OneRep has thoroughly researched Internet privacy laws and found that there are no current laws requiring data brokers to maintain the privacy of consumer data in United States.
According to the FTC, the law only protects consumers in privacy cases regarding credit, employment, insurance, housing, and other limited instances. But data brokers are not obligated to safeguard the privacy of your home address, phone number, email, and most other personally identifiable information, which is often publicly available.
Privacy laws do apply to credit bureaus and health care providers, but data broker activity generally falls outside their jurisdiction.
A variety of laws regulate the use, sharing, and protection of personal information, however, no federal privacy law controls the collection and sale of personal information by private-sector companies like data brokers and information resellers. In other words, the threat of lawsuits is meaningless to data brokers.