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| Amazon Sued in First, My Health, My Data, Privacy |
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| The News: As experts predicted, Washington state's My Health, My Data Act (MHMD) is being tested. In Maxwell vs. Amazon, the plaintiff claims that Amazon's SDK collected location and health-related data from millions of users without proper consent. Why This Matters: This is the first major enforcement of MHMD, a law that allows private citizens to sue companies directly over health data privacy violations. With potential damages of up to $25,000 per person, the stakes are high for Amazon and any company handling health-related information. So What Charges Are Levied Against Amazon? According to the complaint, Amazon used its SDK to track sensitive location and biometric data without first obtaining proper consent, violating at least four laws: 1. Federal Wiretap: Intercepting and collecting users' location data without their knowledge. 2. My Health, My Data Act (MHMD): Tracking health-related location data that could indicate visits to healthcare providers without the required explicit consent. 3. Stored Communications Act: Accessing stored location data without authorization. 4. Computer Fraud and Abuse Act: Embedding SDKs in apps to collect data improperly. But did Amazon really collect that data? Kinda’, sorta’. OfferUp and The Weather Channel, two apps that happened to use Amazon's SDK, collected the data in question. However, as privacy expert Jessica Lee points out in a LinkedIn post, those apps aren't named in the complaint, even though they control the user experience. "The complaint suggests that Amazon acted deceptively by not pushing its own consent to collect location information," she writes. Will the Accusations Hold Up in Court? Lee is skeptical due to glaring gaps in the case. The lawsuit alleges that Amazon collected health-related data because it tracked location information that could suggest a visit to a medical provider. But, as Lee notes, there's no evidence Amazon tied that data to healthcare-related activity or used it to infer health information. Without more concrete connections between the location data and potential healthcare visits, Lee says the claims may not survive Amazon's motion to dismiss. – SS |
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| The Trade Desk Takes a Hit |
| Everyone falls, even the biggest giants, but how you maneuver through mistakes determines your fate in the end. One of ad tech's most influential DSPs is in the hot seat. How will they pivot during this time? The Trade Desk's stock plummeted over 30% after missing revenue expectations for the first time since going public in 2016. The company posted $741 million in Q4 revenue—up 22% year over year but falling $15 million short of its forecast. Annual revenue hit $2.4 billion, a 26% increase. CEO Jeff Green attributed the shortfall to execution missteps and a slower-than-expected rollout of the company's media buying platform, Kokai. While he declined to specify details, he acknowledged internal mistakes and emphasized a company-wide reorg to clarify roles. The company also plans to expand its leadership team, doubling the number of senior executives at the VP level and above. Despite the setback, The Trade Desk remains a dominant ad tech player, facilitating $12 billion in industry ad spend in 2024. It also recently made its first acquisition since 2017, purchasing ad tech intelligence platform Sincera to improve supply chain transparency and accelerate its OpenPath initiative. – AB |
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| The Shadowy Market for Military Location Data—And the Ad-Tech Firm Behind It |
Using location data for targeting is common in the advertising industry. Brands work with ad-tech companies to understand their core consumers and develop personas based on where people live, work, and play. While intended for marketing purposes, this practice can inadvertently expose sensitive information about individuals, including military personnel. Last year, a media investigation exposed Florida-based data broker Datastream Group for selling sensitive location data tracking U.S. military and intelligence personnel overseas. The source of this data was unknown—until now. A Hidden Source Revealed. A letter obtained by WIRED and 404 Media reveals that Lithuanian ad-tech firm Eskimi supplied the data, highlighting the murky nature of the location data industry. A Lithuanian company collected data on U.S. military personnel in Germany and sold it to a Florida broker, which then resold it. Datastream’s Dubious Defense. A joint probe found that Datastream's dataset included 3.6 billion location coordinates from 11 million mobile advertising IDs, likely gathered through mobile app SDKs. Under scrutiny, Datastream claimed it sourced the data from Eskimi, though Eskimi denies any direct dealings. Senator Ron Wyden's office has pressed Eskimi and Lithuania's Data Protection Authority (DPA) for answers, receiving little response. Google, an Eskimi partner, is also reviewing the matter. Meanwhile, cybersecurity experts warn that ad-tech firms continue to exploit location data with little oversight. – AB |
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