The Bipartisan Congressional Privacy Caucus, co-chaired by Rep. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Rep. Joe L. Barton (R-TX), have sent letters of inquiry to nine leading industry data brokers, like Acxiom, Epsilon, Experian, and Equifax. The purpose of the letters is to determine if stricter regulations are needed for companies who rarely interact with consumers on a regular basis, but collect, collate, analyze, and sell billions of details about their online habits and behaviors’, often without notice or consent. The data brokerage industry often determines who “desirable” and “undesirable” consumers are, and those determinations may have an effect on an individual’s ability to get access to education, health care, employment, or economic opportunities.
The irony over the “Do Not Track” debate is that while lawmakers are trying to give consumers a choice over how to make an “informed decision” when protecting what data is collected about them online, greater access about the individual will be needed to determine if the corresponding data is accurate. In other words, more data means less data. The nine industry leading companies will have 3 weeks to respond to the letters of inquiry.
Source: The New York Times