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FTC Bans Location Data Company That Powers the Surveillance Ecosystem (404media.co) 37

The Federal Trade Commission on Tuesday announced sweeping action against some of the most important companies in the location data industry, including those that power surveillance tools used by a wide spread of U.S. law enforcement agencies and demanding they delete data related to certain sensitive areas like health clinics and places of worship. From a report: Venntel, through its parent company Gravy Analytics, takes location data from smartphones, either through ordinary apps installed on them or through the advertising ecosystem, and then provides that data feed to other companies who sell location tracking technology to the government or sells the data directly itself.

Venntel is the company that provides the underlying data for a variety of other government contractors and surveillance tools, including Locate X. 404 Media and a group of other journalists recently revealed Locate X could be used to pinpoint phones that visited abortion clinics. The FTC says in a proposed order that Gravy and Venntel will be banned from selling, disclosing, or using sensitive location data, except in "limited circumstances" involving national security or law enforcement.

FTC Bans Location Data Company That Powers the Surveillance Ecosystem

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  • by Anonymous Coward
    We all know why the Republican Misogynistic Klan Shitbags would want this data.
  • by Sebby ( 238625 ) on Tuesday December 03, 2024 @12:57PM (#64988113)

    Title: "FTC Bans Location Data Company That Powers the Surveillance Ecosystem"

    Summary:

    The FTC says in a proposed order that Gravy and Venntel will be banned from selling, disclosing, or using sensitive location data, except in "limited circumstances" involving national security or law enforcement.

    So basically, no changes. This is a non-story.

    • by aitikin ( 909209 ) on Tuesday December 03, 2024 @01:03PM (#64988125)

      Title: "FTC Bans Location Data Company That Powers the Surveillance Ecosystem"

      Summary:

      The FTC says in a proposed order that Gravy and Venntel will be banned from selling, disclosing, or using sensitive location data, except in "limited circumstances" involving national security or law enforcement.

      So basically, no changes. This is a non-story.

      Not exactly. Their proposal would make it so you or I would be unable to purchase that information (unless you are law enforcement, I'm guessing not but it's not safe for me to make that assumption). As it stands prior to this proposed order taking effect, we could theoretically purchase that info ourselves.

    • And it also means other private companies can't buy and mine the data.

      Not that it matters. This is going to get overturned the second January 20th comes rolling around.
      • I suspect that access will be limited to NRO, under Presidential control, and various Congressional select committees, as long as the republicans are in power

        Then they will demand that all records be placed out of reach for the Dems taking power as a last act of self preservation

        • You are of course assuming the Democrats will be ever be able to take power again after the next 4 years.
          • The people who voted for trump will eventually turn on him and the republican party in ways that Dems would never consider

            Just watch how the murder of the United Health Care CEO plays out, this is how MAGA followers react when they realize they have been duped

      • by PPH ( 736903 )

        ...warrant

        Or exigent circumstances. Which LE (and scammers) use to get data right away.

    • The change is the lost ability for these firms to sell your location to anyone with a pulse if this passes.

    • Supposedly they demanded that the data gets deleted. M'kay...so does that mean right away, or a year from now, and what if the delete happens only right after your car turns into the abortion clinic parking lot.

      Don't believe anything they do will protect you from Trump. And Trump will no doubt Project 2025 the FTC into submission. I made a post a while back regarding personal data records, and that a government standing now might not be the same government 10 years later, and those records may get people in

  • Ever since smartphones, HIPAA is meaningless. The only reason why HIPAA has a chain of custody relationship to healthcare providers is because it was assumed they were they only ones that had the data. Now that location data or email data mining or whatever else can do an end-run about that, health privacy laws and other privacy laws need to be rewritten to account for the new reality.

    • I worked at a healthcare provider 25 years ago and I can tell you that I was shocked how many organizations beyond the healthcare provider have access to those data. For example, contractors that specialize in going over the records and finding new things to bill insurance/government on. Multiple government agencies, research studies, and so on. HIPAA was meaningless before it was passed.
  • by laughingskeptic ( 1004414 ) on Tuesday December 03, 2024 @01:52PM (#64988213)
    Anyone can pretend to be an advertiser, promiscuously make low bids on add slots and scrape all of the ad ids, demographic information and locations of every electronic device in the world. Until location information stops being promiscuously shared on ad markets, this ability to track everyone isn't going to go away. Every website that knows a name, email address or phone number also the corresponding Advertising ID. Far too many sites have the ability to tie these together.
  • by awwshit ( 6214476 ) on Tuesday December 03, 2024 @02:03PM (#64988243)

    > either through ordinary apps installed on them or through the advertising ecosystem

    Yeah, those apps and ads are still there, still tracking you, still cataloging all of it. Rather than getting middle-manned you can just go to the source, neat.

  • by PPH ( 736903 ) on Tuesday December 03, 2024 @02:53PM (#64988385)

    Locate X could be used to pinpoint phones that visited abortion clinics

    So, game the system. Get a load of used cell phones and carry them to some abortion clinics. Then load them into a little red wagon [wired.com] and park it in some pro-life ministries parking lot. Let the finger pointing begin.

    • by Shaitan ( 22585 )

      The problem is this has nothing to do with abortions or religion and everything to do with stuffing ballot boxes. That's why Biden overturned the EO which prohibited the Justice Department from handing out publicly won settlement funds to non-profits, those non-profits get millions in public money to pump uniparty ballots in the elections.

      Luckily this will be dismantled before the midterms.

  • Turn it on ONLY when absolutely necessary.

    Or use a location spoofer

    • >"Turn it on ONLY when absolutely necessary."

      Then there are apps that refuse to run. And your location is still known to the cell carriers that have tower data. And your location is still known by Google/Apple based on WiFi, IP, and radio data.

      >"Or use a location spoofer"

      I believe apps can require the real thing or not work. The only way around that is to root, then you have lots of other problems, like your phone not being "trusted" anymore.

      And websites and other apps will simply geolocate you by

      • I guess it's on to pagers (the non exploding kind) and turning on your phone to answer the page only at certain designated locations. Dumb one way pagers can't have their location tracked.
  • duckduckgo privacy (Score:4, Informative)

    by ZipNada ( 10152669 ) on Tuesday December 03, 2024 @05:46PM (#64988821)

    Install duckduckgo on your ANdroid cellphone and enable 'App tracking protection'. This installs an internal VPN on your phone that all the internet traffic has to pass through. Any tracking data gets intercepted and blocked, and you get a report on all the tracking attempts.

    You will be astonished at how much of it there is. Almost every app I use is trying to export a whole raft of data, usually to multiple third parties. And it isn't just location, its everything they can get their hands on. The device boot time, battery level, available memory, network type and carrier, unique identifier, on and on. Amazon and Microsoft try to send out about 20 items. Google tries to send more than 35.

  • The only fix to data privacy is to make harvesting the data illegal. Ban any use/retention beyond what is necessary for operation of the network.

    Anything done after that is putting a band-aid on the wound. It is too little, too late. The harm is done. If the data is collected, it will be shared/stolen/sold/processed/collated/analyzed/used-against-you-in-a-court-of-law...

    If law enforcement/security services need to surveil you/me/us, make them get a warrant and do the work themselves.

  • This would not pass the "Major Questions Test" so it will be struck down.

    The Legislature is required to get off its ass and pass legislation to prohibit such things.

    And they are totally corrupt.

    Meanwhile they funnel billions to Big Tech to enable domestic spying.

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