Link: An investigation exposes data brokers using ads to help track almost any phone

An investigation by a data privacy group unveiled a tracking network, Locate X, that monitors movements via phones’ unique advertising IDs. This network allows precise real-time location tracking across state lines by displaying this data on a map.

Atlas Data Privacy Corp discovered the software's ability to meticulously follow a person's path, including sensitive locations like abortion clinics. Notably, a demonstration showed a phone moving from Alabama to various locations, ending at a Florida clinic.

Given the legal disparities on abortion across states and the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade, privacy and safety concerns about such tracking have intensified. Google has responded by automatically deleting visits to abortion clinics from users' location histories.

The tracking relies on mobile advertising IDs which are linked to Google and Apple devices. Advertisers use these IDs to target ads and construct detailed user profiles.

Although access to Locate X is theoretically restricted to government bodies, Atlas found evidence of Babel Street, the creators, not fully enforcing these restrictions. An investigation by Atlas involved a private investigator uncovering lax sales practices related to user data at Babel Street.

Atlas is now suing Babel Street for potentially breaching a New Jersey data privacy law. This lawsuit addresses the illegal usage and lax control over sensitive location data. #

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