WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Federal Trade Commission reached a proposed settlement with data broker Kochava and its subsidiary, Collective Data Solutions, that would prohibit the companies from selling or sharing sensitive location data without consumers’ affirmative express consent.
The FTC alleged the Idaho-based companies sold precise location data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices that could be used to trace individuals’ movements, including visits to health clinics, places of worship and other sensitive locations.
The agency sued Kochava in August 2022, alleging the company’s collection and disclosure of precise location data violated consumers’ privacy because users were unaware their data was being shared and had not consented to the practice.
Under the proposed settlement, Kochava and Collective Data Solutions would be barred from selling, licensing, transferring or disclosing sensitive location data unless consumers provide affirmative express consent and the data is used to provide a service directly requested by the consumer.
The proposed order also requires the companies to establish a sensitive location data program designed to identify and block the sale or disclosure of sensitive location information.
The companies also must implement a supplier assessment program to confirm consumers consented to the collection and use of location data, submit incident reports to the FTC when third parties improperly share location information, and provide consumers with a way to identify entities that received their data and withdraw consent for future sales.
In addition, the settlement requires the companies to establish a data retention schedule that mandates deletion of data within specified timeframes.
The FTC voted 2-0 to approve the stipulated final order, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Idaho. The order will carry the force of law if approved by a federal judge.
The case was handled by attorneys Jennifer Rimm, Erik Jones, Mike Sherling, Elizabeth C. Scott and Julia Horwitz from the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection.
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