Third-party data

Third-party data has historically been a significant input to digital advertising and consumer analytics. Data brokers compile profiles from public records, purchase history, loyalty programs, demographic surveys, and online behavior tracking, then license the resulting data to advertisers, financial services firms, and others.

The regulatory and commercial environment for third-party data has deteriorated significantly:

• Restrictions on third-party cookies have limited the ability to link behavioral data to identifiable profiles.
• CCPA's 'sale' definition captures many data broker transactions, requiring opt-out mechanisms.
• Data broker-specific legislation in California, Vermont, and other states adds registration requirements and deletion rights.

For enterprises, the practical implication is a strategic shift: third-party data is increasingly expensive to obtain, legally uncertain to use, and technically difficult to connect to own systems as cookie matching degrades. First-party data strategies, collecting data directly from customers with clear consent for defined purposes, are the durable alternative.