Rockfeller Continues Data Broker Probe, Asks Companies About Consumer Targeting

Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV (D-W.Va.) Feb. 3 wrote to six alleged data brokers and requested information on their marketing tools that identify and target consumers based on a financial vulnerability or health status.

Rockefeller, chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, initiated a committee investigation into the data broker industry in October 2012 198 DER A-1, 10/15/12, 11 PVLR 1522, 10/15/12. Targets of the probe—Equifax Inc., Epsilon, Acxiom Corp., Experian Plc, TransUnion LLC, Reed Elsevier NV, Spokeo, Datalogix and Rapleaf—were asked to respond to questions about the kind of consumer information they collect, how it is ...