CalMatters: Who’s buying your personal data: Disney, GM, your insurer and bank. Here’s what they get
A report examines how data brokers supply personal information to major companies including Disney, GM, insurers, and banks, drawing on research from privacy scholars to explain how raw data points are combined and used to build detailed profiles on individuals.
Why this matters: The companies on this list are not shadowy startups. They are brands people use every day, often without any idea that a data broker is in the middle. Your insurer and your bank already hold sensitive information about you. When they also buy inferred data about your behavior, habits, and likely future choices, the power gap between them and you gets much wider. This is worth paying attention to because the data does not just sit there. It gets used to make decisions about pricing, eligibility, and risk, often with no way for you to see or challenge what they know.
Who should care: General readers · Privacy officers · Policy
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