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FTC bans two data brokers from collecting and selling sensitive location data of Americans

TechBrunchBy TechBrunchDecember 3, 20243 Mins Read
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Two U.S. data brokers have entered into two lawsuits with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, which accused the companies of illegally tracking millions of people near sensitive locations such as medical facilities and military bases. As part of the settlement, they agreed not to collect private location data of Americans.

Two settlements announced Tuesday would prohibit Virginia-based Gravy Analytics and Georgia-based Mobilewalla from collecting and retaining sensitive and detailed location data on people. are. The agreement accuses two data brokers (who collect vast amounts of people's personal information and sell millions of identifiable location data points, including where people have visited doctor's offices and places of worship) to others. The agreement was concluded after the FTC criticized companies that profit from selling products to consumers.

The FTC alleges that Gravy Analytics, along with its subsidiary Venntel, collected consumer location data from individuals without their consent and used it for commercial and government purposes. The organization allegedly continued to use this data even after learning that consumers had not provided informed consent for the sale of their data.

According to the FTC's complaint, Gravy Analytics also illegally sold sensitive information about individuals, such as their health and medical decisions, political activities, and religious views, derived from their location data. It is said that he was

Mobilewalla is also suspected of selling sensitive location data, including data that could reveal the identity of individuals' private residences, according to federal regulators.

The FTC alleges that Mobilewalla obtained much of this data from real-time bidding exchanges and third-party aggregators, and that consumers were unaware that the organization was obtaining their personal information. According to the complaint, this data was not anonymized and Mobilewala is accused of not having a policy in place to remove sensitive locations from the data before selling the information to third parties.

According to the FTC, Mobilewalla also used sensitive location data to develop audience segments to target consumers with ads. For example, according to the FTC, the company produced a June 2020 report that analyzed people who protested the death of George Floyd, including their racial backgrounds and residence in the cities where they were protesting. I have determined whether

Under two settlements announced Monday, Gravy Analytics and Mobilewalla will no longer collect sensitive location data from consumers and will be required to delete historical data collected from millions of Americans. There is.

Both organizations are also required to maintain sensitive location data programs. This requires creating a list of sensitive locations and preventing the use, sale, license, transfer, sharing, or disclosure of consumer visits to those locations. These locations include medical facilities, religious institutions, schools, and correctional facilities.

Gravy Analytics and Mobilewalla did not immediately respond to TechCrunch's questions.

This is the latest step taken by the US government as the end of the Biden administration approaches. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau proposed new rules Monday that would prevent data brokers from selling Americans' personal and financial information, including Social Security numbers and phone numbers.



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