States with laws requiring data brokers to register are ramping up enforcement
California on Wednesday announced that it has fined the data broker Key Marketing Advantage, LLC (KMA) $55,800 for failing to register, the fifth broker it has hit with financial penalties since Nov. 14.
The state announced an enforcement sweep in October, and other states have also put companies on notice for not complying with their laws.
Since December 16, Texas has warned 16 data brokers — including the prominent companies LoopMe Limited and RocketReach — that their failure to register is illegal. The state’s new privacy law required registration by March 1, 2024.
Texas also has launched an investigation into the data broker Complete Mailing Lists (CML) for failure to register. A civil investigative demand letter the state sent to CML asks the company to prove its contention that it only sells largely publicly available information.
Privacy advocates consider data broker registries to be important levers for regulating the industry, but companies’ failures to register have been a longtime problem.
KMA President Linda Bridson said via email that the company takes “full responsibility for the oversight in reregistering.” She added that she misunderstood the law and thought she only needed to register once.
Eric Woolf, a managing partner at Complete Mailing Lists, said he believes the company has complied with the law.
RocketReach and LoopMe Limited did not respond to a request for comment.
Suzanne Smalley
is a reporter covering privacy, disinformation and cybersecurity policy for The Record. She was previously a cybersecurity reporter at CyberScoop and Reuters. Earlier in her career Suzanne covered the Boston Police Department for the Boston Globe and two presidential campaign cycles for Newsweek. She lives in Washington with her husband and three children.