The federal government sued an Idaho-based company that collects and sells geolocation information for hundreds of millions of mobile devices, saying that the data can be used to track people seeking or providing abortions.
In a complaint filed Monday in US District Court, the Federal Trade Commission said Kochava Inc.’s data can show mobile device users’ visits to abortion clinics, places of worship, homeless and domestic violence shelters, and other sensitive locations. According to the complaint, the agency was able to identify a mobile device that visited a reproductive health clinic and then trace that same device back to a single-family home in the data broker’s free, publicly available data sample.
The lawsuit alleges that the data sold by the company could then be used to identify the owners of the mobile devices it tracks, given the comprehensive geolocation information it gathers. The agency is seeking a permanent injunction to stop Kochava from selling the data and require it to delete the geolocation information it has already collected.
In a statement, Brian Cox, general manager of Kochava Collective, the company’s data marketplace, accused the agency of perpetuating “misinformation” about data privacy and said the company operates in compliance with all privacy laws and other regulations.
“This lawsuit shows the unfortunate reality that the FTC has a fundamental misunderstanding of Kochava’s data marketplace business and other data businesses,” Cox said.
Cox said the company has already taken steps to remove sensitive location data from its marketplace and is “constantly monitoring and proactively adjusting” its technology “to block geo data from other sensitive locations.”
He noted that Kochava sources its data from third parties and said the information is collected from “consenting consumers.”