The European data brokers’ industry is now a concern for the rest of the world. Once considered a largely consumer privacy concern, the sale of user data is now becoming a possible national security threat. Behind the surface of convenience and analytical data is a far more serious problem – foreign access to sensitive movement data of government and military personnel.
Why data broker practices in Europe are significant around the globe
In Europe, companies collect and sell humongous amounts of pieced-together user information – location histories, device IDs, and behavioral profiles. At first glance, these datasets may look unthreatening, but they contain tremendous intelligence value. Recent investigations reveal that the information obtained from ad-tech networks has contained precise locations of military bases and government facilities.
While the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) outlines special importance to consent and consumer protection, it was never meant to address the national-security implications of this new data trade. Enforcement is inconsistent, and the framework has a hard time keeping control of where data ends up once sold to downstream buyers – some of whom are potentially hostile.
How U.S. personnel and assets are vulnerable abroad
Investigations have revealed that some European brokers started selling massive datasets, in which billions of device pings from Germany, the U.K., and Eastern Europe were contained. Within these were location trails that are associated with US military personnel and their families, and off-base movements. For intelligence agencies or bad guys, such information is gold.
In addition to the intrusion on people’s privacy, this is a direct security threat. By observing repeated patterns of movement, opponents of the nation can determine shift rotations, security gaps, or even the identities of certain officers. This risk is increased by the ease with which it is possible to buy data – often without the broker knowing or checking the buyer’s true intentions.
Connecting regulatory risks to security risks
The EU’s laws to protect privacy, though strong on paper, are based very much on self-regulation by companies and post-breach punishments. National security issues are beyond their traditional responsibility. Experts say it is necessary to treat data brokerage not as a commercial activity, but as a strategic threat, for meaningful reform to take place. One of the major vulnerabilities is the way data is transmitted from one country to another. Information provoked within the EU can move through intermediaries overseas, in essence stripping away European surveillance.
Transatlantic coordination and policy implications
To counter these risks, both Europe and the United States need to agree on better oversight mechanisms. The same scrutiny should be conducted on the data transfers as technology export, and transparency should be imposed on brokers and buyers. Investigative audits and intelligence sharing might also assist in managing dissimilarities of misuse prior to them turning into extensive abuses.
What should be changed in the future?
- Improved oversight: Governments should ensure they have special watchdog units to monitor risky data brokering activity.
- Supply-chain transparency: Each dataset should be trackable from the way they were collected to resale.
- Congruency of the policy: U.S. and EU authorities must work together to intercept loopholes.
- Tighter sanctions: Brokers that trade sensitive data to foreign fronts should be heavily punished.
Europe’s data broker networks have strayed from privacy into the field of international security. By monetizing sensitive personal and location data, brokers are putting the power to turn ordinary citizens, and even soldiers, into digital targets. Unless a rapid regulatory alignment is created between Europe and the United States, these dark dealings would be turned into instruments of espionage, blackmail, and geopolitical lawlessness. Second chances do not exist to allow the next dataset to cause a global security leakage.