Update : This story was updated to admit a statement from Gravy Analytics .
In the aftermath of several outrage uncover how datum brokersendanger military religious service members , word officers , and average Americans , Union consumer protective cover agencies on Tuesday harbinger a series of proposals that would restrict how the industry traffics sensible personal information .
First , the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed a new rule that would gravely limit data brokers ’ power to trade Americans ’ sensitive personal information by subjecting them to the same restriction as mention dresser like Experian , Equifax , and TransUnion . secondly , the Federal Trade Commission announced declare oneself settlement orders with the data broker Gravy Analytics , its subsidiary Venntel , and Mobilewalla that would prohibit the society from using or partake information about consumer ’ visit to medical readiness , religious organizations , labor uniting offices , school , military installations , and other sensitive locating .
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra.© Bloomberg
“ lasting trailing by data brokers can put one thousand thousand of Americans at jeopardy , expose the precise locations where servicing members are stationed or which aesculapian treatments someone is look for , ” FTC Chair Lina Khan say in astatement .
After this article originally published , Gravy Analytics provided a statement in which it key out itself as a “ privacy loss leader in the mobility analytics industry ” and enounce “ though we respect the FTC ’s desire to bring about mature industry standards in the mobility analytics industry , we also believe these subject would be intimately addressed by serious-minded concealment lawmaking from duly elect lawmakers . ”
“ Mobilewalla respects consumer privacy and has been evolving our privacy tribute throughout our history as a troupe , ” Laurie Hood , a representative for the company , wrote in an electronic mail . “ While we disagree with many of the FTC ’s allegations and implications that Mobilewalla tracks and place individuals establish on tender class , we are satisfied that the resolution will allow us to continue providing valuable insights to business in a manner that observe and protects consumer seclusion . ”
With Congress repeatedly stalling out over privacy legislation , the CFPB ’s proposed rule and FTC ’s proposed settlements tick some of the most pregnant Union efforts in years to prevent individuals ’ personal data and locating history from being sell for any use to anyone .
While the destiny of the enforcement legal action will largely roost in the unpredictable hands of the incoming Trump administration , the proposals come on the heels of malicious gossip that have expose how the datum broker industry stake the prophylactic of law enforcement , soldier , and spies , prompting criticism from both parties .
Last month , a WIREDinvestigationfound that the datum broker Datastream Group was selling localisation datum that could be used to track American military and intelligence personnel overseas . In September , researcherspurchasedlocation datum and used it to track the movements of Securities and Exchange Commission researcher . Meanwhile , law officers in New Jersey aresuingmore than 100 data brokers for failing to bump off personal data , include their home addresses , from the web as want by nation law .
“ These are n’t isolated incident – they represent a systemic exposure in how our personal datum is bought and sold , ” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra enounce in astatement .
The CFPB says its new convention is aimed at preventing information brokers from freely sell that kind of selective information , which in addition to jeopardizing internal security and law enforcement also threatens the safe of survivors of stalking and domestic violence and fuel a wide scope of financial scam .
“ This imply they could no longer hedge their obligations and would want to follow the same consumer protection rules as major citation bureaus , including accuracy requirements and providing consumers access to their info , ” Chopra said .
Additionally , the rule would restrict the sale of specific personal identifiers like societal security numbers and home address so that data factor could only sell that information for certain purpose .
Notably , however , it would do little to restrict American police force enforcement and undercover agent office from purchasing that same sensitive and personally identifiable data . As author Byron Tau hasreported , Union and state means have increasinglyturned to data brokerslike Gravy Analytics and Mobilewalla to obtain sensitive entropy without a warrant that can then be used to track and profile Americans .
The FTC settlements also include exception for divvy up sensitive fix data with internal certificate and law enforcement agencies .
stilted intelligenceCFPBCybersecuritydata brokerFTCLina Khan
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