InMarket prohibited from conducting consumer location data sales

TechCrunch reports that Texas-based data broker InMarket has been banned by the Federal Trade Commission from engaging in the sale of precise consumer location data days after the same prohibition was imposed upon fellow data broker Outlogic, formerly known as X-Mode, as part of an agency crackdown. Aside from halting all sales of sensitive location data, InMarket was also sought by the FTC to delete all previously gathered data, as well as products based on such information. InMarket was accused by the FTC of failing to secure user consent for location data sharing from its shopping apps ListEase and CheckPoints, as well as inadequately informing third-party app users regarding the use of their location data for targeted advertising. Moreover, InMarket's five-year storage of geolocation data was deemed "unnecessary" by the FTC, which noted the elevated risk of data compromise stemming from such a policy. While InMarket expressed disagreement with the FTC's allegations, it confirmed that it will no longer sell consumer location data and would instead increase sensitive location protections, according to InMarket Chief Legal Officer and Chief Privacy Officer Jason Knapp.