The Dark Side of Data Brokers (2024)

In today's digital age, our personal information is more valuable than ever. It's the currency of the internet, and data brokers act as silent middlemen in this transaction. These companies, which often operate in the shadows, amass vast amounts of personal data and sell it to the highest bidder.

Data brokers are defined as entities that clandestinely collect, process, and market personal information about individuals without their knowledge or consent. They systematically scrape data from diverse sources, including public records, social media, and purchase histories.

One prominent player in this field is LexisNexis, a subsidiary of RELX Group, traditionally acclaimed for its legal research databases but having diversified into the data brokerage business by aggregating vast datasets about individuals, spanning their personal and professional backgrounds. Noteworthy companies in the data broker industry comprise Acxiom, which compiles data on online behavior and offline purchases for sale to advertisers; Experian, primarily a credit reporting entity, but also engaged in data brokering, capturing financial data and demographics; Equifax, similar to Experian's core function but involved in selling consumer data to third parties; and CoreLogic, specializing in property and real estate data, delivering insights into property values and ownership history, valued by businesses and marketers alike.

The practices of data brokers raise serious privacy concerns. They often operate without obtaining explicit consent from individuals, and the data they collect can be used for various purposes, including targeted advertising, credit scoring, and even influencing political opinions. This surreptitious data collection can lead to invasive profiling and potential discrimination based on factors like race, gender, or socioeconomic status.

What should we do to protect our data?

First, we should regularly review and update the privacy settings on our social media accounts to limit the data we share. Also, we should employ virtual private networks (VPNs) and encryption tools to protect our online activities from prying eyes. For instance, ProtonVPN is one of the best VPNs, easy to use, multi-platform friendly, and it doesn’t log user activity nor share data with third parties like many VPNs on the market do. Finally, we should take advantage of the opt-out options offered by many data brokers that allow us to remove our data from their databases. However. It’s important to note that while opting out is a valuable step, it may not completely erase our digital footprint. Some data may still be retained, and new data can be collected in the future

AI and Data Brokering

Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays a significant role in the data brokering industry. Machine learning algorithms are used to analyze and make predictions based on the vast amounts of data collected. AI-driven insights help data brokers create more detailed and accurate profiles of individuals, making the data they sell even more valuable. However, this increased reliance on AI also raises concerns about the potential for biased or discriminatory algorithms.

Data brokers are a powerful but often unseen force in the digital world. While they claim to provide valuable insights for businesses and marketers, their practices come at the expense of individual privacy. Companies in the data brokerage, including LexisNexis, bear a responsibility to maintain transparency and ethical practices in their data collection and usage. As individuals, we must also take proactive steps to protect our data and advocate for stronger data privacy regulations in this era of AI-driven data brokering.