FTC fines Avast $16.5 million for selling user browsing data
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined anti-virus vendor Avast $16.5 million, accusing the company of selling users’ browsing data to advertisers after claiming its products would prevent online tracking.
In addition, the company is prohibited from selling or licensing any web browsing data for advertising purposes. It must also notify users whose browsing data is sold to third parties without their consent.
FTC 在訴狀中表示，Avast「透過公司的瀏覽器擴展和防毒軟體不公平地收集消費者的瀏覽信息，無限期地存儲這些信息，並在沒有充分通知和未經消費者同意的情況下出售這些information.”
It also accuses the UK-based company of deceiving users by claiming the software would block third-party tracking and protect user privacy without telling them it would sell their “detailed, re-identifiable browsing data” to more than Its subsidiary Jumpshot provides 100 third parties.
In addition, data purchasers can associate non-personally identifiable information with Avast users’ browsing information, allowing other companies to track users and their browsing history and correlate it with other information they already have.
This misleading data privacy practice came to light in January 2020 after a joint investigation by Motherboard and PCMag, which said Google, Yelp, Microsoft, McKinsey, PepsiCo, Home Depot, Condé Nast and Intuit were “part of Jumpshot’s past, present and future” . Potential customers. “
Web browsers Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Opera removed Avast’s browser add-ons from their respective stores a month ago, and previous research by security researcher Wladimir Palant in October 2019 identified the extensions as spyware.
The data, which includes users’ Google searches, location lookups and Internet footprints, is collected through the Avast anti-virus program installed on users’ computers without their informed consent.
“Browse data [sold by Jumpshot] Includes information about users’ web searches and the web pages they visit, revealing consumers’ religious beliefs, health concerns, political leanings, location, financial status, access to child-directed content and other sensitive information,” the FTC said.
Jumpshot describes itself as “the only company unlocking walled garden data” and claims to have data from as many as 100 million devices as of August 2018. Browsing information is said to have been collected since at least 2014.
The privacy backlash prompted Avast to “terminate Jumpshot data collection and wind down Jumpshot operations, effective immediately.”
Avast has since merged with another cybersecurity company, NortonLifeLock, to form a new parent company called Gen Digital, which also includes other products such as AVG, Avira and CCleaner.
“Avast promised users that its products would protect the privacy of their browsing data, but it did the opposite,” said Samuel Levine, director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. “Avast’s bait-and-switch surveillance tactics compromised consumer privacy and violated the law.” .”
//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
from Tech Empire Solutions https://techempiresolutions.com/ftc-fines-avast-16-5-million-for-selling-user-browsing-data/
via https://techempiresolutions.com/
from Tech Empire Solutions https://techempiresolutions.wordpress.com/2024/02/23/ftc-fines-avast-16-5-million-for-selling-user-browsing-data/
via https://techempiresolutions.com/
from Mary Ashley https://maryashle.wordpress.com/2024/02/23/ftc-fines-avast-16-5-million-for-selling-user-browsing-data/
via https://techempiresolutions.com/
Comments
Post a Comment