FTC sues data broker Kochava for collecting and selling sensitive geolocation data

News in brief

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued data broker Kochava over allegedly acquiring consumers’ precise geolocation data and selling the data in a way that allows entities to track their movements to and from sensitive locations.

Sensitive locations include those associated with: medical care, reproductive health, religious worship, mental healthcare, and temporary shelters such as for the homeless, domestic violence survivors, addiction recovery, and other at-risk populations.

The issue of geolocation privacy is a particularly fraught issue after the overturning of Roe v. Wade earlier this summer, which prompted the FTC to state it would crack down on the sharing of sensitive data.

The FTC alleges that data collected and sold by Kochava is not properly anonymized and could be used, for example, to identify abortion-seekers.

In a statement provided to news outlets, Kochava’s general manager, Brian Cox, disputed the allegation, saying it “operates consistently and proactively in compliance with all rules and laws, including those specific to privacy”.