Duke University researchers bought the private files of active-duty US service members,names, home addresses, health conditions — for as little as 12 cents a record. They didn't hack anything. They went shopping. This is how the data broker industry works, what your own file contains, and why 33 brokers told the state of California, in an official filing, that they sell or share data with buyers connected to North Korea, China, Russia or Iran. Nobody leaked this. The brokers reported it themselves. We go through the receipts one at a time: what a broker collects, what it costs, who is legally allowed to buy it, and what actually happens when you ask to be deleted. Consumer Reports tested the paid services that promise to erase you — four months later, only about a third of the data had stayed gone. One thing this video does not claim: that China is running a spy ring through your grocery points. Several brokers disputed how their own filing was read. The truth is quieter and worse — when data is this cheap and this open, a hostile government doesn't need to steal anything. It can just shop. CHAPTERS 0:00 The soldier who cost 12 cents 1:13 What a data broker actually collects 2:44 Six cents to know someone's darkest month 3:26 Where your body goes — and who buys the trail 4:50 California's registry: 33 brokers, four adversaries 6:35 Why deleting yourself doesn't work 7:47 What the $200 billion bet actually is SOURCES (every claim in this video, in order) • Sean Lyngaas, "Researchers find sensitive personal data of US military personnel is for sale online" — CNN Politics, Nov 6, 2023 • "Data Brokers: A Call for Transparency and Accountability" — Federal Trade Commission, May 2014 • Kevin Collier, "A researcher tried to buy mental health data. It was surprisingly easy." — NBC News, Feb 2023 • "FTC prohibits Gravy Analytics, Venntel from selling sensitive location data" — Federal Trade Commission action, Dec 3, 2024 • Zack Whittaker, "A breach of Gravy Analytics' huge trove of location data threatens the privacy of millions" — TechCrunch, Jan 13, 2025 • Justin Sherman, "The Data Brokers Selling US Data to Foreign Actors, According to California" — EPIC, Mar 25, 2026 • "Justice Dept. rule targets foreign adversaries' access to Americans' sensitive personal data" — US Department of Justice rule, Jan 2025 • Consumer Reports data-removal service study, 2024 • "Let My Data Go" deletion-request study, 2026 Every source card shown on screen is a real, published article — headline, byline and date as published. Nothing in this video is dramatised or reconstructed. #DataBrokers #Privacy #Surveillance