CFPB eyeing data broker practices in planned rulemaking push

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is asking companies that “track and collect information on people’s personal lives” to provide information to the agency as it considers rulemaking under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).

The agency issued a request for information (RFI) Wednesday for data brokers, which it defined as “firms that collect, aggregate, sell, resell, license, or otherwise share consumers’ personal information with other parties.” It noted the FCRA governs consumer reporting agencies but that companies relying on new technologies when using business models that sell consumer data claim not to be covered by the FCRA.

The CFPB said these companies, whether they be called data brokers, data aggregators, or platforms, “all share a fundamental characteristic with consumer reporting agencies—they collect and sell personal data.”