WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has filed a lawsuit against data broker Kochava Inc. for selling geolocation data from 'hundreds of millions of mobile devices.'
According to FTC, the geolocation data can be used to trace the movements of individuals including those to and from sensitive locations. Specifically, the FTC said the data could reveal people's visits to places like reproductive health clinics, domestic violence or homeless shelters, addiction recovery centers and places of worship.
The FTC alleges that by selling data tracking people, Kochava is enabling others to identify individuals and exposing them to threats of stigma, stalking, discrimination, job loss, and even physical violence.
The suit seeks to halt Kochava's sale of sensitive geolocation data and require the company delete the data it has already collected.
'Where consumers seek out health care, receive counseling, or celebrate their faith is private information that shouldn't be sold to the highest bidder,' said Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection. 'The FTC is taking Kochava to court to protect people's privacy and halt the sale of their sensitive geolocation information.'
Idaho-based Kochava purchases vast troves of location information derived from hundreds of millions of mobile devices. The information is packaged into customized data feeds that match unique mobile device identification numbers with timestamped latitude and longitude locations.
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