New Texas Data Broker Registry Unveiled
If you’ve ever done anything online – from creating a social media account to looking up a new recipe – there’s a strong chance your information has been collected and sold by data brokers. That’s because every time we use our cell phones or computers, a wide range of data is collected about us – often without our knowledge or active consent – and used in ways outside of our control.
Data brokers are businesses that have no direct relationship with us, yet they collect and sell our personal information to anyone willing to pay. There are many reasons why people want to access our data, ranging from businesses seeking to influence our behavior or advertise certain products, to nefarious reasons, such as a fraudster looking to steal identities and perpetrate financial harm. Until recently, data brokers in Texas were operating under the radar and without transparency. Thanks to a new data broker law that uncovers the identities of data brokers, Texans are one step closer to controlling what happens with their personal information.
To help Texans gain more knowledge and control over their data, this past legislative session, Texas Appleseed successfully advocated for the passage of Senate Bill 2105. This law established the creation of an online registry of the data brokers that currently handle Texans’ most personal and sensitive information, giving Texans a tool to better control their personal data. Combined with the new data privacy rights under the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA), Texans now have several tools to exercise their data privacy protections for certain businesses, including data brokers.
How to Access the Data Broker Registry
To access the new Texas Data Broker Registry, visit the Texas Secretary of State’s (SOS) website page for data brokers. Once you’re on the website, click on “Data Broker Registry” on the right side of the webpage in a pull-out box titled “Points of Interest.” Be sure to select the option that says registry, not the option for data broker registration. Here, you’ll find the searchable data broker registry, which provides information about each registered data broker, including contact information, information about security breaches, and the categories of data it collects. Because of the protections under the TDPSA, Texans can use the data broker registry to identify data brokers and exercise their data privacy rights with these previously hidden businesses. Learn more about how to exercise your new data privacy rights here.
Take Control of Your Data
Although widely unknown to most Texans, data brokers deeply impact our lives and can sometimes cause us financial or personal harm. Data collected about us and sold to the highest bidder can lead to discriminatory advertising, targeting for scams, or even identity theft and stalking by abusers. We encourage you to take a look at the data broker registry and assert your data privacy rights with the listed data brokers. It will give you important insights into the businesses that control your personal information and help you to take control of your own data.