Data aggregation

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Data aggregation is the compiling of information from databases with intent to prepare combined datasets for data processing. [1]

Contents

Description

The United States Geological Survey explains that, “when data are well documented, you know how and where to look for information and the results you return will be what you expect.” [2] The source information for data aggregation may originate from public records and criminal databases. The information is packaged into aggregate reports and then sold to businesses, as well as to local, state, and government agencies. This information can also be useful for marketing purposes. In the United States, many data brokers' activities fall under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) which regulates consumer reporting agencies. The agencies then gather and package personal information into consumer reports that are sold to creditors, employers, insurers, and other businesses.

Various reports of information are provided by database aggregators. Individuals may request their own consumer reports which contain basic biographical information such as name, date of birth, current address, and phone number. Employee background check reports, which contain highly detailed information such as past addresses and length of residence, professional licenses, and criminal history, may be requested by eligible and qualified third parties. Not only can this data be used in employee background checks, but it may also be used to make decisions about insurance coverage, pricing, and law enforcement. Privacy activists argue that database aggregators can provide erroneous information. [3]

Role of the Internet

The potential of the Internet to consolidate and manipulate information has a new application in data aggregation, also known as screen scraping. [4] The Internet gives users the opportunity to consolidate their usernames and passwords, or PINs. Such consolidation enables consumers to access a wide variety of PIN-protected websites containing personal information by using one master PIN on a single website. Online account providers include financial institutions, stockbrokers, airline and frequent flyer and other reward programs, and e-mail accounts. Data aggregators can gather account or other information from designated websites by using account holders' PINs, and then making the users' account information available to them at a single website operated by the aggregator at an account holder's request. Aggregation services may be offered on a standalone basis or in conjunction with other financial services, such as portfolio tracking and bill payment provided by a specialized website, or as an additional service to augment the online presence of an enterprise established beyond the virtual world. Many established companies with an Internet presence appear to recognize the value of offering an aggregation service to enhance other web-based services and attract visitors. Offering a data aggregation service to a website may be attractive because of the potential that it will frequently draw users of the service from the hosting website.

Local business data aggregation

When it comes to compiling location information on local businesses, there are several major data aggregators that collect information such as the business name, address, phone number, website, description and hours of operation. They then validate this information using various validation methods. Once the business information has been verified to be accurate, the data aggregators make it available to publishers like Google and Yelp.

When Yelp, for example, goes to update their Yelp listings, they will pull data from these local data aggregators. Publishers take local business data from different sources and compare it to what they currently have in their database. They then update their database it with what information they deem accurate.

The four major data aggregators for local business search are Acxiom, Infogroup, Localeze and Factual. [5] As of January 2020, Acxiom will no longer be acting as a data aggregator. Foursquare takes the place of Acxiom in four primary data aggregators. [6]

Financial institutions are concerned about the possibility of liability arising from data aggregation activities, potential security problems, infringement on intellectual property rights and the possibility of diminishing traffic to the institution's website. The aggregator and financial institution may agree on a data feed arrangement activated on the customer's request, using an Open Financial Exchange (OFX) standard to request and deliver information to the site selected by the customer as the place from which they will view their account data. Agreements provide an opportunity for institutions to negotiate to protect their customers' interests and offer aggregators the opportunity to provide a robust service. Aggregators who agree with information providers to extract data without using an OFX standard may reach a lower level of consensual relationship; therefore, "screen scraping" may be used to obtain account data, but for business or other reasons, the aggregator may decide to obtain prior consent and negotiate the terms on which customer data is made available. "Screen scraping" without consent by the content provider has the advantage of allowing subscribers to view almost any and all accounts they happen to have opened anywhere on the Internet through one website.

Outlook

Over time, the transfer of large amounts of account data from the account provider to the aggregator's server could develop into a comprehensive profile of a user, detailing their banking and credit card transactions, balances, securities transactions and portfolios, and travel history and preferences. As the sensitivity to data protection considerations grows, it is likely there will be a considerable focus on the extent to which data aggregators may seek to use this data either for their own use or to share it with third parties and operator(s) of the website on which the service is offered. [7]

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Online banking</span> Electronic payment system

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fair Credit Reporting Act</span> U.S. federal legislation

The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. § 1681 et seq., is federal legislation enacted to promote the accuracy, fairness, and privacy of consumer information contained in the files of consumer reporting agencies. It was intended to shield consumers from the willful and/or negligent inclusion of erroneous data in their credit reports. To that end, the FCRA regulates the collection, dissemination, and use of consumer information, including consumer credit information. Together with the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA), the FCRA forms the foundation of consumer rights law in the United States. It was originally passed in 1970, and is enforced by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and private litigants.

A data broker is an individual or company that specializes in collecting personal data or data about companies, mostly from public records but sometimes sourced privately, and selling or licensing such information to third parties for a variety of uses. Sources, usually Internet-based since the 1990s, may include census and electoral roll records, social networking sites, court reports and purchase histories. The information from data brokers may be used in background checks used by employers and housing.

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A credit bureau is a data collection agency that gathers account information from various creditors and provides that information to a consumer reporting agency in the United States, a credit reference agency in the United Kingdom, a credit reporting body in Australia, a credit information company (CIC) in India, Special Accessing Entity in the Philippines, and also to private lenders. It is not the same as a credit rating agency.

A mashup, in web development, is a web page or web application that uses content from more than one source to create a single new service displayed in a single graphical interface. For example, a user could combine the addresses and photographs of their library branches with a Google map to create a map mashup. The term implies easy, fast integration, frequently using open application programming interfaces and data sources to produce enriched results that were not necessarily the original reason for producing the raw source data. The term mashup originally comes from creating something by combining elements from two or more sources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Market data</span> Electronic financial trading price and related data

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Knowledge-based authentication, commonly referred to as KBA, is a method of authentication which seeks to prove the identity of someone accessing a service such as a financial institution or website. As the name suggests, KBA requires the knowledge of private information from the individual to prove that the person providing the identity information is the owner of the identity. There are two types of KBA: static KBA, which is based on a pre-agreed set of shared secrets, and dynamic KBA, which is based on questions generated from a wider base of personal information.

Data as a service (DaaS) is a cloud-based software tool used for working with data, such as managing data in a data warehouse or analyzing data with business intelligence. It is enabled by software as a service (SaaS). Like all "as a service" (aaS) technology, DaaS builds on the concept that its data product can be provided to the user on demand, regardless of geographic or organizational separation between provider and consumer. Service-oriented architecture (SOA) and the widespread use of APIs have rendered the platform on which the data resides as irrelevant.

Geomium is a location-based social networking website, and iPhone application, founded by Ben Dowling and Michael Fergusson. Unlike many other location-based services which focus on a single type of information, such as places or events, Geomium combines places, events, deals and people all into a single application. It aggregates its information from sources such as Yelp, Qype and Eventful. The service launched to the public on 29 September 2010, focusing initially on London, UK, with more cities and mobile platforms are planned.

Do Not Track legislation protects Internet users' right to choose whether or not they want to be tracked by third-party websites. It has been called the online version of "Do Not Call". This type of legislation is supported by privacy advocates and opposed by advertisers and services that use tracking information to personalize web content. Do Not Track (DNT) is a formerly official HTTP header field, designed to allow internet users to opt-out of tracking by websites—which includes the collection of data regarding a user's activity across multiple distinct contexts, and the retention, use, or sharing of that data outside its context. Efforts to standardize Do Not Track by the World Wide Web Consortium did not reach their goal and ended in September 2018 due to insufficient deployment and support.

Acxiom is a Conway, Arkansas-based database marketing company. The company collects, analyzes and sells customer and business information used for targeted advertising campaigns. The company was formed in 2018 when Acxiom Corporation spun off its Acxiom Marketing Services (AMS) division to global advertising network Interpublic Group of Companies.

References

  1. ↑ Stanley, Jay; Steinhardt, Barry (January 2003). "Bigger Monster, Weaker Chains: The Growth of an American Surveillance Society". American Civil Liberties Union.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. ↑ "Why Does Data Need to be Managed?". USGS. 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  3. ↑ Pierce, Deborah; Ackerman, Linda (2005-05-19). "Data Aggregators: A Study of Data Quality and Responsiveness". Privacyactivism.org. Archived from the original on 2007-03-19. Retrieved 2007-04-02.
  4. ↑ van Oostenrijk, Alex (2004). "Screen scraping web services". The Netherlands: Radboud University of Nijmegen, Department of Computer Science. Nijmegen.
  5. ↑ Yuzdepski, Zachary (16 June 2016). "Improve Your Local Search Ranking With Data Aggregators". Vendasta. Archived from the original on 2017-11-25.
  6. ↑ Chessall, Erica (22 January 2020). "Listing Distribution: Foursquare as a New Data Aggregator". Archived from the original on 2020-04-25.
  7. ↑ Ledig, Robert H.; Vartanian, Thomas P. (2002-09-11). "Scrape It, Scrub It and Show It: The Battle Over Data Aggregation". Fried Frank. Archived from the original on 2007-09-29. Retrieved 2007-04-02.
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