The Wall Street Journal reports that research by the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee found that data brokers are maintaining health records as part of their massive data collection: "Marketers maintain databases that purport to track and sell the names of people who have diabetes, depression, and osteoporosis, as well as how often women visit a gynecologist."
There is little oversight of data brokers, including from the subjects of the data collection; we don't have the right to find out what type of data is collected about us or who buys the information about us.
"An industry which began in the 1970s collecting data from public records to help marketers send direct mail has become an engine of a global $120 billion digital-advertising industry, helping marketers deliver increasingly targeted ads across the web and on mobile phones," The Journal also reports.
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