Consumers should be able to see the data companies collect about them

[Commentary] In 1970, Congress passed a law allowing people to keep track of their credit reports -- when information is used for decisions about credit, employment, housing and insurance. But the law does not cover the collection of consumer data for marketing purposes. An effort at industry self-regulation in the 1990s was short-lived. A new legislative drive is underway to provide consumers with a way to check and correct what’s collected about them by data brokers. In this opaque corner of the digital revolution, the time has come for genuine transparency.