CFPB to beef up enforcement staff to police ‘surveillance economy’

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) plans to expand its enforcement efforts to protect consumers from misuse of their personal data, which businesses collect and then use to make decisions on loans, credit, housing, employment, and more.

CFPB Enforcement Director Eric Halperin discussed the agency’s enforcement activities during a speech Thursday at a National Consumer Law Center conference. He noted his office will be adding 75 new full-time employees as part of its expansion.

Halperin said the agency’s enforcement efforts are ramping up in response to risks created by what he described as the “surveillance economy.”