FTC Penalizes Data Brokers for Location Data Misuse
Two U.S. data brokers, Gravy Analytics and Mobilewalla, have been penalized by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for unlawfully collecting and selling sensitive location data of millions of Americans. The data revealed visits to sensitive locations like healthcare facilities, places of worship, and even protest locations. Read more about data broker regulations.
FTC's Allegations
- Gravy Analytics and its subsidiary, Venntel, collected and used location data for commercial and government purposes without user consent, even after being informed of the issue.
- Gravy Analytics sold sensitive information derived from location data, including health decisions, political activities, and religious viewpoints.
- Mobilewalla sold location data that could identify individuals' homes, obtained without their knowledge from real-time bidding exchanges and third-party aggregators.
- Mobilewalla used sensitive location data to create targeted advertising segments, including analyzing protesters' demographics.
Settlement Terms
- Both companies must cease collecting sensitive location data and delete existing data.
- They must implement programs to identify and prevent the use or sale of data related to visits to sensitive locations, such as medical facilities, religious organizations, schools, and correctional facilities.
This action follows a proposed rule by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to restrict data brokers from selling personal and financial information. For related news on data privacy, see Apple's UK lawsuit over App Store commissions.