Брокеры данных: сбор и продажа личной информации.

Data collector and vendor to third parties
the collection of personal information for use by third parties

A data broker is an individual or company that specializes in collecting personal data (such as income, ethnicity, political beliefs, or geolocation data) or data about companies, mostly from public records but sometimes sourced privately, and selling or licensing such information to third parties for a variety of uses. Sources, usually Internet based since the 1990s, may include census and electoral roll records, social networking sites, court reports and purchase histories. The information from data brokers may be used in background checks used by employers and housing. There are varying regulations around the world limiting the collection of information on individuals; privacy laws vary. In the United States there is no federal regulation protection for the consumer from data brokers, although some states have begun enacting laws individually. In the European Union, GDPR serves to regulate data brokers' operations. Some data brokers report to have large numbers of population data or "data attributes". Acxiom purports to have data from 2.5 billion different people.

A 2007 University of California study, after requesting and analyzing information sharing practices at 86 companies, found many operating under an opt out model that it described as inconsistent with consumer expectations, and recommended that the California state legislature require companies to disclose their information sharing policies using clear, unambiguous language, and consider creating a centralized, user friendly method for consumers to opt out of information sharing. The proposed US Data Accountability and Trust Act (introduced in 2009) contained a number of requirements for auditing and verification of accuracy of data held by information brokers, and additional measures in the case of a security breach. The bill also gave identified individuals the means and opportunity to review and correct the data held that related to them. It passed through the United States House of Representatives in the 111th United States Congress, but failed to pass the United States Senate. It was revived by the 112th United States Congress in 2011 as H. R. 1707., but died after being referred to committee. The bill was first introduced by Rep. Bobby Rush [D IL1] on 30 April 2009, H. R. 2221. In 2009, the U. S. Federal Trade Commission had recommended the United States Congress develop legislation enabling consumers to see the information that data brokers hold about them, a recommendation it renewed in subsequent reports in 2012 and 2014. In 2013, the U. S. Government Accountability Office also called for Congress to consider legislation. In October 2019, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed into action statute AB 1202. This bill "would require data brokers to register with, and provide certain information to, the Attorney General. The bill would define a data broker as a business that knowingly collects and sells to third parties the personal information of a consumer with whom the business does not have a direct relationship, subject to specified exceptions". This law was created to safeguard against the "cloak of invisibility" (unregistered, unregulated, untracked information broker) that previous data brokers roamed in. It was also meant to regulate the purchasing of data in commercial third party buyers, and tracks the data brokers information trades.<? Clarity would aid the reader. >

Due to the interest in federal regulation, data broker firms have lobbied and spent $29 million in the year 2020. is published by Privacy Rights Clearinghouse (PRC), a nonprofit consumer organization in the United States. PRC also maintains a list of information brokers, with links to their privacy policies, terms of service, and opt out provisions. Data brokers have also faced legal charges for security breaches due to poor data security practices.

The Association of Independent Information Professionals (AIIP) is a professional association based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with members from 20 countries worldwide, representing both primary and secondary researchers.

Examples of information brokers in contemporary fiction would be the Shadow Broker in the video game series Mass Effect; Nicholas Wayne, Rachel, Elean Duga, Gustav St. Germain, Carol, and the President of the Daily Days newspaper company in Baccano! ; or Izaya Orihara in the light novel series Durarara!!. A few of the characters in Neal Stephenson's novel Snow Crash find work selling data as "stringers" for the Central Intelligence Corporation. Information broker characters play a prominent role in stories published by DC Comics. The character trope is best exemplified by the superhero Oracle, but the trope is later used with the characters Calculator, Proxy, Chloe Sullivan, and Felicity Smoak as well.