Data Broker Sales of Consumer Information Targeted in CFPB Plan

Data brokers would face limits on selling Americans’ personal and financial records, including information about military personnel and data that could be used for advertising, under a new federal rule.

The proposal from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unveiled Tuesday is intended to protect service members, law enforcement officials, domestic violence victims, and senior citizens, among others. Those groups would be shielded from surveillance, doxing, fraud, and threats of violence when bad actors purchase personal and financial information from data brokers.

Brokers would be subject to accuracy requirements imposed by the 1970 Fair Credit Reporting Act, and could sell data ...