March 15, 2023

CFPB Opens Inquiry Into Data Brokers Following Wyden Request

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., today thanked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for launching an investigation into the data broker industry, a network of companies that buy, sell and trade Americans’ sensitive personal information - everything from location data, to web history and purchase records — with little oversight or transparency. Wyden, the Senate’s leading critic and watchdog of data brokers,  asked CFPB Director Rohit Chopra in 2021 to investigate the industry and update existing regulations to protect consumers’ personal data. 

“Americans’ personal information isn’t only being harvested from our phones — water and power companies, phone and cable providers and credit bureaus are all sharing private details of our lives with shady data brokers,” Wyden said. “I called for this in 2021 after my investigation revealed just how extensive the trade in our data really is. I’m glad the CFPB is heeding that call and launching an investigation into this unsavory industry.”

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