FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 15, 2026
Contact: minority_jecpress@jec.senate.gov

UPDATE: Following Hassan Investigation, Additional Data Broker Makes It Easier for People to Protect Their Personal Data

Investigation Pressed Findem to Make Data Collection Opt-Out Options More Accessible

WASHINGTON – The Joint Economic Committee - Minority announced today that, following a Congressional investigation, Findem, a data broker, has updated its data collection opt-out processes to make it easier for people to protect their personal data. Findem’s actions occurred after an investigation by U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, into the challenges that consumers face from data brokers and their convoluted opt-out practices, as well as the overall role of data brokers in preventing breaches and related scams.

“Americans deserve a choice over whether their personal data is collected, used, and sold for profit or not,” said Ranking Member Hassan. “Data brokers like Findem have a responsibility to provide that choice with clear, user-friendly opt-out functions and straightforward privacy policies. The steps Findem has taken will now make it easier for people to act to protect their data.”

In August 2025, Ranking Member Hassan sent an initial request to Findem and four other data brokers to express concerns about steps that they had allegedly taken to hide pages where people can request that the companies delete or not sell their data. While the other companies took action in response to Ranking Member Hassan’s concerns, Findem did not initially respond to the request. In February of this year, Ranking Member Hassan published the findings of her investigation, with a report that detailed the ways in which data broker breaches have compromised Americans’ personal data, enabled scammers, and ultimately cost U.S. consumers more than $20 billion.

While Findem said it had missed Ranking Member Hassan’s initial request due to an “internal oversight,” the company later removed code that had excluded opt-out options from search results and simplified the process for a consumer to submit an opt-out request. Findem has also undertaken an informal audit of company policies on data collection opt-out options, which involves continued “assessment and refinement of its data practices to ensure they align with the Company’s commitment to privacy and compliance.”

Senator Hassan’s requests to Findem and other registered data brokers are part of her ongoing comprehensive effort to combat scams and protect Americans’ personal data. She has opened similar investigations into the roles that AI and voice cloning companies, federal agencies, satellite internet providers, and online dating platforms have in protecting consumers from criminal fraud.

Read the supplemental report here and the initial report here.

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