Posted by HIPAA Journal on August 18, 2022

An Idaho-based digital marketing and analytics firm has filed a lawsuit against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for violating Federal Trade Commission law.

Kochava’s primary business unit provides mobile advertising attribution through customizable software tools delivered in a Software-as-a-Service model. This software enables customers to obtain data points and analytics for their digital marketing campaigns and applications. The second business unit is an aggregator of mobile device data provided by third parties, which Kochava makes available through its data marketplace, Kochava Collective.

Following the Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Wade v. Roe, some states allow data brokers and law enforcement agencies to collect information about individuals who visit reproductive health clinics to seek abortion advice. Privacy advocates have raised concerns about sexuality. Shortly after the Supreme Court ruling, the FTC completely outlawed the illegal use and sharing of highly sensitive data, including the collection and use of consumer location data and illegal privacy practices for reproductive health care data. announced a commitment to implement

Kochava Collective provides data feeds and audience targeting to clients for marketing purposes. The FTC claims that the Kochava Collective provides accurate geolocation data associated with Mobile Advertising Identifiers (MAIDs). This means that it is possible to identify and track consumers when they visit sensitive locations such as reproductive health clinics, therapists’ offices, medical facilities, and addictions. . recovery center. The FTC will also know exactly when an individual visited a location because the data is time-stamped, allowing Kochava customers to track consumers when they visit those locations. claims that there are no technical controls in place to prohibit According to the FTC, the collection of latitude and longitude, IP address, and mobile advertising identifier information associated with a consumer’s device violates FTC law, and has issued a permanent notice to Kochava to prevent future FTC law violations. I am seeking an injunction.

Kochava denies that its customers can use its data to identify and track individuals and claims it misunderstands the services provided by the FTC. Kochava notes that while the FTC is correct regarding the collection of latitude and longitude, IP addresses, and MAIDs associated with consumer devices, these data elements are not received until several days later, and the specific location and consumption associated with the MAIDs is not received. claim that they are not linked. In addition, Kochava alleges in his complaint that the FTC does not have technical controls in place to prevent it from tracking consumers when they visit sensitive locations. He explains that the view is wrong. Kochava said it introduced a new feature called Privacy Block on August 10, 2022. This allows clients to block the collection of sensitive location data such as visits to healthcare providers.

Kochava maintains that it “consistently and proactively operates in compliance with all rules and laws, including those specific to privacy,” and the FTC states that both the lawsuit and the settlement are based on: The case alleges that it is threatening the company with a district court lawsuit and proposed settlement. Inaccurate Information. Kochava also alleges that the FTC has exceeded his legal authority to enforce FTC laws and seeks to scapegoat the company to set a precedent for the entire ad tech industry. Cochava filed a lawsuit to get the Idaho federal court to intervene.