Is it really that hidden? In 2021, a guy went to another person's home to exact revenge for something 50 years earlier. Security video showed him holding the PeopleFinders folder. What should surprise people is their governments are selling some of the data.
Thank you for making my point.
Here's some research aided by Perplexity, which estimates that the global data market is valued at about $1.7 Trillion, with data monetization growing at about 17.6% CAGR:
https://www.perplexity.ai/search/today-i-would-like-to-try-a... (138 sources)
Also, Meta can identify you based on your movement and a few pieces of social data (all of which is in the open).
Tel Aviv airport has been running behavioural monitoring for about a decade, predicting crimes before they happen.
You mention a case from 2021, which is about $5 trillion ago, and think that the government selling data is surprising. This is mature market that already knows everything about everyone, especially in the US, and is more concerned with what to do with it. The faucet is open, the ground floor is flooded, and we're discussing the different types of fish that have moved into our apartment.
Yes! It is hidden. Go and get your data from this company. Report the results.