In a report released by the Federal Trade Commission yesterday, the regulator concluded that the US Congress should mull over legislation to curb the risks of the use of consumer information by data brokers. The federal agency said that as data brokers collect and share massive amounts of information, typically behind the scenes without the knowledge of consumers, some of the data that are being stored are at risk of being breached.
Bloomberg said that the FTC's report was based on its study of companies that include Acxiom Corp and CoreLogic Inc.
FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez said in a news release, "Data brokers often know as much -- or even more -- about us than our family and friends. It's time to bring transparency and accountability to bear on this industry."
FTC had asked Acxiom, CoreLogic and seven others, Datalogix Inc, eBureau LLC, ID Analytics Inc, Intelius Inc, Peekyou LLC, Rapleaf Inc and Recorded Future Inc, to provide information on their practices involving data collection. Although none had been sanctioned, FTC fined data broker Spokeo Inc $800,000, of which the latter agreed, on charges that it violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. FTC said Spokeo had failed to ensure that the data it sold in terms of profiles to recruiters and companies as an employment-searching tool, were accurate.
On the other hand, Bloomberg said that legislation similar to the suggestion of the FTC has already been introduced in February by Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller. The legislation, if passed, could prohibit data brokers from collecting consumer data via deceptive means, and will also allow consumers the chance to view and correct information. The measure has yet to receive a vote.
In an emailed statement, the West Virginia Democrat stressed the importance of the measure considering the time when security breaches have been rampant. He said, "Congress can no longer put off action on this important issue. We owe it to consumers to provide them with greater control over how data brokers are obtaining and using their personal data."
