The One-Stop-Shop Is One Step in the Right Direction

‍Companies in the networked information economy collect personal data to provide their services. Businesses are also always keen to develop other ways to monetize this consumer information. A handful of the largest leverage their platforms to serve content or ads on behalf of paying advertisers. After all, many companies are willing to pay handsomely for targeted access to potential buyers across devices. Others sell the data to third parties who find further commercial uses for it. Current legal doctrine allows this last category—data brokers—to sell or license personal data although they are not the ones to collect it from consumers. Meanwhile, most people do not know or understand these background deals and practices, even when they consent to them. Most consumers feel that they have no choice but to click yes and accept the terms of service. To put it starkly: the prevailing regulatory approach in the United States has effectively normalized data exposure.