#consumer profiling

By Craig Timberg, Washington Post, May 27, 2014

Are you a financially strapped working mother who smokes? A Jewish retiree with a fondness for Caribbean cruises? Or a Spanish-speaking professional with allergies, a dog and a collection of Elvis memorabilia?

All this information and much, much more is being quietly collected, analyzed and distributed by the nation’s burgeoning data-broker industry, which uses billions of individual data points to produce detailed portraits of virtually every American consumer, the Federal Trade Commission reported Tuesday.

The FTC report provided an unusually detailed account of the system of commercial surveillance that draws on government records, shopping habits and social media postings to help marketers hone their advertising pitches. Officials said the intimacy of these profiles would unnerve some consumers who have little ability to track what’s being collected or how it’s used--or even to correct false information. The FTC called for legislation to bring transparency to the multibillion-dollar industry and give consumers some control over how their data is used.

The portraits provided by data brokers feature traditional demographics such as age, race and income, as well as political leanings, religious affiliations, Social Security numbers, gun ownership records, favored movie genres and gambling preferences (casino or state lottery?). Interest in health issues--such as diabetes, HIV infection and depression--can be tracked as well.

With potentially thousands of fields, data brokers segment consumers into dozens of categories such as “Bible Lifestyle,” “Affluent Baby Boomer” or “Biker/Hell’s Angels,” the report said. One category, called “Rural Everlasting,” describes older people with “low educational attainment and low net worths.” Another, “Urban Scramble,” includes concentrations of Latinos and African Americans with low incomes. One company had a field to track buyers of “Novelty Elvis” items.

“The extent of consumer profiling today means that data brokers often know as much--or even more--about us than our family and friends,” FTC Chairman Edith Ramirez said in a statement. “It’s time to bring transparency and accountability to bear on this industry on behalf of consumers, many of whom are unaware that data brokers even exist.”

Data brokers gather the information from public records and private sources, such as advertising networks that follow a consumer’s online activities, traditional media companies that record a subscriber’s billing history or the loyalty programs that track a shopper’s purchases at a grocery store.

The individual profiles are largely sold to marketers, determining what ads and offers consumers see online, or to banks that use the data to verify the identity of customers. Laws prohibit using such information to set insurance rates, make job offers or measure credit worthiness, although the FTC expressed concern about potential abuses.

FTC officials, who based their report on documents gathered by issuing subpoenas to nine data brokers in December 2012, found “a fundamental lack of transparency” in the industry but no evidence of illegal activity. Ramirez said the FTC does not know how many data brokers exist.

The profiles they produce could affect what products are offered to consumers and how well consumers are treated by customer service, officials said. A “financially challenged” couple, for example, might see ads for sub-prime loans while their affluent friends are offered premium credit cards and vacation options. Some consumers might face long waits when they call companies with complaints, while others receive speedy, responsive service.

Among the most striking findings in the reports, officials said, was the extent that data brokers connect the online and offline behaviors of consumers. This process, called “onboarding,” allows markets to load offline information--from magazine subscriptions, store loyalty cards or government records--into cookies that digital advertisers use to target consumers for pitches. Cookies, which are a small bit of computerized code stored in a computer’s browser, allow advertisers to feature a single product across many Internet services.

The issue of data collection has generated increasing attention in recent years--and especially since former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden revealed how intelligence agencies vaccum up information collected by the private sector.

Yet privacy advocates see little hope of action on Capitol Hill. “There’s no political pressure on Congress, really, to act. The data-broker lobby is incredibly powerful,” said Jeffrey Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy.

Consumer conversations on their households, The topics consisted of:

-Personal Details -Hobbies and Leisure -Home Life -Occupation -Household Details -Sustainable Opinions

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