FTC takes action against location data companies accused of unlawfully using consumer info
The Federal Trade Commission announced that it is taking action against two location data companies after it said that they unlawfully tracked and sold private consumer information.
The Federal Trade Commission announced that it is taking action against two location data companies after it said that they unlawfully tracked and sold private consumer information.
Venntel and Gravy Analytics Inc., Venntel's parent company, are banned from “selling, disclosing, or using sensitive location data in any product or service,” a proposed order from the FTC states. The companies must also establish a sensitive data location program.
Some of Venntel’s customers include federal law enforcement agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security, the Drug Enforcement Administration, the FBI and the IRS, according to the FTC.
A complaint alleges that Venntel and Gravy Analytics violated the FTC Act by collecting and selling consumer data without proper consent. Gravy Analytics allegedly created a virtual geographical boundary to “identify and sell lists of consumers who attended certain events related to medical conditions and places of worship,” the FTC said in a news release. The Virginia-based company also allegedly sold additional lists that linked consumers to other sensitive characteristics, the release states.
“Surreptitious surveillance by data brokers undermines our civil liberties and puts servicemembers, union workers, religious minorities, and others at risk,” Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. “This is the FTC’s fourth action taken this year challenging the sale of sensitive location data, and it’s past time for the industry to get serious about protecting Americans’ privacy.”
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