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What Happens to Your Sensitive Data When a Data Broker Goes Bankrupt?

63 points by jyunwai 3y ago

huijzer 3y ago
Answer to the question: Thanks to Sen. Ron Wyden the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforced restrictions on the use, sale, licensing or transfer of the location data.
- DinaCoder99 3y ago
  Why is it restricted to location data and not all PII? What possible benefit do his constituents get from limiting protections to just location data?
  - hobs 3y ago
    The politically expedient answer is "getting anything at all" because of the implied lack of pass-ability of a bill that went further due to industry pushback.
  - nyrikki 3y ago
    Data brokers and companies who own data brokers (Oracle) collectively spend about the same amount on lobbying as Google or Facebook did. They know raising a stink about that data after roe v wade was overturned would draw way too much attention to the industry and the fact that us Americans really don't have any privacy protections. So it is restricted to the types of data that those lobbyists think are too toxic to try and protect. Typically they seem to use 'national defense' as their version of 'think about the children' to make sure they can collect and sell this information. There really aren't laws about PII at the data broker level, Even HIPAA doesn't apply. "In most cases, unless the app is provided to you by a covered entity or its business associate - PDF, the HIPAA Rules also do not protect the privacy of data you’ve downloaded or entered into mobile apps for your personal use, regardless of where the information came from." https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/cell-phone-hipaa/index.html https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance... So if the data broker wanted to really fight this, they could probably win this battle but they would risk losing the war for the entire industry.
- godelski 3y ago
  I got a chance to talk to one of his aides once and I learned something interesting. One of the differences of Wyden is simply in the number of aides he has. The aides are experts in a particular domain and play a significant role in Wyden's decision making. So they said one of the big problems (this was his CS aide) is that most senators don't have an expert(s) who are well informed on tech and such so they are not even able to make informed decisions. It was just an interesting part of the process I didn't know too much about before.
  - yau8edq12i 3y ago
    I'm pretty sure you mean aide, not aid.
    - godelski 3y ago
      What are you talking about ;) (thanks, I edited it)
      - NotSammyHagar 3y ago
        Use your spelling "aid". ;-)
  - jjjjj55555 3y ago
    Having experts seems like a great idea, but then I worry that it basically means having multiple lobbyists on staff, with a desk right in the senator's office.
    - acdha 3y ago
      I think that’s the opposite of how to think about it: groups with money are going to lobby no matter what, because there’s simply no way those groups won’t want to influence what’s happening. Budgeting to hire people who report to the congress person costs a little bit (by national government standards) upfront but it avoids all of those conflicts of interest and pushes things out of the shadows into the government hiring process where there’s more of a paper trail and basic conflict of interest rules.
leed25d 3y ago
Do not worry. The NSA, the FBI, and DHS all have copies.
lupire 3y ago
What happens to your sensitive data when a data broker gets founded? The game is over long before bankruptcy.

63 points by jyunwai 3y ago

Answer to the question: Thanks to Sen. Ron Wyden the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) enforced restrictions on the use, sale, licensing or transfer of the location data.

DinaCoder99 3y ago
Why is it restricted to location data and not all PII? What possible benefit do his constituents get from limiting protections to just location data?
- hobs 3y ago
  The politically expedient answer is "getting anything at all" because of the implied lack of pass-ability of a bill that went further due to industry pushback.
- nyrikki 3y ago
  Data brokers and companies who own data brokers (Oracle) collectively spend about the same amount on lobbying as Google or Facebook did. They know raising a stink about that data after roe v wade was overturned would draw way too much attention to the industry and the fact that us Americans really don't have any privacy protections. So it is restricted to the types of data that those lobbyists think are too toxic to try and protect. Typically they seem to use 'national defense' as their version of 'think about the children' to make sure they can collect and sell this information. There really aren't laws about PII at the data broker level, Even HIPAA doesn't apply. "In most cases, unless the app is provided to you by a covered entity or its business associate - PDF, the HIPAA Rules also do not protect the privacy of data you’ve downloaded or entered into mobile apps for your personal use, regardless of where the information came from." https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance/cell-phone-hipaa/index.html https://www.hhs.gov/hipaa/for-professionals/privacy/guidance... So if the data broker wanted to really fight this, they could probably win this battle but they would risk losing the war for the entire industry.
godelski 3y ago
I got a chance to talk to one of his aides once and I learned something interesting. One of the differences of Wyden is simply in the number of aides he has. The aides are experts in a particular domain and play a significant role in Wyden's decision making. So they said one of the big problems (this was his CS aide) is that most senators don't have an expert(s) who are well informed on tech and such so they are not even able to make informed decisions. It was just an interesting part of the process I didn't know too much about before.
- yau8edq12i 3y ago
  I'm pretty sure you mean aide, not aid.
  - godelski 3y ago
    What are you talking about ;) (thanks, I edited it)
    - NotSammyHagar 3y ago
      Use your spelling "aid". ;-)
- jjjjj55555 3y ago
  Having experts seems like a great idea, but then I worry that it basically means having multiple lobbyists on staff, with a desk right in the senator's office.
  - acdha 3y ago
    I think that’s the opposite of how to think about it: groups with money are going to lobby no matter what, because there’s simply no way those groups won’t want to influence what’s happening. Budgeting to hire people who report to the congress person costs a little bit (by national government standards) upfront but it avoids all of those conflicts of interest and pushes things out of the shadows into the government hiring process where there’s more of a paper trail and basic conflict of interest rules.

leed25d 3y ago

Do not worry. The NSA, the FBI, and DHS all have copies.

lupire 3y ago

What happens to your sensitive data when a data broker gets founded? The game is over long before bankruptcy.