This means that personal privacy is at a higher risk than ever since it’s impossible to track down exactly what information data brokers have on you and whom they’re sharing it with. This is mainly because data brokers lack transparency.
Even if you’re sure they store data that you never wanted to share, opting out is a long-winded process. Furthermore, data brokers are typically unregulated, so nothing stops them from rejecting an opt-out request.
Lack of transparency and accountability
Data brokers provide no way for people to check what information they hold. A small consolation is that you can see what type of information the broker has, such as income, but it’s impossible to know whether the data is accurate.
What’s scarier is that anyone can buy this information, from the government and the FBI all the way to disguised cybercriminals. With all this considered, it’s important that regulations are brought in to improve data broker transparency. This would also let people decide whether they’re happy with companies storing their data or wish to have it removed.
Opting out and removal of information made difficult
Fortunately, it’s possible to ask for data removal. However, it’s painfully long and may not yield the expected result. The opt-out process takes multiple steps, starting with signing up to the respective data broker’s website.
The irony here is that you have to provide personal information, such as your full name, email address, and possibly even a driving license or ID card number when registering. On top of that, it’s more than likely that the process must be initiated with several broker companies.
After signing up, every piece of information must be checked one by one in the broker’s databases. To make matters worse, each piece of data requires separate removal requests. It may also take several weeks for the company to process the request, which can be denied without explanation. Even if the broker does budge, the process may have to be repeated since the information can simply be re-added.
Fortunately, signing up for a solution like Incogni is a much quicker solution. All that’s required is to register with the company and sign a limited authorization form, and long hours spent trying to regain control of your data are reduced to a few clicks. Alternatively, the platform has thorough opt-out guides on its website.
Little to no data broker regulations in place
As John Oliver expressed in one of his Last Week Tonight episodes, data brokers are a “sprawling, unregulated ecosystem.” In actual fact, information collectors are technically regulated by privacy laws like the GDPR in Europe, the CCPA in California, the Nevada Privacy Law, and Vermont’s Data Broker Act of 2018. However, there’s no federal law in the U.S. that supervises data brokers’ actions in every state, and those already existing are seldom enforced.
There is a glimmer of hope on the horizon though. For example, Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon introduced the Health and Location Data Privacy Act in October 2022. If enacted, the law will prohibit data brokers from selling medical data.
A similar initiative was proposed a year earlier, tellingly named the Data Broker List Act. If this passes, information collectors will be obligated to register annually with the FTC. Furthermore, data broker transparency would improve as companies would be required to report their practices. The act will also make brokers introduce advanced security measures to prevent data breaches and the leaking of information.
Impacts of misused data
There are consequences to data brokering. The collected information can be inaccurate, meaning that the buyer can draw a false picture of the person. For one, misinformation about someone’s income level can result in a lower credit score, higher interest rates on mortgages, or denial of housing.
Another danger is that the data broker company may be breached, landing an enormous number of people’s information in the hands of criminals. This has happened before: Apollo was breached in 2018, compromising 125 million email addresses and nine billion data points. Equifax was similarly hacked in 2017, which exposed 147 million people’s names, addresses, driver’s license numbers, and Social Security numbers.
For all the dangers, however, there are at least that many protection methods. Using dark web monitoring tools such as those found in a password manager or an identity theft protection service can reveal whether your data has been compromised. Another option is to enlist the help of Incogni, which frequently checks whether the data broker has re-added your information.
Information collection can induce fear because data brokers operate invisibly and without being properly monitored. They also sell information to whoever’s buying, and opting out is tedious at best. Therefore, it’s essential to press for data broker privacy rights to make their activities transparent and accountable.
It’s vital as well to start taking protective measures individually. This can include double-checking which cookies and Terms of Service you accept and getting in touch with companies like Incogni to have (and keep) your personal data removed from third-party databases.
Richárd Z.
Mary P.
