II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2025 

To require data brokers to establish procedures to ensure the accuracy of 

collected personal information, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2014 

Mr. ROCKEFELLER (for himself and Mr. MARKEY) introduced the following 

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Commerce, 

Science, and Transportation 

A BILL 

To require data brokers to establish procedures to ensure 

the accuracy of collected personal information, and for 

other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Data Broker Account5 ability and Transparency Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) COMMISSION.—The term ‘‘Commission’’ 

9 means the Federal Trade Commission. 


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1 (2) DATA BROKER.—The term ‘‘data broker’’ 

2 means a commercial entity that collects, assembles, 

3 or maintains personal information concerning an in4 dividual who is not a customer or an employee of 

5 that entity in order to sell the information or provide 

6 third party access to the information. 

7 (3) NON-PUBLIC INFORMATION.—The term 

8 ‘‘non-public information’’ means information about 

9 an individual that is of a private nature, not avail10 able to the general public, and not obtained from a 

11 public record. 

12 (4) PUBLIC RECORD INFORMATION.—The term 

13 ‘‘public record information’’ means information 

14 about an individual that has been obtained originally 

15 from records of a Federal, State, or local govern16 ment entity that are available for public inspection. 

17 SEC. 3. PROHIBITION ON OBTAINING OR SOLICITATION TO 

18 OBTAIN PERSONAL INFORMATION BY FALSE 

19 PRETENSES. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—It shall be unlawful for a data 

21 broker to obtain or attempt to obtain, or cause to be dis22 closed or attempt to cause to be disclosed to any person, 

23 personal information or any other information relating to 

24 any person by making a false, fictitious, or fraudulent 

25 statement or representation to any person, including by 


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1 providing any document to any person, that the data 

2 broker knows or should know to be forged, counterfeit, 

3 lost, stolen, or fraudulently obtained, or contains a false, 

4 fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation. 

5 (b) SOLICITATION.—It shall be unlawful for a data 

6 broker to request a person to obtain personal information, 

7 or any other information, relating to any other person if 

8 the data broker knows or should know that the person to 

9 whom the request is made will obtain or attempt to obtain 

10 that information in the manner described in subsection 

11 (a). 

12 SEC. 4. PERSONAL INFORMATION. 

13 (a) ACCURACY.—A data broker shall establish rea14 sonable procedures to ensure the maximum possible accu15 racy of the personal information it collects, assembles, or 

16 maintains, and any other information it collects, assem17 bles, or maintains that specifically identifies an individual, 

18 unless the information only identifies an individual’s name 

19 or address. 

20 (b) EXCEPTION; FRAUD DATABASES.—Notwith21 standing subsection (a), a data broker may collect or 

22 maintain information that may be inaccurate with respect 

23 to a particular individual if that information is being col24 lected or maintained solely for the purpose of— 


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1 (1) indicating whether there may be a discrep2 ancy or irregularity in the personal information that 

3 is associated with an individual; 

4 (2) helping to identify, or to authenticate the 

5 identity of, an individual; or 

6 (3) helping to protect against or investigate 

7 fraud or other unlawful conduct. 

8 (c) CONSUMER ACCESS.—A data broker shall provide 

9 an individual a means to review any personal information 

10 or other information that specifically identifies that indi11 vidual, that the data broker collects, assembles, or main12 tains on that individual, unless an exception applies under 

13 section 5. 

14 (d) REVIEW REQUIREMENTS.—The means for review 

15 under subsection (c) shall be provided— 

16 (1) at an individual’s request; 

17 (2) after verifying the identity of the individual; 

18 (3) at least 1 time per year; and 

19 (4) at no cost to the individual. 

20 (e) NOTICE.—A data broker shall maintain an Inter21 net Web site and place a clear and conspicuous notice on 

22 that Internet Web site instructing an individual— 

23 (1) how to review the information described 

24 under subsection (c); and 


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1 (2) how to express a preference with respect to 

2 the use of personal information for marketing pur3 poses under subsection (g). 

4 (f) DISPUTED INFORMATION.—An individual whose 

5 personal information is maintained by a data broker may 

6 dispute the accuracy of any information described under 

7 subsection (c) by requesting, in writing, that the data 

8 broker correct the information. A data broker, after 

9 verifying the identity of the individual making the request, 

10 and unless there are reasonable grounds to believe the re11 quest is frivolous or irrelevant, shall— 

12 (1) with regard to public record information— 

13 (A) inform the individual of the source of 

14 the information and, if reasonably available, 

15 where to direct the individual’s request for cor16 rection; or 

17 (B) if the individual provides proof that 

18 the public record has been corrected or that the 

19 data broker was reporting the information in20 correctly, correct the inaccuracy in the data 

21 broker’s records; and 

22 (2) with regard to non-public information— 

23 (A) note the information that is disputed, 

24 including the individual’s written request; 


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1 (B) if the information can be independ2 ently verified, use the reasonable procedures es3 tablished under subsection (a) to independently 

4 verify the information; and 

5 (C) if the data broker was reporting the 

6 information incorrectly, correct the inaccuracy 

7 in the data broker’s records. 

8 (g) CERTAIN MARKETING INFORMATION.—A data 

9 broker that maintains any information described under 

10 subsection (a) and that uses, shares, or sells that informa11 tion for marketing purposes shall provide each individual 

12 whose information it maintains with a reasonable means 

13 of expressing a preference not to have that individual’s 

14 information used for those purposes. If an individual ex15 presses such a preference, the data broker may not use, 

16 share, or sell that individual’s information for marketing 

17 purposes. 

18 (h) PERSONS REGULATED BY THE FAIR CREDIT RE19 PORTING ACT.—A data broker shall be deemed in compli20 ance with this section with respect to information that is 

21 subject to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 

22 et seq.) if the data broker is in compliance with sections 

23 609, 610, and 611 of that Act (15 U.S.C. 1681g, 1681h, 

24 1681i). 


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1 SEC. 5. REGULATIONS. 

2 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

3 of this Act, the Commission shall promulgate regulations 

4 under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to imple5 ment and enforce the requirements of this Act, includ6 ing— 

7 (1) a requirement that a data broker establish 

8 measures that facilitate the auditing or retracing of 

9 any internal or external access to, or transmission 

10 of, any data containing personal information col11 lected, assembled, or maintained by the data broker; 

12 (2) the establishment of a centralized Internet 

13 Web site for the benefit of consumers that lists the 

14 data brokers subject to section 4 and provides addi15 tional information to consumers about their rights 

16 under this Act; 

17 (3) if the Commission considers a data broker 

18 outside the scope of the purposes of this Act, the ex19 clusion of that data broker from the applicability of 

20 this Act, such as, if the Commission considers it ap21 propriate for exclusion, a data broker who processes 

22 information collected by or on behalf of and received 

23 from or on behalf of a nonaffiliated third party con24 cerning an individual who is a customer or an em25 ployee of that third party to enable that third party, 

26 directly or through parties acting on its behalf, to 


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1 provide benefits for its employees or directly trans2 act business with its customers; 

3 (4) any exceptions, that the Commission con4 siders necessary, to the auditing and retracing re5 quirements under paragraph (1) to further or pro6 tect law enforcement or national security activities; 

7 and 

8 (5) any exceptions, that the Commission con9 siders necessary, to an individual’s right to review 

10 the information described under section 4(c), such 

11 as for child protection, law enforcement, fraud pre12 vention, or other legitimate government purposes. 

13 SEC. 6. ENFORCEMENT. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—A violation of a regulation pre15 scribed under this Act shall be treated as a violation of 

16 a rule defining an unfair or a deceptive act or practice 

17 under section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Federal Trade Commis18 sion Act (15 U.S.C. 57a(a)(1)(B)). 

19 (b) POWERS OF COMMISSION.—The Commission 

20 shall enforce this Act in the same manner, by the same 

21 means, and with the same jurisdiction, powers, and duties 

22 as though all applicable terms and provisions of the Fed23 eral Trade Commission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.) were 

24 incorporated into and made a part of this Act. Any data 

25 broker who violates a regulation prescribed under this Act 


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1 shall be subject to the penalties and entitled to the privi2 leges and immunities provided in the Federal Trade Com3 mission Act (15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.). 

4 (c) ENFORCEMENT BY STATE ATTORNEYS GEN5 ERAL.— 

6 (1) CIVIL ACTION.—Except as provided under 

7 paragraph (3)(B), in any case in which the attorney 

8 general of a State, or an official or agency of a 

9 State, has reason to believe that an interest of the 

10 residents of that State has been or is threatened or 

11 adversely affected by a data broker who violates a 

12 regulation prescribed under this Act, the attorney 

13 general, official, or agency of the State, as parens 

14 patriae, may bring a civil action on behalf of the 

15 residents of the State in a district court of the 

16 United States of appropriate jurisdiction— 

17 (A) to enjoin further violation of this Act 

18 by the defendant; 

19 (B) to compel compliance with this Act; 

20 (C) to obtain damages, restitution, or other 

21 compensation on behalf of such residents, or to 

22 obtain such further and other relief as the court 

23 may deem appropriate; or 

24 (D) to obtain civil penalties in the amount 

25 determined under paragraph (2). 


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1 (2) CIVIL PENALTIES.— 

2 (A) CALCULATION.—For purposes of im3 posing a civil penalty under paragraph (1)(D), 

4 the amount determined under this paragraph is 

5 the amount calculated by multiplying the num6 ber of separate violations of a rule by an 

7 amount not greater than $16,000. 

8 (B) ADJUSTMENT FOR INFLATION.—Be9 ginning on the date that the Consumer Price 

10 Index is first published by the Bureau of Labor 

11 Statistics that is after 1 year after the date of 

12 enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter, 

13 the amount specified in subparagraph (A) shall 

14 be increased by the percentage increase in the 

15 Consumer Price Index published on that date 

16 from the Consumer Price Index published the 

17 previous year. 

18 (3) INTERVENTION BY THE COMMISSION.— 

19 (A) NOTICE.—A State shall provide prior 

20 written notice of any civil action under para21 graph (1) to the Commission and provide the 

22 Commission with a copy of its complaint, except 

23 in any case in which such prior notice is not 

24 feasible, in which case the State shall serve 


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1 such notice immediately upon instituting such 

2 action. 

3 (B) INTERVENTION BY THE COMMIS4 SION.—The Commission shall have the right— 

5 (i) to intervene in the civil action 

6 under paragraph (1); 

7 (ii) upon so intervening, to be heard 

8 on all matters arising in that civil action; 

9 and 

10 (iii) to file petitions for appeal of a 

11 decision in that civil action. 

12 (C) LIMITATION ON STATE ACTION WHILE

13 FEDERAL ACTION IS PENDING.—If the Commis14 sion has instituted a civil action for violation of 

15 this Act, no State attorney general, or official 

16 or agency of a State, may bring an action under 

17 this subsection during the pendency of that ac18 tion against any defendant named in the com19 plaint of the Commission for any violation of 

20 this Act alleged in the complaint. 

21 (4) CONSTRUCTION.—For purposes of bringing 

22 any civil action under paragraph (1), nothing in this 

23 Act shall be construed to prevent an attorney gen24 eral of a State from exercising the powers conferred 

25 on the attorney general by the laws of that State— 


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1 (A) to conduct investigations; 

2 (B) to administer oaths or affirmations; or 

3 (C) to compel the attendance of witnesses 

4 or the production of documentary and other evi5 dence. 

6 SEC. 7. EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS. 

7 (a) PRESERVATION OF COMMISSION AUTHORITY.— 

8 Nothing in this Act may be construed in any way to limit 

9 or affect the Commission’s authority under any other pro10 vision of law. 

11 (b) PRESERVATION OF OTHER FEDERAL LAW.— 

12 Nothing in this Act may be construed in any way to super13 sede, restrict, or limit the application of the Fair Credit 

14 Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.) or any other Fed15 eral law. 

Æ 


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