Every time you apply for a credit card or update your account details, you may be sharing your data with ICE.
A research by 404 Media said that personal information stored by credit card firms can sail through a network of data brokers and can become accessible to US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). ICE can then search and investigate your personal data without any warrant.
“No one signing up for a credit card thinks they’re giving data brokers a thumbs-up to sell their personal information to ICE. Not only is it an outrageous violation of our privacy, [but] it’s impossible for Americans to opt out,” Senator Ron Wyden said to 404 Media in a statement.
What private information is compromised?
According to 404 media, when someone opens a credit card or updates their personal data, credit card firms share that data with credit bureaus.
The personal information consists of Social Security numbers, addresses and email addresses, names, and phone numbers. Contrary to credit reports, this data does not have robust legal security.
Personal information is then sent to credit bureaus, who give the data to Thompson Reuters. From there, the data is incorporated into CLEAR, the firm’s investigative data product. Thomson Reuters sells access to CLEAR to law enforcement authorities, including ICE.
After gaining access to CLEAR, ICE can search through personal information without a warrant. "404 Media has mapped out this supply of data by reviewing U.S. government procurement records and internal documents from companies providing the information." The platform is also combined with a tool that suggests ICE to decide which neighbourhoods to raid.
"Anytime we update our home addresses on these accounts, credit bureaus get the updates within 24 hours and share it broadly with other data brokers, thanks to legal loopholes that leave our personal information open to misuse and abuse," Just Futures attorney Laura Rivera said to 404 Media.
Thomson Reuters providing personal data to US government
Another report enquired Thompson Reuter’s increasing role in providing personal data to the US Government.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is planning to pay Thomson Reuters $125 million to give access to its databases as part of enquiries into suspected immigration fraud and voter fraud. The agreement will be worth $25 million annually for five years respectively.
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