1. United States
2. Ind.
3. Letter

Dear Member of Congress, I am writing as a constituent to urge immediate, meaningful action on comprehensive federal data privacy legislation and strong regulation of the data broker industry. Today, vast amounts of Americans’ personal information are collected, bought, sold, and aggregated without our meaningful consent. Data brokers generate billions of dollars annually by trafficking in detailed profiles that include our location histories, purchasing behavior, health inferences, financial stress signals, family relationships, and online activity. This information is routinely resold, combined across sources, and used in ways that directly harm consumers and undermine civil liberties. For individuals, opting out of data collection is not a realistic solution. Opt-out processes are fragmented, opaque, and intentionally burdensome. Even when a consumer successfully removes their data from one broker, it is often re-ingested through another source weeks or months later. There is no durable, enforceable way for an ordinary person to remain opted out. This is not a functional consent system; it is a procedural illusion. The consequences are no longer theoretical: • Aggregated personal data is routinely used for surveillance purposes by both government entities and private actors, often without warrants, transparency, or accountability. • “Surveillance pricing” allows companies to dynamically raise prices for goods, services, and insurance based on inferred traits such as income volatility, location, health risk, or perceived willingness to pay. • Insurance premiums are increasingly influenced by opaque behavioral data and third-party data scores that consumers cannot see, challenge, or correct. • The widespread replication of sensitive personal data dramatically increases the risk of identity theft, stalking, harassment, and financial fraud. • Data breaches at brokers expose millions of Americans at once, yet penalties remain insufficient to deter repeated negligence. At present, the United States effectively permits a shadow data economy in which companies face minimal obligations while individuals bear escalating risk. The lack of a strong federal framework leaves consumers vulnerable and forces them to navigate a maze of state-by-state protections that are inconsistent and incomplete. I urge Congress to enact legislation that, at minimum: • **Mandates OPT-IN-ONLY consent as the default** — personal data may not be collected, sold, shared, or transferred unless an individual affirmatively and knowingly agrees in advance. • Establishes clear limits on the collection, retention, and sale of personal data. • Eliminates reliance on opt-out schemes by creating enforceable prohibitions on unauthorized data acquisition and resale. • Grants consumers the right to access, correct, and delete their data across all downstream holders. • Imposes meaningful penalties for violations that outweigh the profits of noncompliance. • Restricts warrantless access to commercially acquired personal data by government agencies. Data privacy is no longer a niche consumer issue. It is a matter of economic fairness, personal security, and democratic accountability. Americans should not have to sacrifice their privacy, safety, or financial well-being simply to participate in modern life. I ask you to treat this issue with the urgency it deserves and to support robust, enforceable federal data privacy and data broker reform.