The Federal Trade Commission has finalized a settlement with digital marketing and data aggregator InMarket Media over allegations the company unlawfully collected and used consumers’ location data for advertising and marketing. The FTC, in a complaint announced in January 2024, alleged that InMarket collects location information about consumers from several sources, including the company’s apps and from third parties that integrate its software development kit (SDK).
The FTC alleges that InMarket combined location information with other data to target advertising based on consumers’ behavior. “The FTC charged that InMarket failed to fully inform consumers about how their location data—which can include sensitive information about where they live, work and worship—would be used and that it would be combined with other data about those users for targeted advertising. It also failed to ensure that third-party apps that use its SDK obtained informed consent from consumers,” said the FTC in a press release.
InMarket will be prohibited from selling or sharing and licensing any precise location data based on sensitive location data, the FTC said. The federal agency is also ordering the company to destroy or delete all the location data it has previously collected—and even products produced from it.
AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile Aren’t Accepting FCC $200 Million Location Fines
In other privacy news, the nation’s largest wireless carriers are fighting back at the FCC for fining them nearly $200 million–as Location Business News reported last week. AT&T T 0.35%↑, Verizon VZ 0.86%↑, and T-Mobile TMUS 1.14%↑ all said they will appeal the hefty fine as they say they aren’t responsible for selling access to location data without their customer’s consent.
