Data brokers: Difference between revisions
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*Scraping of publicly available information from websites and social media | *Scraping of publicly available information from websites and social media | ||
*Inference of additional data points through analysis and algorithms | *Inference of additional data points through analysis and algorithms | ||
*Tracking of online behavior through cookies, device fingerprinting, and other technologies | *Tracking of online behavior through [[Web cookie|cookies]], device fingerprinting, and other technologies | ||
Once collected, this data is processed, combined, and categorized to create detailed consumer profiles. These profiles are then sold or licensed to third parties for various purposes, including targeted advertising, credit decisioning, insurance underwriting, and fraud prevention. | Once collected, this data is processed, combined, and categorized to create detailed consumer profiles. These profiles are then sold or licensed to third parties for various purposes, including targeted advertising, credit decisioning, insurance underwriting, and fraud prevention. | ||
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===Potential for discrimination=== | ===Potential for discrimination=== | ||
Data broker profiles can potentially enable discriminatory practices when used for decisions regarding credit, insurance, employment, or housing. By categorizing consumers based on various attributes, data brokers create segments that can serve as proxies for protected characteristics like race, religion, or socioeconomic status, even when those characteristics aren't explicitly identified.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://epic.org/issues/consumer-privacy/data-brokers/ |title=Data Brokers |publisher=Electronic Privacy Information Center |access-date=2025-05-07 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260201001608/https://epic.org/issues/consumer-privacy/data-brokers/ |archive-date=1 Feb 2026}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Social Cooling - Big Data's unintended side effect |url=https://www.socialcooling.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260220030934/https://www.socialcooling.com/ |archive-date=2026-02-20 |access-date=2026-02-26 |website=Social Cooling}}</ref> | Data broker profiles can potentially enable discriminatory practices when used for decisions regarding credit, insurance, employment, or housing. By categorizing consumers based on various attributes, data brokers create segments that can serve as proxies for protected characteristics like race, religion, or socioeconomic status, even when those characteristics aren't explicitly identified.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://epic.org/issues/consumer-privacy/data-brokers/ |title=Data Brokers |publisher=Electronic Privacy Information Center |access-date=2025-05-07 |url-status=live |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260201001608/https://epic.org/issues/consumer-privacy/data-brokers/ |archive-date=1 Feb 2026}}</ref> This leads to people reluctantly changing their behavior in order to pander to the algorithms.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Social Cooling - Big Data's unintended side effect |url=https://www.socialcooling.com/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260220030934/https://www.socialcooling.com/ |archive-date=2026-02-20 |access-date=2026-02-26 |website=Social Cooling}}</ref> | ||
===Security vulnerabilities=== | ===Security vulnerabilities=== | ||