Acxiom's Personal Data Empire Exposed: Billions Affected

Data broker Acxiom claims to have information on billions of people worldwide, including their location and spending habits. Consumers can request access to this data, as allowed by new state privacy laws. Tracey Reed, a nonprofit worker in Oregon, obtained her file from Acxiom and was shocked by its contents.

The 58-page dossier included incorrect information about Reed's income, employment, and education, but also accurately listed dozens of companies that had bought data or made inferences about her. These inferences ranged from her likelihood of buying products at specific businesses to her weight and interest in medical procedures.

Across the reports reviewed by CalMatters and The Markup, Acxiom used its collected data to make predictions in over 3,000 distinct categories about people's financial lives and behavior. This included estimates of their alcohol usage, likelihood of buying a Tesla Cyber Truck, and even body mass index percentile.

The most revealing aspect of the reports was the list of companies that bought consumer data from Acxiom, including several large insurers, banks, and pharmaceutical companies like GEICO, State Farm, Citi, JPMorgan Chase, US Bank, and Janssen Pharmaceuticals. Several smaller companies repeatedly fined and sued by regulators also showed up in the files.