Back on the Data Trail: The Evolution of Canada’s Data Broker Industry

This report follows up on CIPPIC’s 2006 study of the Canadian data brokerage industry. This groundbreaking study pulled back the curtain of this poorly understood industry. Data brokers are intimately familiar with consumers yet practically unknown to the average Canadian. The past decade has seen radical changes to the industry, its technology, and society itself. Simply, the world has changed. The emergence of big data analytics, behavioural advertising and social networking has transformed the shape of this industry. In this report, we take a look back at these changes and the impact they have had on the shape, practices, and products of the data broker industry in Canada.