Erik Weinick Quoted in CQ Roll Call on CFPB Data Broker Rule Proposal
December 3, 2024
Otterbourg partner Erik Weinick has been quoted in the CQ Roll Call story “CFPB proposal, if it survives, would tighten rules for data brokers,” regarding a Consumer Financial Protection Board (CFPB) rule proposal that would require data brokers to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
The law forbids the sale of certain consumer financial data, regardless of its end use, but the article reports that the timing of the proposal – less than two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office – raises questions about whether the rule will survive under a new administration.
The proposal’s public comment period runs until March, and it could take until 2026 before a final rule is promulgated. According to Weinick, that leaves plenty of ground to cover in determining its fate. “What final form this rule takes, if any,” he said, “remains to be seen.”
There is also uncertainty, the article notes, about the long-term prospects for the CFPB, following Mr. Trump’s appointment of Elon Musk to co-lead a new Department of Government Efficiency. Musk, owner of X (formerly known as Twitter), has indicated he would like to eliminate the CFPB.
“I don’t know that this rule is on their radar, but the agency certainly is,” Weinick said, though getting rid of the CFPB entirely won’t be easy given legislative and legal obstacles.
“I don’t think Musk can do it the same way as he eliminated servers at Twitter/X,” Weinick added.