Manatt Financial Services Partner Bryan Schneider was quoted in Law360 on the Consumer Financial Services Bureau’s (CFPB) recent inquiry seeking details on the business practices of companies that compile and sell personal data, as the Bureau seeks to potentially revise the rules governing these so-called “data brokers” under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
The article explained that the CFPB’s request for information for these data brokers may indicate plans to write new rules under the FCRA, which governs credit reporting, tenant screening and other forms of consumer reporting. The request is significant because it casts a wide net across the market to include any company that collects consumer data, in addition to those that typically fall under the FCRA’s purview. Schneider noted that although there are a variety of companies that collect data, many do so for “entirely different purposes” than FCRA-regulated consumer reporting agencies. The idea that “the collection of data means you're subject to the FCRA is not a fair equivalence,” he continued. “There may be some similarities there, but [the FCRA] has a very detailed regulatory rubric that does have boundaries to it. What's important is not making a bold assertion that all data collection is subject to the FCRA.” Schneider concluded, however, that the request “itself isn't necessarily concerning,” but rather “the interpretation that gets provided to the [responses].”
Read the complete Law360 article here.