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Command Brief / CB-117

Why you cannot trust privacy promises

You Vetted the Wrong Company

The intelligence

Second of two briefs on the privacy promise, after CB-116 on how to read one. A privacy review usually assesses the company in front of it; this brief asks what that leaves out once data moves beyond the firm that made the commitment. Built from re-identification research from Latanya Sweeney's 1997 Massachusetts demonstration to a 2026 Nature audit of medical AI, and the FTC's 2024 location-broker orders. For advisors judging how much a vendor's privacy commitments are worth.

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Topics

Data BrokersAggregation & Identity ResolutionBreach & Leaked Data
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Cross-referenced intelligence.

CB-116registered
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The five things they promise you about privacy

None of Them Are Lies

Privacy policies repeat the same handful of reassurances, and a 2026 Nature audit of medical AI measured privacy risk patient by patient. The first of two briefs on the privacy promise, this one asks what five common assurances literally commit an organization to, and what question makes each declare its scope. Built from statutory definitions, policy drafting, that study and a European Data Protection Board opinion. For advisors negotiating data terms with banks and vendors.

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Clients who commission footprint reduction regularly ask why some records come down quickly and others never do. Written for that client, this brief sets out how the firm decides which response a given record receives, and what protection remains where erasure is out of reach. It is built on the governing legal regimes, named categories of holders and the record of recent breaches and bankruptcies. For principals and family offices setting expectations for a removal program.

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