Which term describes the practice of collecting, aggregating, and selling analyzed data?

• A. Data broking
• B. Data mining
• C. Big Data
• D. Agency

Answer: (A)

Data broking is the practice of gathering data from multiple sources, aggregating it into comprehensive profiles, analyzing it to derive insights, and selling those data products to other organizations. Data brokers pull in information from public records, purchase histories, online activity, loyalty programs, and more, then normalize and link it to create detailed consumer profiles that can be used for targeted marketing, risk assessment, or research. This differs from data mining, which is about discovering patterns within data for internal use, and from big data, which refers to the scale and complexity of datasets rather than a specific business practice.