Federal judge dismisses FTC lawsuit against Kochava over geolocation data sales

A federal judge in Idaho dismissed the US Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) lawsuit against Kochava Inc., a data broker, which alleged that the company sold geolocation data unfairly. The judge ruled that the FTC complaint lacked sufficient allegations to state a claim and that the FTC failed to demonstrate that Kochava’s data sales created a significant risk of concrete harm. The judge, however, gave the FTC 30 days to amend its arguments. The lawsuit was filed in August and sought to stop Kochava from selling sensitive geolocation data and require it to delete related information it has collected. The data allegedly could be used to track consumers’ movements to and from sensitive locations, such as reproductive health clinics, places of worship, and addiction recovery facilities, among other places.