This week we dive into the murky world of data brokers, courtesy of a new report by Reset Tech Australia.

The report provides a fascinating window into how data brokers operate - particularly the granular categories and segments that online users are categorised into. This data is sold to advertisers and, in some cases, even law enforcement bodies and other authorities. 

We share our reactions about the report and discuss how the availability of data about sensitive topics such as gambling, alcohol consumption, financial stress can make us more vulnerable to exploitation.

Links:

Report: Australians for Sale https://au.reset.tech/uploads/Reset.Tech-Report-Australians-for-Sale-2023.pdf

Article about Target working out a teen was pregnant (Forbes) https://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/02/16/how-target-figured-out-a-teen-girl-was-pregnant-before-her-father-did/

Article about data broker selling data from Muslim prayer app (VICE) https://www.vice.com/en/article/epdkze/muslim-apps-location-data-military-xmode

Investigation into data brokers (The Markup) https://themarkup.org/privacy/2021/09/30/theres-a-multibillion-dollar-market-for-your-phones-location-data

Academic article defining 'online manipulation' (Susser, Roessler and Nissenbaum) https://policyreview.info/articles/analysis/technology-autonomy-and-manipulation

Credits: