BOISE, Idaho – A federal judge recently ruled against Kochava Inc., a digital marketing data brokerage, allowing a lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to proceed. The FTC has accused Idaho-based Kochava of selling mobile device geolocation data that allegedly could be used to track individuals to sensitive locations without their consent.
The decision came down from U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill of the District of Idaho on February 3, 2025. In his ruling, Judge Winmill found sufficient grounds to explore if Kochava’s transactions potentially breached privacy expectations, siding with the FTC’s view that the sale of such data might constitute an unfair practice under the FTC Act.
The FTC’s lawsuit first emerged in the public eye in August 2022 when it alleged that Kochava’s data sales involved information from hundreds of millions of mobile devices. According to the FTC, this data could pinpoint personal movements and routines, including visits to places such as healthcare facilities, religious centers, and other locations where privacy is typically paramount.
Rejecting Kochava’s motion to dismiss, Judge Winmill noted that the potential harm from this alleged data handling stretches beyond physical or financial damages. He emphasized that privacy invasions dealing with sensitive location information could amount to substantial harm under the FTC Act.
This case marks a pivotal moment in the ongoing discussion about digital privacy and data commerce. It underlines the complexity of legal expectations for companies dealing in large-scale data analytics and the implications of their practices on individual privacy rights.
Legal experts are closely watching this lawsuit, noting that it could set a significant precedent for how data privacy is treated under U.S. law. Should the FTC prevail, it could lead not only to increased regulation for data brokers but also to more robust privacy standards industry-wide.
For now, the lawsuit proceeds to its next phase, during which further details about the data transactions and their impacts might come to light. This ongoing legal battle underscores a critical dialogue about data privacy in the digital age, one that may fundamentally reshape regulations surrounding the commerce of personal data.
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