The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, today welcomed a decision by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to prohibit the sale of personal data from Muslim app users for potential use in warrantless surveillance.
In a statement, the FTC said that Data broker X-Mode Social and its successor Outlogic will be prohibited from sharing or selling any sensitive location data to settle allegations that the company sold precise location data that could be used to track people’s visits to sensitive locations such as medical and reproductive health clinics, places of religious worship and domestic abuse shelters.
In 2022, CAIR and the Communications & Technology Law Clinic (CTLC) at Georgetown University Law Center filed an FTC complaint against the data broker to investigate and enforce “potential violations of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act across the location data industry.”
SEE: CAIR, Georgetown Law Clinic Announce Filing of FTC Complaint in Response to ‘Deceptive and Unfair Extraction of Personal Data’ from Muslim Apps for Use in Warrantless Surveillance
In a statement, CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw said:
“We welcome the FTC’s decision to prohibit these companies from again selling the personal data from Muslim apps for use in potential surveillance targeting members of the Muslim community. Violations of our community’s right to privacy must be stopped and investigated.”
CAIR’s mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims.
La misión de CAIR es proteger las libertades civiles, mejorar la comprensión del Islam, promover la justicia, y empoderar a los musulmanes en los Estados Unidos.
END
CONTACT: CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, gabbas@cair.com; CTLC Director Prof. Laura Moy, 202-662-9547, Laura.Moy@georgetown.edu; CTLC Teaching Fellow Victoria Tang, 202-662-9543, Victoria.Tang@georgetown.edu; CTLC Student Attorney Luke Evans, 614-564-7221, lse14+clinic@georgetown.edu; CTLC Student Attorney Quinten Stewart, 704-247-0030, qas8+clinic@georgetown.edu; CAIR Government Affairs Director Robert McCaw, 202-742-6448, rmccaw@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, ihooper@cair.com; CAIR National Communications Coordinator Ismail Allison, 202-770-6280, iallison@cair.com; Georgetown Law Office of Communications, mediarelations@law.georgetown.edu