On March 15, 2023, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) launched a public inquiry into the data broker industry and the collection and sale of consumer information. To help ensure that the public has ample opportunity to share information, CFPB is extending the deadline for comments until July 15, 2023. Your submissions will help shed light on an industry that largely operates out of public view as well as inform CFPB's future work to ensure that data brokers comply with the law.

Data brokers is a term to describe those companies that collect, aggregate, sell, resell, license, or share our personal information with others. Data brokers include companies that people have a direct relationship with, as well as companies that people may not even know exist, but nonetheless possess data about them.

Data brokers collect information for a variety of purposes, including:

• credit and insurance underwriting;
• employment decisions;
• determining eligibility for government benefits;
• fraud detection;
• criminal background checks;
• identity verification;
• people search databases;
• marketing and advertising; and
• building and refining proprietary algorithms.

Data brokers collect or share a vast range of information, often building profiles of individuals by delving into the details of consumers' everyday interactions, including credit card purchases and web browsing activity. Data brokers also collect other types of sensitive and intimate personal information such as genetic and health information, military status, religious affiliation, financial records, and geolocation data.

The CFPB is aware that there is still relatively limited public understanding of data brokers’ operations and other impacts, but that people are concerned about the lack of control over how data about them is collected, shared, and used.

Sharing your experiences with data brokers

CFPB wants stakeholders from across the marketplace to share data, analysis, research, and other information about data brokers. They also want to hear from people who have interacted with data brokers or been affected by their practices. CFPB is particularly interested in the unique ways in which data brokers interact with or impact specific consumer populations, such as older adults, servicemembers, students, workers, immigrants, low-income consumers, and underserved or vulnerable consumers.

CFPB is interested in hearing about:

• The types of data that data brokers collect and sell, along with details about their collection methods
• The types of consumer harms and risks caused by data broker business practices, as well as any benefits
• Whether people can avoid having their data collected
• Whether and how data brokers protect and safeguard personal data
• Individual experiences with attempting to remove, correct, or regain control of personal data

The CFPB welcomes all submissions until the comment period ends on July 15, 2023.

Share your feedback about data brokers.