There's a lot of data about each person available to buyers. [1] [2] [3] Is there a way that someone can access their own data, so they can at least be aware of the information that's collected about them?
(An aside: One of the philosophies behind sousveillance is "If surveillance is going to be widespread, at least make it both ways". It seems deeply unfair if a huge amount of information is accumulated about an individual, but they have no opportunity to at least see it, if not be able to correct any inaccuracies.)
A frequent response on forums is "this kind of information is only available to bulk purchasers". I understand this is the main way that data is sold, but what's to stop an organization from buying data in bulk, and then making a business out of providing data to individuals?
Another response is "That's impossible or unfeasible from a technical standpoint", that the data is stored only in an aggregated form, and that it's too computationally expensive to pull out the data for any single person; it's not personal. This is a personal guess, however, I've read information suggesting that some organizations do access information in a way that's individualized. Also, most reporting on data brokers suggests that personal data is available. Oh, and the data brokers themselves admit to keeping personalized data.
I understand that there are sometimes efforts to anonymize data in a way that continues to make it useful to mass buyers. [2] However, de-anonymization is a very real concern.
Yet another response is that "There are too many data brokers out there, and you will never be able to access them all". Fine. I want to access some of my data. How do I do that?
LiveRamp, one of the largest data brokers, offers individuals the opportunity to access their data from LiveRamp. Ctrl-F here for "access request" and "category access request". These are two different types of access requests. LiveRamp says this about the differences:
"However, to receive an Access Request, a consumer must pass three different levels of identity verification requirements, while a Category Access Request only requires a consumer to pass two different levels of identity verification."
Tools that allow you to be aware of bills that are still in pending status, sorted by state: