US planning data broker industry crackdown

CNN reports that the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has announced plans to expand privacy regulations under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to the surveillance sector, which could restrict the sale of certain consumer data, including names, addresses, and Social Security numbers, among data brokers. While the trade of sensitive consumer data to third parties could be limited, potential rules would allow the selling of data for employment background checks and other valid financial uses, according to the CFPB. "The CFPB will be taking steps to ensure that modern-day data brokers in the surveillance industry know that they cannot engage in illegal collection and sharing of our data," said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, who expressed concern for the increasing monetization of sensitive data for artificial intelligence. Such an effort to crack down on the data sector comes after the Federal Trade Commission proposed regulations restricting consumer data collection and usage among businesses.