Data Brokers

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

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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

Nov 15 2013

News Release: New GAO data broker report discusses key WPF work on sales of mental health lists, more

San Diego — 15 November, 2013: The General Accounting Office (GAO) issued its long-awaited report on data brokers, INFORMATION RESELLERS: Consumer Privacy Framework Needs to Reflect Changes in Technology and the Marketplace. The report discusses key World Privacy Forum testimony and research. “We are pleased with the GAO report,” said Pam Dixon, Executive Director of the World Privacy Forum. “In particular, we are glad the GAO highlighted our work calling for a stop to the selling of people’s sensitive medical and health information for marketing purposes. This is a practice that is causing great harm, the GAO made the right call in pointing out new controls are needed.” This press release includes links to the GAO report, to Dixon’s Congressional testimony, and to the WPF report discussed by the GAO.

Oct 30 2013

WPF Report in CNN: What Information is the Government Buying About You?

We are delighted with CNN’s coverage of our new report on 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.