The largest marketing-database companies in the U.S. include Acxiom, Alliance Data Systems Corp.
Acxiom says it wouldn't let insurers use its data to help assess applicants, for fear of triggering the stiffer federal credit-reporting regulations.
Acxiom recently told investors it takes in three billion pieces of information daily as businesses seek to "monetize" information about their customers.
She also says that, while Acxiom does store personally identifiable information, it doesn't store or merge anonymous online-tracking data, such as Web-browsing records.
By contrast, big data players such as Epsilon and Acxiom are growing their revenue and profits faster than Nielsen, Arbitron and Kantar combined.
Separately, the FTC has said it is looking into how nine data brokers, including Datalogix and Acxiom, are collecting and using information about customers.
On the left point are companies that measure the actions and preferences of individual consumers such as Epsilon (owned by Alliance Data) Acxiom and Experian.
About Acxiom: Acxiom is an enterprise data, analytics and software-as-a-service company.
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For more than 40 years, Acxiom has been a leader in harnessing the powerful potential of data to strengthen connections between people, businesses and their partners.
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The FTC and Acxiom didn't immediately return requests for comment.
That strategy will not provide long-term protection, which is why the agencies are also developing systems to exploit the same kinds of consumer data that fuel Acxiom and Epsilon.
"Personally identifiable data from the online world is merged with personally identifiable information from the offline world, every day, " says Jennifer Barrett, Acxiom's head of global privacy and public policy.
Last week I told of a joint survey conducted by Acxiom and Loyalty360 which served as the basis for my article Curiosity May Have Killed The Cat But Complacency Will Kill The Marketer.
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