Data Brokers

Feb 03 2014

WPF’s data broker testimony results in new Congressional letters to data brokers about vulnerability-based marketing

February 3, 2014 Washington, D.C. — Senator Rockefeller sent six hard-hitting and precedent-setting letters to data brokers today. This was the Senator’s direct follow-up to the information WPF Executive Director Pam Dixon revealed in her December 2013 data broker testimony at the Senate Commerce Committee, which Sen. Rockefeller chairs. Rockefeller, in his release, said: “I

Jan 15 2014

Video: Congressional Testimony on Data Brokers – Senate Commerce Committee

Video of Congressional Testimony on data brokers. Pam Dixon gave this testimony before the Senate Commerce Committee on December 18, 2013 at a hearing dedicated to shedding light on data broker industry practices and how that affects consumers. The full testimony contains numerous examples of data broker activities, consumer scoring, and discusses the solutions that are needed, including a requirement for data broker opt out.

Dec 18 2013

Congressional Testimony: What Information Do Data Brokers Have on Consumers?

Chairman Rockefeller and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today about data brokers, an industry that is often hidden from public view, and the impact of data brokers on consumers’ lives.

Dec 18 2013

Data Brokers Opt Out List

Top Ten Opt Out
Opt Out Possible
Partial Out Out
FCRA Opt Out
No Opt Out
Opt Out Unclear

Dec 17 2013

News release: Pam Dixon to testify before Congress today

Washington, D.C. — Pam Dixon will be testifying before the Senate Commerce Committee today at 2:30 pm Eastern. The hearing, held by Senator Rockefeller, focuses on data brokers, what information they are collecting from consumers, and what they are doing with the information. The hearing will take place after a year-long investigation into data brokers

National IDs Around the World — Interactive map

About this Data Visualization: This interactive map displays the presence...
Report: From the Filing Cabinet to the Cloud: Updating the Privacy Act of 1974

This comprehensive report and proposed bill text is focused on the Privacy Act of 1974, an important and early Federal privacy law that applies to the government sector and some contractors. The Privacy Act was written for the 1970s information era -- an era that was characterized by the use of mainframe computers and filing cabinets. Today's digital information era looks much different than the '70s: smart phones are smarter than the old mainframes, and documents are now routinely digitized and stored and perhaps even analyzed in the cloud, among many other changes. The report focuses on why the Privacy Act needs an update that will bring it into this century, and how that could look and work. This work was written by Robert Gellman, and informed by a two-year multi-stakeholder process.
COVID-19 and HIPAA: HHS’s Troubled Approach to Waiving Privacy and Security Rules for the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic strained the U.S. health ecosystem in numerous ways, including putting pressure on the HIPAA privacy and security rules. The Department of Health and Human Services adjusted the privacy and security rules for the pandemic through the use of statutory and administrative HIPAA waivers. While some of the adjustments are appropriate for the emergency circumstances, there are also some meaningful and potentially unwelcome privacy and security consequences. At an appropriate time, the use of HIPAA waivers as a response to health care emergencies needs a thorough review. This report sets out the facts, identifies the issues, and proposes a roadmap for change.