"Providing Records of Abortion Clinic Visits"... US FTC Sues Data Providers

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] What if sensitive personal information about visiting abortion clinics were exposed to the outside?

On the 29th (local time), the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) and others reported that the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) filed a lawsuit against data company Kochava for selling sensitive location information collected from smartphones and other devices. The FTC claimed that Kochava assigned unique identifiers to millions of mobile devices and imported and sold latitude and longitude information based on these identifiers.

The FTC stated that Kochava could identify individuals and track whenever they visited sensitive locations such as abortion clinics, religious facilities, shelters for homeless or victims of domestic violence, and addiction recovery centers. The FTC pointed out that if this information were leaked, the individuals could be exposed to social stigma, stalking, discrimination, lose their jobs, or even be assaulted.

The problem is that most device owners do not know how their location information is sold or used and cannot control it. The FTC alleged that Kochava failed to properly protect personal information by allowing anyone to purchase large amounts of sensitive information and use it without restrictions, at least until June of this year.

The FTC is requesting the court to order Kochava to stop selling sensitive location information and to delete the information collected so far. Samuel Levine, Director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said, "Where consumers receive medical services, counseling, or practice their faith is personal information and should not be sold to the highest bidder."

Cory Munchbach, CEO of consumer data platform BlueConic, told a foreign media outlet, "This lawsuit by the FTC, led by famous Big Tech critic Lina Khan, will be a turning point in how policymakers, judicial authorities, and tech companies approach consumer data and personal information."

Foreign media evaluated that the FTC’s action is related to the Biden administration’s efforts to protect women’s abortion rights following the U.S. Supreme Court’s overturning of abortion rights in June. President Biden signed an executive order focused on expanding abortion rights on the 8th of last month, directing the FTC to establish measures to protect sensitive medical information from digital surveillance and other threats.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.