"Companies rarely get in trouble if someone the uses personal information they sell in an unauthorized way, creating a “Wild West” where data brokers and people-search engines aren’t closely regulated, says Danielle Citron, a law professor at the University of Maryland and the author of Hate Crimes in Cyberspace. “There are businesses that from low to high, small to big, that don’t care about FCRA,” Citron said. “They are scofflaws.”
After Boyer’s mother sued Docusearch for invasions of privacy and wrongful death, New Hampshire’s Supreme Court ruled in 2003 that data brokers have a legal duty to the people whose information they sell. “It was groundbreaking,” Citron said of the Docusearch case. “It said, ‘Hey, data brokers, you should be forewarned that your business model puts people at risk for stalking and harassment and murder, because you’re trafficking in personal information.’” The company settled the lawsuit for $85,000."