Topics and Issues

Data brokers (44)

In February 2024, civil rights activist Al Sharpton sent a letter to New York Attorney General Tish James, urging her office to launch an investigation into the identity verification company Socure, “to ensure their privacy policies, data gathering, and data mining practices align with New York state law and equally serve all New Yorkers.” Sharpton’s call follows a letter Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) sent to the company’s CEO on Feb. 12, questioning Socure’s data collection practices and raising concerns about potential discrimination from its use of AI.

Jennifer Kerber, senior director of government relations at Socure, said in a statement that the company “was founded to enable fair and equitable participation in the financial ecosystem for every consumer engaging in the digital economy and we are not a data broker. Inclusivity and equal participation is core to our mission as a company and what we work daily to solve. In line with this goal, we embrace market-leading standards to protect privacy for all users.” The New York AG’s Office did not respond to a request for comment.