In a letter sent by Senator Janet Yellen to the Treasury Secretary, Brown asked the Board to assess “whether and to what extent the collection and sale of consumer data by financial institutions constitutes a systemic threat to US financial stability and security”.

He continued that he had long expressed serious concerns about the potential risks associated with the sale of consumer financial data and that “the breadth of personal consumer data to which financial institutions have access and can legally sell or otherwise disclose to commercial organizations and data brokers creates an opportunity for intruders to obtain and use this information for their own purposes”.

“The collection and sale of consumer financial data also opens doors to other abusive purposes, including the use of data to ascertain consumer tolerance for price increases or the use of the cost structure of certain people for blackmail or ransom”.

Brown made headlines earlier this year criticizing “fintech companies that want to act like banks”.

He told Insider that these companies, often neo-banks, do not offer “consumer protection and guarantees that real banks should adhere to”, putting people’s money at risk. ” Consumers should not get their accounts blocked without being able to access their money to buy products, pay bills or pay rent”.

Unlike the approach adopted in Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Singapore, and other countries, there is no mandatory exchange of consumer data between banks, also known as open banking. Fintech market players such as Plaid encourage the development and implementation of a regulatory framework in accordance with section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act.