Federal Trade Commission × Mobilewalla, Inc.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) finalized an order settling allegations that data broker Mobilewalla unlawfully tracked and sold consumers' sensitive location data without adequate consent. [42, 57] The order bans Mobilewalla from selling, transferring, or otherwise disclosing location data that reveals visits to sensitive places like healthcare facilities, places of worship, and LGBTQ+-related locations. [42, 48] No monetary penalty was announced as part of the settlement; the primary penalty is the prohibition on future sales of this data type. [42]
The asset
A ban was imposed on the selling, transferring, or disclosing of consumers' sensitive location data, including data from visits to health clinics, religious organizations, and political gatherings.
The record
- Seller status
- Going concern
- Sector
- Data broker
- Modalities
- location data
- Jurisdiction
- US
- Docket
- 202 3196
- Personal data
- The FTC order prohibits the sale of sensitive location data and requires the company to stop collecting or using such data upon consumer consent withdrawal. [48]
What it means if you hold data
This enforcement action signals increasing regulatory scrutiny on the commercialization of precise geolocation data, particularly data that is not covered by HIPAA but can reveal sensitive health or personal information. [57] It establishes a precedent that data brokers can be held liable for selling sensitive data streams, even without a direct consumer relationship, impacting how location data is collected and monetized. [52]