CFA Statement in Response to CFPB’s Proposal to Prevent Data Brokers from Selling Private Consumer Information

WASHINGTON, D.C. -The Consumer Federation of America released the following statement in response to the new rule issued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to Stop Data Brokers from Selling Sensitive Personal Data to Scammers, Stalkers, and Spies. Data brokers are entities that collect, compile, and sell data to anyone - including creditors, insurers, landlords, employers, and others to inform decisions about consumers. Although their use is highly opaque, we have already seen countless risks to financial well-being, personal safety, and national security due to their sale of sensitive information. Under the rule, the CFPB will treat data brokers like others who collect and sell sensitive data covered by the Fair Credit Reporting Act, who can only collect and sell data for specific permissible purposes and must give people notice, access, and a right to correct information on reports that contain their personal information.

"This rule is a critical step toward reining in the abuses of data brokers, companies that have been selling highly sensitive data to the highest bidder without transparency or accountability for far too long." said Ben Winters, Director of AI and Privacy at the Consumer Federation of America. "It's a commonsense application of existing law and will help close accountability loopholes in consumer protection law that persist and harm consumers."

"For too long, data brokers have monetized our private information to enrich themselves," said Adam Rust, Director of Financial Services for the Consumer Federation of America, "even if it meant putting others at risk and under a shroud of secrecy that left people unable to prevent it. People from all walks of life, including law enforcement officers and servicemembers, have been harmed by their exploitative practices. You shouldn't have to put your private financial information up for sale as a condition of seeking a mortgage. I applaud the CFPB for their work to stop this nonsense."