Trade In Medical Location Data May Be "Unfair Practice"

The fall-out from the US Supreme Court's Dobbs decision in June has only just started, but it promises to bring changes to the private sector as well as the expected changes for law enforcement. One recent example: the FTC has threatened suit against an adtech company that licenses location data to its clients. Ad agencies and advertisers have access to data lists and pools for purposes of customizing, optimizing, and targeting ads: this is nothing new, and dates back at least to the sale of magazine subscriber data for direct (postal mail) marketing purposes. Today's practices are more comprehensive, more sophisticated, and more precise, however; and the FTC appears to be staking out a position against commercial use of data that can identify a person and their location, at least when it involves medical care.