is an American advertising business organization that develops industry standards, conducts research, and provides legal support for the online advertising industry. The organization represents many of th ...
.
In 2021, ''The Pillar
''The Pillar'' is an American news website focusing on the Catholic Church. The site's stated mission is to "do serious, responsible, sober journalism about the Church, from the Church, and for the Church."
The site was founded in 2021 by two jo ...
'' outed a Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
by purchasing data from a data broker including data usage from Grindr
Grindr () is a location-based social networking and online dating application targeted towards members of the gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer community.
It was one of the first geosocial apps for gay men when it launched in March 2009 an ...
.
Privacy issues and regulation
Information privacy law
Information privacy, data privacy or data protection laws provide a legal framework on how to obtain, use and store data of natural persons. The various laws around the world describe the rights of natural persons to control who is using its dat ...
s are not as strict in the United States as in the European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, where data brokers work hard to get around the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) regulations, brought into operation in 2018. Under GDPR, data can only be collected for re-use on one of six legal bases. The rather vague term "legitimate interest" is often abused or misinterpreted.[ Explicit consent from users is required for information storage. In addition, data processing related with political opinion and religious belief is prohibited unless the consent of data subject is granted.
In the US, individuals generally cannot find out what data a broker holds on them, how a broker got it, or how it is used. There is no ]federal law
Federal law is the body of law created by the federal government of a country. A federal government is formed when a group of political units, such as states or provinces join in a federation, delegating their individual sovereignty and many po ...
that permits or enables consumers to see, make corrections to, or opt out The term opt-out refers to several methods by which individuals can avoid receiving unsolicited product or service information. This option is usually associated with direct marketing campaigns such as e-mail marketing or direct mail. A list of thos ...
of data compiled by brokers.[
Files on individuals are generally sold in lists; examples cited in testimony to the ]U.S. Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is Bicameralism, bicameral, composed of a lower body, the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, and an upper body, ...
include lists of rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
victims, seniors with dementia
Dementia is a disorder which manifests as a set of related symptoms, which usually surfaces when the brain is damaged by injury or disease. The symptoms involve progressive impairments in memory, thinking, and behavior, which negatively affe ...
, financially vulnerable people, people with HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
, police officers (by home address), alcoholics, and sufferers of erectile dysfunction.[
]
Calls for regulation in the US
A 2007 University of California
The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...
study, after requesting and analyzing information-sharing practices at 86 companies, found many operating under an opt-out The term opt-out refers to several methods by which individuals can avoid receiving unsolicited product or service information. This option is usually associated with direct marketing campaigns such as e-mail marketing or direct mail. A list of thos ...
model that it described as inconsistent with consumer expectations, and recommended that the California state legislature
The California State Legislature is a bicameral state legislature consisting of a lower house, the California State Assembly, with 80 members; and an upper house, the California State Senate, with 40 members. Both houses of the Legisla ...
require companies to disclose their information-sharing policies using clear, unambiguous language, and consider creating a centralized, user-friendly method for consumers to opt out of information-sharing.
The proposed US Data Accountability and Trust Act (introduced in 2009) contained a number of requirements for auditing and verification of accuracy of data held by information brokers, and additional measures in the case of a security breach. The bill also gave identified individuals the means and opportunity to review and correct the data held that related to them. It passed through the United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
in the 111th United States Congress, but failed to pass the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
. It was revived by the 112th United States Congress in 2011 as H.R. 1707., but died after being referred to committee. The bill was first introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush
Bobby Lee Rush (born November 23, 1946) is an American politician, activist and pastor who served as the U.S. representative for for three decades. A civil rights activist during the 1960s, Rush co-founded the Illinois chapter of the Black Pant ...
-IL1on 30 April 2009, H.R. 2221.
In 2009, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is an independent agency of the United States government whose principal mission is the enforcement of civil (non-criminal) antitrust law and the promotion of consumer protection. The FTC shares jurisdiction o ...
had recommended the United States Congress develop legislation enabling consumers to see the information that data brokers hold about them, a recommendation it renewed in subsequent reports in 2012 and 2014. In 2013, the U.S. Government Accountability Office also called for Congress to consider legislation.
In October 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into action statute AB 1202. This bill "would require data brokers to register with, and provide certain information to, the Attorney General. The bill would define a data broker as a business that knowingly collects and sells to third parties the personal information of a consumer with whom the business does not have a direct relationship, subject to specified exceptions". This law was created to safeguard against the "cloak of invisibility" (unregistered, unregulated, untracked information broker) that previous data brokers roamed in and is meant to regulate the purchasing of data in commercial third party buyers and tracks the data brokers information trades. While the law is meant to protect privacy of consumers, this law also defines the profession of a Data Broker legislatively and has put registration perimeters around the profession and purchases of critical consumer data.
Due to the interest in federal regulation, data broker firms have lobbied
In politics, lobbying, persuasion or interest representation is the act of lawfully attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, most often legislators or members of regulatory agencies. Lobbying, which ...
and spent $29 million in the year 2020.
Criticisms, consumer rights and breaches
A United States Senate Committee in 2013 published ''A Review of the Data Broker Industry: Collection, Use, and Sale of Consumer Data for Marketing Purposes''. It states that "Today, a wide range of companies known as 'data brokers' collect and maintain data on hundreds of millions of consumers, which they analyze, package, and sell generally without consumer permission or input." Their main findings were that:
*Data brokers collect a huge volume of detailed information on hundreds of millions of consumers.
*Data brokers sell products that identify financially vulnerable consumers.
*Data broker products provide information about consumer offline behavior to tailor online outreach by marketers.
*Data brokers operate behind a veil of secrecy.
The information produced by data brokers has been criticized for enabling discrimination in pricing, services and opportunities. For example, a May 2014 White House report found that web searches that included black-seeming first names such as Jermaine were more likely to result in ads being displayed that include the word "arrest," compared with web searches including white-seeming first names such as Geoffrey.
An Online Information Broker FAQ is published by Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC), a nonprofit consumer organization in the United States. PRC also maintains a list of information brokers, with links to their privacy policies, terms of service, and opt-out provisions.
Data brokers have also faced legal charges for security breaches due to poor data security practices.
Professional associations
The Association of Independent Information Professionals
The Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) is an international professional association for information professionals specializing in primary and secondary research, marketing and communications, information management and ...
(AIIP) is a professional association
A professional association (also called a professional body, professional organization, or professional society) usually seeks to advocacy, further a particular profession, the interests of individuals and organisations engaged in that professio ...
based in Baton Rouge
Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...
, Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
, with members from 20 countries worldwide, representing both primary and secondary researchers.[
]
Fiction
Examples of information brokers in contemporary fiction would be the Shadow Broker in the video game series ''Mass Effect
''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson, Drew Karpyshyn and Preston Watamaniuk. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the known unive ...
''; Nicholas Wayne, Rachel, Elean Duga, Gustav St. Germain, Carol, and the President of the Daily Days newspaper company in ''Baccano!
is a Japanese light novel series written by Ryohgo Narita and illustrated by Katsumi Enami. The series, often told from multiple points of view, is mostly set within a fictional United States during various time periods, most notably the ...
''; or Izaya Orihara in the light novel series '' Durarara!!''. A few of the characters in Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash
''Snow Crash'' is a science fiction novel by the American writer Neal Stephenson, published in 1992. Like many of Stephenson's novels, it covers history, linguistics, anthropology, archaeology, religion, computer science, politics, cryptography ...
find work selling data as "stringers" for the Central Intelligence Corporation. Information broker characters play a prominent role in stories published by DC Comics
DC Comics, Inc. (doing business as DC) is an American comic book publisher and the flagship unit of DC Entertainment, a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery.
DC Comics is one of the largest and oldest American comic book companies, with thei ...
. The character trope is best exemplified by the superhero Oracle
An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination.
Description
The word '' ...
, but the trope is later used with the characters Calculator
An electronic calculator is typically a portable electronic device used to perform calculations, ranging from basic arithmetic to complex mathematics.
The first solid-state electronic calculator was created in the early 1960s. Pocket-sized ...
, Proxy
Proxy may refer to:
* Proxy or agent (law), a substitute authorized to act for another entity or a document which authorizes the agent so to act
* Proxy (climate), a measured variable used to infer the value of a variable of interest in climate ...
, Chloe Sullivan
Chloe Sullivan is a fictional character in the television series ''Smallville'', which is based on the Superman and Superboy comics published by DC Comics. Portrayed by series regular Allison Mack, Chloe was an original character created exclus ...
, and Felicity Smoak
Felicity Smoak is a fictional character appearing in comics published by DC Comics. Her first appearance was in ''The Fury of Firestorm'' #23 (May 1984), created by writer Gerry Conway and artist Rafael Kayanan. She was originally the manager of ...
as well.
See also
*Background check
A background check is a process a person or company uses to verify that an individual is who they claim to be, and this provides an opportunity to check and confirm the validity of someone's criminal record, education, employment history, and oth ...
*Competitive intelligence
Competitive intelligence (CI) is the process and forward-looking practices used in producing knowledge about the competitive environment to improve organizational performance. It involves the systematic collection and analysis of information from ...
*Information consultant
An information professional or information specialist is someone who collects, records, organises, stores, preserves, retrieves, and disseminates printed or digital information. The service delivered to the client is known as an information service ...
*Information professional
An information professional or information specialist is someone who collects, records, organises, stores, preserves, retrieves, and disseminates printed or digital information. The service delivered to the client is known as an information service ...
*Information warfare
Information warfare (IW) (as different from cyber warfare that attacks computers, software, and command control systems) is a concept involving the battlespace use and management of information and communication technology (ICT) in pursuit of a ...
*List broker A list broker acts as an agent for those who wish to conduct direct marketing campaigns via direct mail, email, or telemarketing.
List brokers provide lists that, minimally, contain a prospect's name and physical address. Consumer Lists may includ ...
*Microtargeting
Microtargeting is the use of online data to tailor advertising messages to individuals, based on the identification of recipients’ personal vulnerabilities. Such tactics can be used for promoting a product or a political candidate. Direct marketi ...
*Narrowcasting
Narrowcasting is the dissemination of information (usually via Internet, radio, newspaper, or television) to a narrow audience, rather than to the broader public at-large. Related to niche marketing or target marketing, narrowcasting involves ai ...
*PeekYou
PeekYou is a people search engine that indexes people and their links on the web. Founded in April 2006 by Michael Hussey, PeekYou claims that they have indexed over 250 million people, mostly in the United States and Canada. The search results ...
, a US people-search website
*Privacy laws of the United States
Privacy laws of the United States deal with several different legal concepts. One is the ''invasion of privacy'', a tort based in common law allowing an aggrieved party to bring a lawsuit against an individual who unlawfully intrudes into thei ...
*Psychological warfare
Psychological warfare (PSYWAR), or the basic aspects of modern psychological operations (PsyOp), have been known by many other names or terms, including Military Information Support Operations (MISO), Psy Ops, political warfare, "Hearts and Mi ...
*Price discrimination
Price discrimination is a microeconomic pricing strategy where identical or largely similar goods or services are sold at different prices by the same provider in different markets. Price discrimination is distinguished from product different ...
*Spokeo
Spokeo is a people search website that aggregates data from online and offline sources.
History
Spokeo was founded in 2006 by four graduates from Stanford University—Mike Daly, Harrison Tang, Ray Chen, and Eric Liang. The original idea of aggr ...
, a US people-search
*Amazon
Amazon most often refers to:
* Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology
* Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin
* Amazon River, in South America
* Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...
, an ecommerce platform
*Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...
, a social media company
References
Further reading
*
External links
* "AIIP members are owners of diverse, information-centric businesses located around the world."
{{DEFAULTSORT:Information Broker
Business occupations
Business intelligence
Research