• New Jersey Privacy Law Battle: A lawsuit in New Jersey shows that commercial services can access digital tracking capabilities. Atlas Data Privacy Corp. helps users remove personal info from data brokers and has sued 151 brokers on behalf of over 20,000 NJ law enforcement officers.
• Babel Street and Its Capabilities: Babel Street's LocateX platform allows tracking individual mobile users by MAID. It can offer tracking by consuming location data from websites and ad networks. Atlas' investigator used Babel Street to track NJ police officers and found their home addresses and daily movements.
• Warrantless Surveillance: Atlas' investigator used Babel Street's trial period to find info about visitors to high-risk targets. They were able to track devices of plaintiffs, including a police officer and his family targeted by harassment. Babel Street's terms of service prohibit using its service for legal processes without a warrant.
• MAID and Its Implications: The Mobile Advertising ID (MAID) is used by marketing companies to assemble lists of MAIDs enriched with personal info. Advertisers and data brokers gain access to this info through apps and bid requests. Research shows how mobile advertising data can be used for various purposes.
• Implications for Women's Reproductive Rights: Anti-abortion groups are using mobile advertising data to target abortion clinics and people seeking abortions. Atlas' investigator used Babel Street to identify and track a person traveling to an abortion clinic.
• Difference Between Android and Apple: Brokers can provide access to tens of billions of data points. Apple's App Tracking Transparency (ATT) in iOS 14.5 reduced Facebook's revenues. Google's AdX controls a large share of the ad market, and Android is the dominant mobile OS. Google and Apple have different policies regarding location data.
• States' Actions and Congress' Dithering: More states are seeking to pass laws similar to Daniel's Law to protect government officials. Data broker industry has challenged the constitutionality of NJ statute. There are concerns about the impact on journalists. Sen. Ron Wyden blames Congress and Google for the privacy crisis.
• What You Can Do: Privacy experts suggest disabling or deleting the device's MAID to reduce targeted ads. Android users can manage app permissions and delete the ad ID. Apple users can control app tracking and personalized ads. It's also a good idea to set family and friends' devices to not track.