FTC Bans X-Mode From Selling Phone Location Data (techcrunch.com) 10
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has banned the data broker X-Mode Social from sharing or selling users' sensitive location data, the federal regulator said Tuesday. From a report: 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. X-Mode buys and sells access to the location data collected from ordinary phone apps. While just one of many organizations in the multibillion-dollar data broker industry, X-Mode faced scrutiny for selling access to the commercial location data of Americans' past movements to the U.S. government and military contractors. Soon after, Apple and Google told developers to remove X-Mode from their apps or face a ban from the app stores.
Good (Score:5, Insightful)
Re: (Score:2)
Companies that collect user data should not be allowed to sell or share that data. They may use it for their internal purposes, but that may need limits too
If only there was a law designed to do just that... EU might just be on to something,
Naming Names (Score:2, Informative)
Americans need to start naming and shaming these types of deviant instead of letting them hide behind a company name.
Joshua Anton (CEO),
Jacob Ellenburg (co-founder and chief marketing officer),
Peter Connolly (data manager).
Home addresses, parents, spouses, children's schools, coming soon.
Re: (Score:2)
These fine gentlefucks do argue that disseminating sensitive data about others is ok. What GP proposes is using those bastard's own logic. What's good for the geese is good for the vulture...
Re: (Score:2)
Exactly, these people dox you for money: I think doxing them for free is acceptable.
Re: (Score:1, Troll)
I for one would not shed a single tear if any of those sumbitches died like a dog in a ditch tomorrow. Those are among the most hateful, most despicable individuals on the planet - right next to the billionnaire tech bro kleptocrats who feed them data.
Who? (Score:5, Insightful)
Never heard of this company. But, at first glance, this has all the earmarks of "crack down on the little guy and leave a big playing field for our partners at Google, Meta, Apple, and Microsoft." How about we ask those bastards to stop selling our locations, our usage stats, our browsing history, our contact lists, our email addresses, our every word that gets passed through their grammar checkers and auto-correctors? Maybe take a look at that next?
Ban everyone (Score:2)
Here's a better idea - ban *anyone* other than the person it's about from selling sensitive personal information of any kind. Ever. There is ZERO legitimate use for such invasive surveillance in a nominally free society.
Of course, that would mean cops and intelligence agencies would have to get warrants and do their job, instead of just buying the info they want from someone else, but honestly I'd consider that an added bonus.