USA will regulate companies that track and sell personal data

The US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is unveiling plans for regulating companies that track and sell personal data on 15 August. The consumer watchdog will be setting out steps to guarantee that the modern-day data brokers of the surveillance industry are fully aware that they cannot be involved in the illegal collection and sharing of data. 

Rohit Chopra, CFPB chief, said this new policy move would extend current Fair Credit Reporting Act coverage, a 1970 law that regulates consumer data shared with creditors, for data derived from payment history, personal income, and criminal history.

In March, the CFPB launched a public inquiry into companies that track and collect information on people’s personal lives. The results showed that data brokers, such as credit bureaus and background screening firms, reported financially distressed consumers to companies that targeted them with predatory debt products, among other findings suggesting the need for greater privacy protections.