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U.S. data-brokering giant works closely with Swedish affiliates: report

Xinhua, September 4, 2015 Adjust font size:

The multi-billion dollar data-brokering industry has well-established inroads in Sweden, local media reported on Friday.

The U.S. data collector Experian, which has come under fire in the country's Senate for opaque collection practices, established itself in the country in the 1990s and works closely with its Swedish affiliate Insightone, daily newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported.

Insightone's database Mosaic collects data on all of Sweden's 4 million households, classifying them by categories such as low-income earners living in suburban rental housing or "Purchasing-power pioneers," the paper reported.

"We're trying to create a picture of Sweden as a consumer country," said Markus Jurrs, Insightone's Swedish CEO, adding that the company uses data made available by Swedish authorities.

But the company also buys data from polling companies in order to profile consumers.

"Aggregating data sources renders much more information about an individual," said Martin Brinnes at the Swedish Data Inspectorate, a government agency.

Data brokers often offer internet users a chance to opt out of their tracking, but only once the users find their way to the companies' websites. Most of the tracking is carried out on third-party web pages, the paper reported. Endit