According to the Associated Press, the Supreme Court announced today that it will decide whether digital platforms "that collect personal data can be sued for publishing inaccurate
information even if the mistakes don’t cause any actual harm." A Virginia resident sued Spokeo.com (an Internet company that compiles alleged publicly available data on people and lets
subscribers view the information, including address, age, marital status, economic health, etc...) because it listed inaccurate information about him and he claims it damaged his job prospects. The plaintiff lost in federal district court; however the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed and found that Spokeo had violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
This is a very interesting case because of the importance of one's digital reputation. Should companies such as Spokeo and others that acquire and re-purpose information about people be required to authenticate the accuracy of the data they publish? If so, how should authentication occur?
In the Digital Age, what does actual harm mean? How does one know if actual harm has occurred? Do prospective employers, colleges, financial firms, insurance companies, etc.. always tell applicants they were denied an offer because of data found online at Spokeo or another digital platform?
Should companies that compile data on users/consumers and provide this information to others for a fee be regulated as a consumer reporting agency under FCRA? Recently, a judge in California found that LinkedIn
was not a consumer reporting agency under the definition of FRCA. Despite this one court's ruling, are companies such as Spokeo, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, etc... avoiding being regulated under FCRA because of an outdated definition of a consumer reporting agency?
Facebook has agreements in place that enable it to send all your personal information (i.e. personal feelings indicated, posts, photos, friend connections, likes, etc...) to data brokers and this information may be utilized against you when applying for a job, insurance, etc... Google scans your emails, calendars, cloud drive, etc... for behavioral advertising and who knows what other purposes. Does some of Facebook's and Google's activities fall under FCRA and if not should they?
The bottom line is that due to the importance of digital reputation
stronger regulations are needed to protect our privacy. Spokeo advertises itself as the "leading
people search platform using proprietary technology to organize
information into comprehensive yet easy-to-understand online profiles;" Google states its "mission is to organize the world’s information and make it universally
accessible and useful;" and Forbes has stated Facebook "moves to become the world's most powerful data broker."
If these companies acts like data brokers should they also be regulated as them as well? We may soon find out how the Supreme Court views data privacy and digital reputation in the Digital Age.
Copyright 2015 by The Law Office of Bradley S. Shear, LLC All rights reserved.