Data Privacy Attorney
Investigating Illegal Geolocation Tracking Claims
Personal privacy has become a rare commodity in modern times, but we still believe in an ideal world where you choose which personal data can be accessed by companies and organizations that may have a financial interest in tracking your movements. That is why our data privacy attorneys are investigating illegal geolocation tracking programs and schemes established by corporations to profit without your consent.
Contact our data misuse lawyers to learn more about existing data privacy laws and to discuss whether or not a specific company is violating your privacy rights. We represent plaintiffs nationwide in a wide range of personal privacy litigation, and we have filed numerous data privacy class action lawsuits on behalf of clients in all fifty states.
Can You File a Geolocation Tracking Lawsuit?
Our consumer protection attorneys are taking on new class action data privacy violation cases in instances when companies collect, store, share, and sell your personal data without your consent.
Every company that engages in data collection schemes, and sell your information to data brokers should be aware of the serious legal ramifications of collecting, storing, and selling valuable geolocation data. We are working to ensure compliance with state and federal privacy laws and regulations that protect you from companies accessing and selling your user location information. We have seen data tracking violations from healthcare entities, mobile app developers, automakers and others who often sell data for the end result of targeted advertising.
In one of the largest data tracking lawsuits to date, Google agreed to pay almost $392 million in a settlement with 40 states over allegations that the company tracked people through their devices after location tracking had been turned off. Plaintiffs in the case argued that Google violated consumer protection laws by misleading users about recording their movements. The harvested data was allegedly sold to marketing outfits to sell advertisements, the central revenue stream of Google. Google has also faced lawusits over the effectiveness of their Incognito Mode, which apparently was not nearly as private as many users imagined.
Location data tracking practices are integral to many corporations’ business, particularly when selling advertising to certain markets. This specific type of personal information is quite valuable, but can also be quite sensitive. Many individuals have expressed dismay and feel violated when they learn how companies openly track their movements.
Geolocation tracking practices are not unlawful, but they do have several legal limitations. Whether you can file a class action complaint depends on several factors, including if you gave prior consent before using an app or online service. Sometimes consumers feel forced to give consent if they want to use the service at all. Other times, agreeing to location tracking is buried deep in a user agreement and in very small print.
Personal data privacy violations can be the basis for class action data misuse lawsuits, and The Lyon Firm aims to protect consumer privacy rights. If you have been the target of data sharing, personal data misuse or data privacy violations, call for a free consultation. You may be eligible to join existing data privacy class actions and compensation may be available.
Are There Laws That Prohibit Geolocation Tracking?
Companies often take advantage of consumers by presenting a long, unreadable privacy policy on websites and apps. The end result is consumers signing away their personal data for nothing in return, except to use a website or media platform. Opting out of location data collection may be difficult or impossible in some cases.
Lawmakers have been slow to keep up with the pace of technological advancements in almost every way. Some states have taken the lead, namely California with its comprehensive CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) statute. Other state legislatures have advanced bills protecting consumers’ data privacy.
As far as existing online privacy protections, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Virginia, currently have consumer data privacy laws. Attorneys have said that until there is a federal mandate to limit data tracking and subsequent selling of geolocation data to data brokers, companies will continue to collect and sell large amounts of personal data for marketing purposes.
In one geolocation data tracking case, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleged that General Motors collected, used and sold data from connected cars without car owners’ knowledge or consent. The collected data included precise geolocation data and their driving behavior, which was in turn sold to car insurance companies to potentially raise premiums for so-called poor drivers.
The Federal Trade Commission also filed a lawsuit against data broker Kochava Inc. for selling geolocation data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices. The Weather Channel mobile app’s operator settled a class action lawsuit alleging it was collecting and profiting off of consumers’ geolocation data.
Is Geolocation Tracking Illegal?
The legality of geolocation tracking is not always black and white. Contact us to discuss the importance of jurisdictions and how they are currently governed by state privacy laws and regulations. Some important legal considerations may include:
- Consent: some courts have ruled that companies require explicit consent from individuals before their location can be legally tracked.
- Data Ownership: our lawyers can help figure out who owns the data collected through the geolocation tracking process—end users or the companies who sell you a device.
- Data Retention: state regulations may help dictate how long your collected location data can legally be stored and whether consumers have a right to ask for it to be deleted.
ABOUT THE LYON FIRM
Joseph Lyon has 17 years of experience representing individuals in complex litigation matters. He has represented individuals in every state against many of the largest companies in the world.
The Firm focuses on single-event civil cases and class actions involving corporate neglect & fraud, toxic exposure, product defects & recalls, medical malpractice, and invasion of privacy.
NO COST UNLESS WE WIN
The Firm offers contingency fees, advancing all costs of the litigation, and accepting the full financial risk, allowing our clients full access to the legal system while reducing the financial stress while they focus on their healthcare and financial needs.
