When Data Brokers RUIN LIVES

Data brokers are like invisible digital packrats, silently harvesting every piece of data about us that they can find. But the information provided by data brokers isn’t always correct. This is a problem because it's often heavily relied on by law enforcement as evidence, without being independently verified.

In this video, hacker and researcher Ghost Exodus explains how his life took a dramatic turn because of inaccurate information provided by data brokers. We also explain steps that you can be can today to minimize your risk.

00:00 What Are Data Brokers
03:28 LexisNexis' Accurint
04:43 Ghost Exodus' Story
07:51 The Dangers of Inaccurate Data Collection
10:08 What Can We Do
11:29 Conclusion

If we enable powerful entities like governments or corporations to see completely into our lives, we shift the balance of power too far away from the individual, and could lead society to a dark place. Thankfully, we are empowered individuals, and can make changes in our own lives to protect our privacy, starting today.

Learn more about Ghost Exodus' story on Darknet Diaries!

Brought to you by NBTV team members: Lee Rennie, Cube Boy, Sam Ettaro, Will Sandoval and Naomi Brockwell

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Our eBook "Beginner's Introduction To Privacy:

Beware of scammers, I will never give you a phone number or reach out to you with investment advice. I do not give investment advice.

Visit the NBTV website:

Watch this video on LBRY!

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Here are a bunch of products I like and use. Using these links helps support the channel and future videos!

Recommended Books:

Beginner's Introduction To Privacy - Naomi Brockwell

Permanent Record - Edward Snowden

What has the government done to our money - Rothbard

Extreme Privacy - Michael Bazzel (The best privacy book I've ever read)

No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S. Surveillance State - Glenn Greenwald

Some of my favorite products to help protect your privacy!

Faraday bag (signal stopping, to protect your fob, credit card, computer, and phone)

Data Blocker (if you're charging your phone in an unknown port, use this so that no data is transferred)

Camera tape (electrical tape is the best tape for covering phone and computer cameras)

USB-C to ethernet adapter:

Privacy Screens (use your phone and computer in public? Keep your information safe!)

Computer: (Search for the size right for your computer)

Phone: (Search for the size for your phone, decide whether you want glass or plastic!)

[apolodelsol]

Great subject. Data brokers should be considered as a threat to social well-being rather than a source of information.

[mvz]

The congressional hearings with the credit agencies after their huge data leak was a watershed moment for me.

Hearing them say we have no right to opt out of data collection in regards to credit scoring blew my mind. The data brokers selling the info right back to the govt is even worse now.

[lyfandeth]

Even worse, if you move, the post office doesn't just forward your mail. They send your new address to every business that has requested that information!

[normbograham]

I worked indirectly for a data broker. And at least some of that data is wrong. I checked my simple address data, and found problems. I have never felt so unclean. These companies destroy lives, and they never get checked. inferences from data, are wrong, wrong, wrong. My address info, was perhaps, 40% correct. But, this is the reason they do not give you easy access to your data. Because it costs them money to correct the data. Say you and your wife divorce, and she goes in another direction. This new data thread, is now attached to you. And yes, I COULD not get a government job? Why? Because I registered with selective service, mixing my first and middle name, when I was what, 17, after being adopted, and quite frankly was not quite sure of my legal name because of adoption. I was wrong, or my adoptive parents reversed it. etc.etc. And also, even some peoples report, has false arrest warrants. And if you are a POA, then the person you are POA over, gets their info, trashed. They all of a sudden, seem to be attached to your address.

[BeepBeepImASheep]

These companies need to be illegal.

1. Incorrect information being published about someone is called slander, which is illegal. It is the responsibility of the publishing party to make sure the information they are publishing about someone is true. It is not our responsibility to amend or correct the information. It is theirs. They are responsible for making sure their claims about someone are true and correct.

2. Websites never ask permission to collect your data, they just say "by using our site, you consent to our privacy policy and use of cookies". The problem with that is: silence does not equal "yes". Silence is not consent. When you open a website to be visited and viewed by the public, it becomes a digital public space that anyone is allowed to visit by clicking on a link. Just because someone enters into a public space, or even a private property that is open to the public, does not give the owners the right to change the definition of consent. Consent is a yes. Silence is not a yes. Not even movement around the site equals "yes." That's not consent. That's an assumption. Making an assumption of consent is not actual consent. Even if you leave the site upon realizing they collect data, the site will have already collected data about you upon your entrance to the site. You never gave consent for them to take digital property from you, which would be your information (data), but they took it anyway. That is called stealing. It is actual theft that can and should be argued in a court of law. What's worse is they are selling millions of people's stolen digital property. We know digital property does exist because of online games that offer items in exchange of paying real money (usd) to the game. These are nonphysical items that only exist on the internet or within apps, digital objects that have real monetary value. The same thing with E-books. They are digital property sold or rented in exchange for real money. This proves that digital property does exist. Data would also fit into the category of digital property. The data brokers do not automatically have this property, they have to aquire it from someone, and they aquire it without actual consent. An assumption of the meaning of movement does not mean "yes". Aquiring something from someone without their consent is called stealing, which is illegal. Websites steal our digital property, sell the stolen property to data brokers, and then the data brokers sell that stolen property again.

3. They use cookies and web beacons to track which websites you visit after leaving their website. If for example you were walking around New York City and walk into a shop to browse, leave the shop, and a person follows you out of the shop and starts following behind you as you visit other shops, taking notes of all the shops you visit and everything you browse and buy...most people would call the police for stalking, which is illegal. What these companies do to us, is stalking. Especially if you visit a p*rnography website while the cookie or web tracker is still taking notes of you, its essentially as if someone followed you into a bedroom or bathroom, where you have a reasonable expectation of privacy, and someone is secretly watching you without your consent. These businesses and data brokers are taking notes of all the p*rnography you watch, which should be a very sensitive and protected category that should uphold the same privacy as a bathroom or bedroom, there should be a reasonable expectation of privacy. "Oh well it's anonymized. No one knows its your data, we removed personally identifiable information from the data" is what they say. Well...if someone went into your bathroom while you were indecent and took your underpants from off the floor, sold them, but kept the identity of the original owner of the underpants a secret, do you think that would make it legal? Or morally right? They still stole something very personal from you. You never gave them consent but they took it anyway.

Cookies, web beacons, and data brokers need to be stopped. It is stealing, it is a violation of privacy, and in a lot of cases where information is wrong about someone, it is slander. And the person who is being slandered should not be the one stuck with the responsibility to amend or correct the false information. That is the responsibility of the individual or entity publishing that information. The publishing party is responsible for making sure their claims about someone are true. If they are not true, they are directly responsible for slander.

[martinwalker]

It's a real eye opener as was your last video on this subject. It must have been frightening for Ghost. Great advice as ever Naomi. Thank you.

[BoBandits]

I guess Youtube forgot to show me this video. I just came to your page wondering where you've been. 😮

[natemarx]

Naomi sparkling in elegance as always.

[nvention]

good to know LBRY is still rocking . Naomi ROCKS 🤘🏽💗

[MrHarrilasagna]

Oh, they're definitely rats all right... Thanks for sharing this experience, Ghost & Naomi.

[jer]

This whole industry should be considered a criminal enterprise.

[BrianThrives]

Interviewing someone who's been that seriously harmed by data brokering – nice.

[AustinPinheiro_uniquetexthere]

i hope ghost was able to recover from the suit

[algorithminc.]

Great video, as usual (and unfortunately accurate). Cheers, Christopher

[jennymisteqq]

John Stossel introduced me to this Content Creator.

[itsone]

Dang. The plot thickens. I just heard that John Deaton is your representative. You couldn't have a better person in your corner.

[Desperado]

When police has to buy your data through third party apps you know you state and laws are a joke. 😂

[WorldT]

such a big business of data collection and sharing.

[AAA-bhfc]

Naomi love your vids
can you tell us what to do when your forced to install a privacy non respecting app like schools and jobs do
or how to hide your OP system or identifiers
because now privacy respecting apps are know less then lets say google or something

[OcteractSG]

This sounds like a system waiting to be intentionally abused.