Alpharetta-based data broker LexisNexis Risk Solutions allegedly violated Illinois law by collecting and combining vast amounts of personal information and selling it to third parties, including federal immigration authorities, according to a lawsuit filed by immigration advocates Tuesday.
The result was “a serious threat to civil liberties,” argued the activists and two immigrant groups. The lawsuit asks a Cook County judge to stop the data broker from selling personal information without consent.
The complaint also notes that LexisNexis’ Accurint product, which is sold to law enforcement agencies, contains information that is not publicly available, including correction bookings, vehicle collision records and license plate reading databases.
A LexisNexis Risk Solutions representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment shortly after the lawsuit was filed.
Immigration advocates have drawn attention to a $22 million contract between Immigration and Customs Enforcement and LexisNexis for this product, revealed in the results of a Freedom of Information Act inquiry. They argue that it poses a particular risk to activists and immigrants.
Sejal Zota, legal director at Just Futures Law and attorney in the lawsuit, said the data broker enables ICE to “instantly access sensitive personal data — all without warrants, subpoenas, privacy guarantees, or proof of adequacy.”
“Our plaintiffs view this alleged invasion of their privacy as dehumanizing and unacceptable,” she said.
In the case of a woman, according to the lawsuit, information available through Accurint includes her past and current address, phone number, date of birth and a false social security number. The detailed accounts of two other women involved in the case included full social security numbers.
“There is a crucial difference between collecting pieces of personal information through publicly available resources (Internet, court records, archives, etc.) and collecting information through an encyclopedic dossier that compiles all records, including those that are not publicly available , into an easily accessible and computerized profile,” the complaint reads.
The lawsuit was filed in Cook County, which includes Chicago. Local officials have been investigating whether federal immigration authorities can use information from data brokers to circumvent the county’s ban on complying with ICE requests to detain people without legal authority to stay in the country.
Antonio Gutierrez, strategic coordinator and co-founder of Organized Communities Against Deportation, said the organization joined the lawsuit because they see data brokers as a way for ICE to circumvent existing restrictions. Gutierrez said it took years of advocacy to create policies that prevent Illinois cities, counties and state governments from working with federal immigration officials.
“We were just wondering how to fight this?” he said, noting that some of the information comes from basic consumer interactions like setting up a utility account or getting a car loan. “The company that has to be responsible for the way it works is LexisNexis.”
In California, data broker Thomson Reuters is facing a similar lawsuit accusing the company of violating state laws by collecting and selling residents’ personal information to corporations, law enforcement and government agencies. This case was filed in 2020 by two activists supported by multiple privacy groups.
