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Privacy & Data

CDT Comments to CFPB Lay Out Data Broker Harms That Should Be Held Accountable

/ Ridhi Shetty

Data brokers are making people’s personal data available to an expansive network of third parties. This widespread data sharing increases risks to people’s physical safety and data security, and it compromises people’s access to insurance, mental health support, and other vital resources. 

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) issued a request for input to better understand the breadth of the data broker ecosystem and its impacts on consumers, and to examine how the CFPB can apply its existing authorities to the harms that data brokers cause to consumers. To inform the CFPB’s efforts, CDT’s comments:

  • Describe data brokers’ practices with respect to sourcing, selling, or otherwise sharing financial data, worker data, health-related data, location data, and other consumer data;
  • Explain the limitations of certain measures that are supposed to protect consumers from these practices; and
  • Discuss how the CFPB should clarify the application of the Fair Credit Reporting Act to data brokers to minimize data sharing.

Read the full comments here.

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