Brokers use ‘billions’ of data points to profile Americans
Data brokers that quietly gather billions of pieces of data on Americans should be required to operate more openly, so that those categorized as “financially challenged” or possibly suffering from serious medical conditions have the ability to check and challenge those characterizations, a federal report said.
The data broker industry, which is lightly regulated, develops profiles of hundreds of millions of people using online and offline sources, such as magazine subscriptions, visits to Web sites, posting on social networking services and purchase histories, the Federal Trade Commission reported. The information sold to marketers can include race, income and homeownership. Categories used to label consumers include “Bible Lifestyle,” “Smoker in Household” and “New Age/Organic Lifestyle,” the report said. One category, called “Rural Everlasting,” describes people of retirement age who have “low educational attainment and low net worths.”
FTC officials, who based their report on documents gathered by issuing subpoenas to nine data brokers in December 2012, expressed concern about how the data is collected, how it’s used and the potential for making errors that are kept secret from the consumers themselves. “The extent of consumer profiling today means that data brokers often know as much -- or even more -- about us than our family and friends, including our online and in-store purchases, our political and religious affiliations, our income and socioeconomic status, and more,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. “It’s time to bring transparency and accountability to bear on this industry on behalf of consumers, many of whom are unaware that data brokers even exist.”
The report included several legislative proposals intended to help Americans learn what information has been gathered about them and to correct errors. Consumers, under the FTC proposals, also would have the option to opt-out of data gathering about themselves. Such information is widely used by digital advertisers to improve the targeting of their marketing messages.
Brokers use ‘billions’ of data points to profile Americans FTC Recommends Congress Require the Data Broker Industry to be More Transparent and Give Consumers Greater Control Over Their Personal Information (Federal Trade Commission) FTC report calls for law on data brokers, points to “sensitive” categories on race and health (GigaOm) Should Congress end ‘consumer profiling’? (The Hill) Feds say it's time to regulate Big Data (CNNMoney) FTC: Data Brokers Lack Transparency (B&C) FTC calls for Congress to regulate companies that mine your data (The Verge)