The stopage was acheived thru a negotiated settlment by the Federal Trade Commission…
This does seep into the abortion and patient’s privacy right’s area…
There is NO law against companies generally collecting location tracking data and selling that to companies…
The Biden administration stopped a company from selling data on people’s medical visits on Tuesday, its first settlement on a privacy issue that has many Americans concerned about who can see their most sensitive personal data — particularly visits to abortion providers.
After an investigation, the Federal Trade Commission said it had reached a settlement with Outlogic, a location data broker formerly known as X-Mode Social, which had been collecting information on people’s visits to medical centers.
The settlement is the first major enforcement on location data since a 2022 executive order directed the government to ramp up privacy protections for anyone seeking an abortion.
The FTC has been cracking down on health privacy violations after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled there is no constitutional right to an abortion when it overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. A Biden executive order in July 2022 directed federal agencies to protect people’s privacy related to reproductive health care services.
With no federal law against selling location data from smartphones, cars, computers and other connected devices, companies are able to collect and share people’s whereabouts, which can track individuals to their homes, workplaces and other sites….
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Companies use location data to target ads to people who have been in specific areas, such as people who attended a campaign rally or shoppers who have visited certain stores.
Privacy advocates are concerned that law enforcement can use this location data to prosecute people seeking an abortion. Anti-abortion groups have also used location data to target ads to Planned Parenthood visitors.
The FTC also has an ongoing case against the data broker Kochava, which the FTC alleged sold location data that allowed buyers to identify and track people who visited women’s reproductive health clinics….