How Data Brokers Profit: A Threat to the US National Security and Crimes Fueled by the 2017 Equifax Data Breaking Incident

“By selling our most sensitive personal data without our knowledge or consent, data brokers can profit by enabling scamming, stalking, and spying,” Rohit Chopra, CFPB’s director, said in a statement. “The CFPB’s proposed rule will curtail these practices that threaten our personal safety and undermine America’s national security.”

The regulation is targeting private companies, not government operations. During a Monday press call, a CFPB spokesperson said the agency is requesting comment on how to ensure government agencies continue to have “appropriate access” to this information. Although the bureau will be accepting commentary on the proposal until March 3rd, 2025 it isn’t certain if Trump and his allies will eventually take away the agency’s powers.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is proposing a rule that would allow regulators to police data brokers under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), a landmark privacy law enacted more than a half century ago. Data brokers wouldn’t be allowed to sell sensitive personal data including financial data and credit scores, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, and addresses. The loophole in the Data Broker’s Code of Conduct that allows them to trade in data without any oversight will help vulnerable people and the US as a whole.

Foreign countries have gone to great lengths to obtain that data, as federal prosecutors alleged that four members of China’s military carried out the 2017 Equifax breach, similar to the Office of Personnel Management breach a few years earlier. In a press call,Chopra said that adversaries don’t need to hack anything in order to get Americans’ most sensitive data. “Data brokers—the outfits that collect and sell detailed information about our personal and financial lives—are making this data available to anyone willing to pay a price,” Chopra said.

The director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection said on a Monday call that he was referring to the National Public Data breach earlier this year that leaked more than 200 million Social Security numbers. “These aren’t just isolated incidents: they represent a systemic vulnerability in how our personal data is bought and sold,” Chopra said.

The agency that protects consumer rights in the United States says that predatory data broker practices fuel crimes, violence and threats to US national security.