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Thursday, March 24, 2016
Question of the Week No. 10
Should data brokers be legally required to
disclose to consumers what information they have compiled on an individual and
to whom the information has been sold?
I think data brokers should be legally required to offer full disclosure to consumers. I don't think an overwhelming amount of people would actually ask for their information, but I think for those who have concerns about what is being done with their information, this would be a useful service. This transparency would also likely improve the reputation of data brokers. I think if they offered this option they might have to implement some sort of "eraser" because certain people would get mad at certain bits of data they had compiled about them. If I were the data broker, I would try and capitalize off that and offer to erase the sensitive (to the consumer, not necessarily reasonably sensitive) information for a fee. That sounds super mean and manipulative but if I owned a data broker company and was legally required to release information, I would definitely open a section of my company that erased data for a fee. This probably would make my reputation bad again but that's okay.
Yes, I think that data brokers should be required to disclose the information they've compiled. Like we talked about in class today, adding more transparency to this industry (as it currently has very little) is a step in the right direction moving forward. Many people do not know that their data is being collected, or even if they do, they don't know who is collecting it, or where it is going. For example, I consider myself moderately well informed on these subjects (because we're taking a class about them(, but in class today when we talked about Facebook and what they do with their data, I had no idea of the process they used. I also think that data brokers should also be required to disclose HOW they get the data they do, so that it could be potentially easier to prevent further data collection in the future. Adding transparency to this industry is a necessity, especially considering that it won't be going anywhere anytime soon.
This seems like a perfectly rational request for a person to make, and a perfectly reasonable one for a broker to fulfill. Even if there wasn't a way to edit the data, viewing what sort of information a broker has stored on you would give a person more control over what I believe is their own data. What I think would be a useful tool is the capability to view where each datapoint came from, to allow consumers to track what entities are selling their data. This would put more responsibility on the data sources to be transparent, and help people understand what trade-offs they encounter when they use various services.
Absolutely they should have to disclose that information. My line of thinking continues to be that the person that generates the data ought to own the data. Data brokers use that information and because the information belongs to the individual the data brokers are "borrowing" that data in a sense. I think people should have more control over their data and it isn't unreasonable to legally require data brokers to release that information. It'll help increase transparency at the very least.
I would say yes. I would also go further as to say that data brokers should let users be able to change inaccurate information as well as letting to user opt out having their information used for marketing purposes. The data that is being generated by the user should belong to the user. They should therefore have accuses to this data as well as be able to control how it is used.
I definitely agree that data brokers should be legally required to disclose that kind of information. They are making a business from your information and I think that you should know what kind of information that they have on you and who the information has been sold to. When Professor Dryer asked if anyone knew or recognized the names of some data brokers, nobody knew one of them. I think that we need to bring more transparency to this topic and have people be informed of the massive amount of information that the brokers have on them.
Yes. While I'm not in favor of much in the way of restrictions on publicly available data, I am definitely in favor of transparency. Anyone they have compiled a profile on should have the ability to see what information was gathered. There is still the problem that individuals don't know that they should lookup the company and find out what information is compiled on them. That said I don't think that data brokers should have to email or otherwise inform users when they sell information on them unless it is specifically asked for.
Yes, consumers should be able to access the information that data brokers have collected, as well as who the information has been sold to. I also agree with Mary that consumers should be able to change inaccurate information or opt out of having their information be sold. Giving access to information is good, but without the ability to change what is happening with that information, that access has very little use. Consumer education should also come with this access, because many consumers wouldn't know that accessing the information is an option or what they can do with the information.
I agree with the prevailing sentiment if the class. Data brokers who profit off the collection and sale of consumer information should absolutely be transparent enough to allow consumers to find out what information has been collected, and to whom it has been sold. While I do not believe an individual should be given the legal right to control all such information and collection, transparency standards should be a bare minimum. This would allow for the correction of misinformation, and bring attention to an industry that is already widespread, if relatively unknown.
I believe that transparency is one of the single most important things in this debate. While I do not think it necessary for data brokers to tell everyone without any prompting what they have gathered and to whom they have sold information, I do think that, when asked, data brokers should be required to disclose this information to consumers. Personal information is a sensitive subject and this would at the very least allow individuals to know what is happening with their information. I do think there is an important distinction between complete disclosure and control of information.
I think data brokers should be legally required to offer full disclosure to consumers. I don't think an overwhelming amount of people would actually ask for their information, but I think for those who have concerns about what is being done with their information, this would be a useful service. This transparency would also likely improve the reputation of data brokers. I think if they offered this option they might have to implement some sort of "eraser" because certain people would get mad at certain bits of data they had compiled about them. If I were the data broker, I would try and capitalize off that and offer to erase the sensitive (to the consumer, not necessarily reasonably sensitive) information for a fee. That sounds super mean and manipulative but if I owned a data broker company and was legally required to release information, I would definitely open a section of my company that erased data for a fee. This probably would make my reputation bad again but that's okay.
ReplyDeleteYes, I think that data brokers should be required to disclose the information they've compiled. Like we talked about in class today, adding more transparency to this industry (as it currently has very little) is a step in the right direction moving forward. Many people do not know that their data is being collected, or even if they do, they don't know who is collecting it, or where it is going. For example, I consider myself moderately well informed on these subjects (because we're taking a class about them(, but in class today when we talked about Facebook and what they do with their data, I had no idea of the process they used. I also think that data brokers should also be required to disclose HOW they get the data they do, so that it could be potentially easier to prevent further data collection in the future. Adding transparency to this industry is a necessity, especially considering that it won't be going anywhere anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteThis seems like a perfectly rational request for a person to make, and a perfectly reasonable one for a broker to fulfill. Even if there wasn't a way to edit the data, viewing what sort of information a broker has stored on you would give a person more control over what I believe is their own data. What I think would be a useful tool is the capability to view where each datapoint came from, to allow consumers to track what entities are selling their data. This would put more responsibility on the data sources to be transparent, and help people understand what trade-offs they encounter when they use various services.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely they should have to disclose that information. My line of thinking continues to be that the person that generates the data ought to own the data. Data brokers use that information and because the information belongs to the individual the data brokers are "borrowing" that data in a sense. I think people should have more control over their data and it isn't unreasonable to legally require data brokers to release that information. It'll help increase transparency at the very least.
ReplyDeleteI would say yes. I would also go further as to say that data brokers should let users be able to change inaccurate information as well as letting to user opt out having their information used for marketing purposes. The data that is being generated by the user should belong to the user. They should therefore have accuses to this data as well as be able to control how it is used.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that data brokers should be legally required to disclose that kind of information. They are making a business from your information and I think that you should know what kind of information that they have on you and who the information has been sold to. When Professor Dryer asked if anyone knew or recognized the names of some data brokers, nobody knew one of them. I think that we need to bring more transparency to this topic and have people be informed of the massive amount of information that the brokers have on them.
ReplyDeleteYes. While I'm not in favor of much in the way of restrictions on publicly available data, I am definitely in favor of transparency. Anyone they have compiled a profile on should have the ability to see what information was gathered. There is still the problem that individuals don't know that they should lookup the company and find out what information is compiled on them. That said I don't think that data brokers should have to email or otherwise inform users when they sell information on them unless it is specifically asked for.
ReplyDeleteYes, consumers should be able to access the information that data brokers have collected, as well as who the information has been sold to. I also agree with Mary that consumers should be able to change inaccurate information or opt out of having their information be sold. Giving access to information is good, but without the ability to change what is happening with that information, that access has very little use. Consumer education should also come with this access, because many consumers wouldn't know that accessing the information is an option or what they can do with the information.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the prevailing sentiment if the class. Data brokers who profit off the collection and sale of consumer information should absolutely be transparent enough to allow consumers to find out what information has been collected, and to whom it has been sold. While I do not believe an individual should be given the legal right to control all such information and collection, transparency standards should be a bare minimum. This would allow for the correction of misinformation, and bring attention to an industry that is already widespread, if relatively unknown.
ReplyDeleteI believe that transparency is one of the single most important things in this debate. While I do not think it necessary for data brokers to tell everyone without any prompting what they have gathered and to whom they have sold information, I do think that, when asked, data brokers should be required to disclose this information to consumers. Personal information is a sensitive subject and this would at the very least allow individuals to know what is happening with their information. I do think there is an important distinction between complete disclosure and control of information.
ReplyDelete