Idaho

As state legislation increasingly regulates sensitive data, and expands the concepts of what is sensitive, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC” or “Commission”) is honing-in on sensitive data processing in expanding its unfairness authority in relation to privacy enforcement. The FTC’s recent enforcement activities regarding location aware data is a good example. As we have previously reported here and here, Kochava, an Idaho-based data broker, is currently embroiled in a federal lawsuit with the Commission that has the potential to redefine the legal bounds of sensitive data collection, use and sharing and the data brokering industries on a federal level.Continue Reading Sensitive Data Processing is in the FTC’s Crosshairs

In case you missed it, below are recent posts from Consumer Privacy World covering the latest developments on data privacy, security and innovation. Please reach out to the authors if you are interested in additional information.

CPW’s Shea Leitch and Kyle Dull to Speak at ACC South Florida’s 12th Annual CLE Conference

CPW’s David Oberly

Yesterday, in the District of Idaho, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) filed a rare complaint seeking a permanent injunction against Kochava Inc. (“Kochava”), a company that, according to the FTC, is a “location data broker that provides its customers massive amounts of precise geolocation data collected from consumers’ mobile devices.” Case No. 22-cv-00377 (D. Idaho). Kochava itself this month had earlier commenced litigation against the FTC in a dramatic pushback after receiving a proposed injunction from the agency. This case is a must-watch going forward, given the FTC’s recent focus on data privacy and cybersecurity.  

The Complaint filed yesterday in federal court alleges that “Kochava has sold access to its data feeds on online data marketplaces that are publicly accessible.” Additionally, while “Kochava typically charges a monthly subscription fee of thousands of dollars to access its location data feed,” the FTC also alleges that the company “has also offered a free sample . . . [which is] publicly available with only minimal steps and no restrictions on usage.”  Continue Reading FTC Sues Data Broker for Purportedly Selling Geolocation Information, Alleging “Unfair Sale of Sensitive Data”