A congressional investigation estimates broker breaches have cost consumers $20 billion in identity theft. Major brokers now promise to make it easier to opt out of their databases.
# THE TAKE: Congress Discovered Fire Congress spent months investigating what we already knew: data brokers are pickpockets with congressional access. Their stunning conclusion? This costs us billions. Groundbreaking. Here's what's missing from the feel-good opt-out promises: *consent theater*. These brokers didn't get rich asking permission—they got rich selling the absence of it. Now they're offering exit ramps after monetizing the entire highway. The real story isn't the $20 billion price tag. It's that regulators treat this like a discovery instead of a crime scene. We don't celebrate when pickpockets finally agree to check bags at the door. Until Congress treats data as stolen property—not a commodity—these "easier opt-outs" are just better locks on the same cage. The investigation changed nothing structural. It changed optics. That's the real theft.
What the Documents Show
Breaches at data brokers have cost American consumers more than $20 billion, Congress’s Joint Economic Committee revealed Friday as part of an investigation triggered by The Markup and CalMatters. The estimated losses stem from identity theft linked to just four recent data breaches involving major brokers, the committee said in a report. Released by the committee’s Democratic minority, the document repeatedly cited reporting into data brokers from The Markup and CalMatters, done in collaboration with WIRED. The committee followed up directly on the Markup and CalMatters’ reporting, which in August showed how data brokers were hiding from search engines legally-mandated pages where Californians can request that the brokers delete or stop selling their data. Dozens of companies are hiding how you can delete your personal data, The Markup and CalMatters found.
Follow the Money
After our reporters reached out for comment, multiple companies have stopped the practice. Shortly after that story was published, New Hampshire Democratic Sen. Maggie Hassan, ranking member of the committee, sent a letter pressing some brokers to explain their practices. In response, the report revealed, four major data brokers engaged with congressional staff and changed their practices to make it easier for consumers to control the use of their data. Data brokers, as defined in the California law that requires brokers to provide consumers the so-called “opt out” pages, are companies that gather data on consumers, then sell that data to other companies who do not have a direct relationship with the consumers. Typically, companies buy such information from data brokers for marketing purposes.
What Else We Know
Brokers can gather the data from information like public records, or more invasive methods like tracking online activity. Though brokers hold potentially sensitive information on consumers, many Americans are unaware they exist. Under the California law, data brokers that reach a certain size are required to register and provide a clear way for consumers to request that their information be removed, that it not be sold or that they get access to it. But The Markup and CalMatters’ August story examined how several data brokers used code called the “no-index” tag on pages where consumers could exercise their right to opt out. The tag is used to tell search engines not to index the page, meaning the information may not be returned in search results. The story noted that this created a barrier for consumers looking to block brokers from using their data.
Primary Sources
- Source: The Markup
- Category: True Crime
- Cross-reference independently — don't take our word for it.
Disclosure: NewsAnarchist aggregates from public records, API feeds (Federal Register, CourtListener, MuckRock, Hacker News), and independent media. AI-assisted synthesis. Always verify primary sources linked above.