FTC ACCUSES DATA BROKER OF SELLING SENSITIVE LOCATION DATA

Federal regulators have sued a data broker they accuse of selling sensitive geolocation data from millions of mobile devices, information that can be used to identify people and track their movements to and from sensitive locations, including reproductive health clinics, homeless shelters and places of worship.

Federal Trade Commission sued Idaho-based Kochava Inc. amid a charged debate over the privacy of individuals who may be seeking an abortion in the wake of the Supreme Court’s ruling in June ending the constitutional protections for abortion. Although it’s not the first case the FTC has brought against a data broker, experts say it is the first one involving health care data and referencing reproductive health clinics.

“This is potentially a big deal,” JeffChester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, a privacy advocacy group, said of the FTC’s action. “They’ve placed a stake in the ground.”