Released: January 10, 2024

FTC bans firm from selling phone location data

Source: Carly Page, TechCrunch

The Federal Trade Commission has banned the data broker X-Mode Social from sharing or selling users’ sensitive location data.

The first of its kind settlement prohibits X-Mode, now known as Outlogic, from sharing and selling users’ sensitive information to others. The settlement will also require the data broker to delete or destroy all the location data it previously collected, along with any products produced from this data, unless the company obtains consumer consent or ensures the data has been de-identified.

The FTC alleged that X-Mode sold precise location data that could be used to track people’s visits to sensitive locations, such as medical and reproductive health clinics, places of religious worship and domestic abuse shelters.

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