Source: www.databreachtoday.com – Author:
Governance & Risk Management , Privacy , Standards, Regulations & Compliance
Gravy Analytics and Mobilewalla Ordered to Implement Stronger Consent Measures Anviksha More (AnvikshaMore) • December 4, 2024
Two data brokers pledged to stop using geolocation data gleaned from smartphones to sell services that provide a window to the intimate lives of Americans.
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The U.S. Federal Trade Commission Tuesday accused Virginia-based Venntel and Gravy Analytics Inc., Venntel’s parent company, of obtaining location data to let online advertisers “gain real-life insight into a device user’s pattern-of-life.”
In an administrative complaint, the consumer protection agency said Gravy Analytics boasted of having access to location data indirectly collected daily from more than billion mobile devices. Venntel specializes in offering data services to government agencies – including, the FTC said, the ability to convert mobile advertising IDs embedded into smartphones into a record of a user’s “bed down location, work location and visits to government buildings.”
For digital advertisers, Gravy Analytics said it could categorize customers’ behavioral traits as “Early Risers” or “Restaurant Visitor during COVID Quarantine” based on their location data.
The FTC also accused Georgia company Mobilewalla of selling smartphone location data it primarily obtained by participating in real-time bidding for online advertising. Advertising exchanges prohibit ad buyers from retaining location information transmitted whenever an open slot for consumer eyeballs opens up, but Mobilewalla nonetheless held onto the data, FTC said.
“Surreptitious surveillance by data brokers undermines our civil liberties and puts service members, union workers, religious minorities and others at risk,” said Sam Levine, director of FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “It’s past time for the industry to get serious about protecting Americans’ privacy.”
Venntel has reportedly supplied location data to U.S. law enforcement agencies such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Customs and Border Protection and FBI. The company gathered data through a complex network involving mediators such as advertising firms, data resellers and seemingly innocuous apps installed on smartphones worldwide. This data was reportedly used by agencies such as ICE to track and identify immigrants and by CBP to monitor cellphone activity in remote areas, including the U.S.-Mexico border.
The location data sold by Gravy Analytics and Venntel was not anonymized and could be easily traced back to specific individuals, FTC said. As part a consent order, the company will delete or anonymize sensitive location data collected over the past three years.
Under the consent order, Gravy Analytics and Venntel must also implement a “supplier assessment program” to ensure that consumers have provided explicit consent for the collection and use of their precise location data.
The FTC’s proposed settlement with Mobilewalla restricts the company from collecting consumer data from online ad auctions unless directly related to those auctions. The company also must desist from selling location data that can identify the location of an individual’s private residence.
In response to FTC’s proposed settlements, the Electronic Privacy Information Center highlighted concerns about how data brokers’ collection and sharing of personal information can harm national security and put vulnerable communities at risk, such as survivors of domestic violence and immigrants. EPIC has long advocated for tighter regulations on data brokers, urging the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to clarify that they should be governed by the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
Original Post url: https://www.databreachtoday.com/us-ftc-cracks-down-geolocation-data-brokers-a-26971
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