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"Basically, it was consumer complaints that we received In a December 2013 statement presented before the
about both of these companies that spurred our interest U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and
in bringing the investigations, and our investigations Transportation, the FTC pointed out that data brokers
focused on their compliance with the FCRA. The FCRA collect and aggregate consumers' personal information
is a very specific statute. If you are a consumer reporting from a variety of sources, which they resell for an array of
agency and you handle consumer report information, purposes, such as marketing, identification and financial
then you have to comply with the FCRA. Specifically, our fraud prevention.
investigations focused on how each company handled
consumer disputes." In a prepared statement, Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC's
Bureau of Consumer Protection, stated, "Because data
Broader implications brokers generally never interact directly with consumers,
The FTC has brought over 100 FCRA cases since the law consumers are typically unaware of their existence,
first went into effect 44 years ago. In 1996, the statute was much less the variety of ways they collect, analyze and
amended to allow civil penalties to be sought in certain sell consumer data. The Committee, by investigating the
cases. With the passage of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, the privacy practices of data brokers, has helped call attention
FTC now shares FCRA enforcement jurisdiction with the to the lack of transparency surrounding data broker
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Armstrong noted. privacy practices."
"This case is part of a broader initiative to target the Commenting on the TeleCheck case, Rich said, "[I]f
practices of data brokers, which often compile, maintain CRAs like TeleCheck provide merchants with inaccurate
and sell sensitive consumer information," the FTC noted information, those merchants may wrongly deny
in a press statement. "Consumer reporting agencies consumers the ability to buy even the most essential items,
like TeleCheck are data brokers that sell information to like food and medicine." She believes consumers without
companies making important decisions about consumers, alternative means of payment, such as credit cards, will
such as their ability to get credit or pay for goods and benefit from the settlement on behalf of check users.
services by check."
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"Basically, it was consumer complaints that we received In a December 2013 statement presented before the
about both of these companies that spurred our interest U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and
in bringing the investigations, and our investigations Transportation, the FTC pointed out that data brokers
focused on their compliance with the FCRA. The FCRA collect and aggregate consumers' personal information
is a very specific statute. If you are a consumer reporting from a variety of sources, which they resell for an array of
agency and you handle consumer report information, purposes, such as marketing, identification and financial
then you have to comply with the FCRA. Specifically, our fraud prevention.
investigations focused on how each company handled
consumer disputes." In a prepared statement, Jessica Rich, Director of the FTC's
Bureau of Consumer Protection, stated, "Because data
Broader implications brokers generally never interact directly with consumers,
The FTC has brought over 100 FCRA cases since the law consumers are typically unaware of their existence,
first went into effect 44 years ago. In 1996, the statute was much less the variety of ways they collect, analyze and
amended to allow civil penalties to be sought in certain sell consumer data. The Committee, by investigating the
cases. With the passage of the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act, the privacy practices of data brokers, has helped call attention
FTC now shares FCRA enforcement jurisdiction with the to the lack of transparency surrounding data broker
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Armstrong noted. privacy practices."
"This case is part of a broader initiative to target the Commenting on the TeleCheck case, Rich said, "[I]f
practices of data brokers, which often compile, maintain CRAs like TeleCheck provide merchants with inaccurate
and sell sensitive consumer information," the FTC noted information, those merchants may wrongly deny
in a press statement. "Consumer reporting agencies consumers the ability to buy even the most essential items,
like TeleCheck are data brokers that sell information to like food and medicine." She believes consumers without
companies making important decisions about consumers, alternative means of payment, such as credit cards, will
such as their ability to get credit or pay for goods and benefit from the settlement on behalf of check users.
services by check."
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