Professor Joel Reidenberg was quoted in The Washington Post on the challenges involved with regulating the world of data brokers who buy and sell the personal information of millions.
Lawmakers in Koloski’s home state are at the forefront of a national movement aiming to shine a light on companies such as Amerilist — data brokers that buy and sell the personal information of millions of Americans with whom they have no direct relationship. A state law passed last year required all businesses that trade data on Vermont’s residents to register publicly and share some basic information about how they operate.
The goal was to give residents one public database where they can find clear information about all companies that sell their data and steps they can take to delete it.
Instead, the Vermont effort showed how difficult regulating these companies can be. Dozens of firms registered, but few offered clear answers about what they do with data and whether users may remove themselves from databases.
“There are so many obviously erroneous registrations,” said Joel Reidenberg, a law professor at Fordham University who reviewed the Vermont registry.
Some data firms didn’t bother to register.