CNN —The US government is coming down hard on a data broker accused of selling consumers’ detailed location histories without their consent, highlighting privacy regulators’ growing focus on a sensitive and revealing form of personal information.
But InMarket never got those people’s informed consent before using that data for advertising, according to the FTC.
In addition to banning InMarket from selling or licensing the data, it also forced the company to either delete all of its previously collected location data or to take steps to anonymize it.
Policy experts have highlighted the potential for location data to reveal whether a person has sought certain medical care.
“All too often, Americans are tracked by serial data hoarders that endlessly vacuum up and use personal information,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said in a statement on the InMarket settlement.
Persons:
InMarket, ”, ” InMarket, “, Roe, Wade, Thursday’s, —, Lina Khan, “ We’ll
Organizations:
CNN, Federal Trade Commission, InMarket Media, FTC, Google
Locations:
Texas