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executive actionVerified

FTC Bars Data Brokers from Selling Sensitive Location Data

On 3 December 2024 the US Federal Trade Commission announced proposed settlements against data brokers Gravy Analytics (and subsidiary Venntel) and Mobilewalla over the unlawful sale of sensitive location data that could reveal visits to health clinics, places of worship and homes. In the causal graph this event strengthens Digital-Rights and Platform-Power Regulation, a driver that strengthens Alternative sources of information index — an improving welfare path.

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On 3 December 2024 the US Federal Trade Commission announced proposed settlements against data brokers Gravy Analytics (and subsidiary Venntel) and Mobilewalla over the unlawful sale of sensitive location data that could reveal visits to health clinics, places of worship and homes. The orders prohibit the firms from selling, disclosing or using such sensitive location data and require sensitive-location data programs. The FTC said it was, for the first time, restricting the use of consumer data collected for one purpose from being repurposed for another.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Federal Trade Commission

    Organization

    Shared responsibility

    verified

    Prohibiting the sale of sensitive location data and restricting data repurposing strengthens privacy protection against surveillance harms.

  • Lina M. Khan

    Person

    Shared responsibility

    verified

    Setting the commission's enforcement priorities supported privacy-protective restrictions on sensitive-data brokerage.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. Actors (2)Federal Trade Commission
  2. contributed toFactFTC Bars Data Brokers from Selling Sensitive Location Data
  3. strengthensDriverDigital-Rights and Platform-Power Regulation
  4. strengthensIndicatorAlternative sources of information index

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). FTC Bars Data Brokers from Selling Sensitive Location Data. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/tech-fact-ftc-data-broker-location-actions-2024

https://factrail.ai/facts/tech-fact-ftc-data-broker-location-actions-2024

Accessed 15 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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