Opposition to Location Data Broker Practices in the United States
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Keywords: privacy, geoprivacy, data brokers, location privacy, surveillance
Abstract Type: Paper Abstract
Authors:
Dara Seidl, Colorado Mountain College
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Abstract
Opposition to data broker practices has been growing in fits and starts, often in response to a new revelation about the use of mobile phone data. In 2022, following the overturn of Roe v. Wade, suspicions arose of the use of location data brokers to track visitors to family health centers. In the backlash, U.S. Senators sent letters to companies harvesting mobile phone data, demanding accountability. This study explores the momentum behind challenges to prevailing location data broker practices, in which mobile data are captured and sold through a chain of repackaging. Through analysis of privacy-related ballot measures, votes, and campaign finance across the last five years, a pattern of mounted and successful opposition to data broker practices emerges.
Opposition to Location Data Broker Practices in the United States
Category
Paper Abstract