Hi John,

The more we find out about data broker practices, the more angry we are about what these companies are getting away with. Did you know they’re packaging our mental health records and shipping them off for sale?¹ We have to stop this...will you join us?

Take Action NOW—submit a comment to the CFPB

A recent study revealed just how easy it is for anyone to get their hands on personal health information—including mental health records on health conditions, medication, location estimates, and in some cases, even personally identifiable data such as names, addresses and incomes.² This is concerning. Health insurance companies, financial institutions, marketers, law enforcement agencies, scammers, abusers, and other bad actors can buy these data sets and use them to profile, track, and target vulnerable people.³ There is currently no law stopping this. Unfortunately, HIPAA only applies to information held by hospitals or specific kinds of healthcare organizations. It does not protect information when it’s sent elsewhere, allowing many apps, websites, data brokers, social media companies, advertising technology, and others to share or sell data however they like.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) could step in and stop this with new rules to protect users. They launched an inquiry asking users to share their experiences with data brokers including when they try to remove, correct, or regain control of their data. This will inform the CFPB’s planned rulemaking.⁴ There is no denying we need strong, data privacy regulation to protect us from the exploitative practices of these companies and stop our private and personal information from being bought and sold. As we work towards that, this is a chance to stop data brokers.

The CFPB needs to hear from us NOW. That’s why we created this tool to make it easy for you (and anyone else you know) to submit comments. All you have to do is fill out the form and we'll submit the comment on your behalf. It is very important to add your own thoughts, personal stories and insights to help make a difference. You can also request your information from data brokers, find out what they have on you and ask them to erase it.

To fighting together…for our wellbeing and privacy,

Ese at ❤️Fight

1. Now for sale: Data on your mental health—The Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/02/13/mental-health-data-brokers/

2. A researcher tried to buy mental health data. It was surprisingly easy—NBC News https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/researcher-tried-buy-mental-health-data-was-surprisingly-easy-rcna70071

3. How Shady Companies Guess Your Religion, Sexual Orientation, and Mental Health—Slate https://slate.com/technology/2023/04/data-broker-inference-privacy-legislation.html

4. CFPB Launches Inquiry Into the Business Practices of Data Brokers https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-launches-inquiry-into-the-business-practices-of-data-brokers/