LA sues Weather Channel app owner over 'fraudulent' data use

ronjor · Jan 4, 2019

Mallory Locklear, @mallorylocklear 04 Jan 2019

Los Angeles' city attorney has filed a lawsuit against the company behind The Weather Channel app, claiming the app didn't adequately disclose to users how their location information would be used. The lawsuit calls The Weather Company's practices "fraudulent and deceptive" and says they violate California's Unfair Competition Law. "For years, TWC has deceptively used its Weather Channel app to amass its users' private, personal geolocation data -- tracking minute details about its users' locations throughout the day and night, all while leading users to believe that their data will only be used to provide them with 'personalized local weather data, alerts and forecasts," says the suit.
Click to expand...

EASTER · Jan 4, 2019

Oh oh.

Makes one curious just how many other similar type apps of that kind also funnel data tracking details-geolocations etc.

Kiebler · Jan 5, 2019

ugh, been using this for over a year. dang it.

Minimalist · Jan 12, 2019

At CES on Tuesday, IBM unveiled what it promises will be the future of weather forecasting: a new, hyperlocal model that aims to be the most accurate yet by predicting the weather at a 1.9-mile resolution across the globe, every hour.

While it’s made possible by advancements in artificial intelligence, the data that feeds the model might prove to be a challenge. It comes from devices whose users have downloaded the company’s popular Weather Channel app.
Click to expand...

https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2019/01/l-joins-growing-battle-over-location-data/154125/

guest · Jul 3, 2020

The Weather Channel Class Action Says App Sells Data
July 2, 2020
https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit...her-channel-class-action-says-app-sells-data/

A California consumer claims The Weather Channel mobile app’s operator is “fraudulently collecting, maintaining, and then profiting off of users’ valuable geolocation data.”

The Weather Channel class action lawsuit alleges that TWC Product and Technology tracks the physical locations of app users without their permission or knowledge, then sells that information to third-parties. So, although its app is free to consumers, TWC has made millions of dollars from it through this deceptive practice, according to plaintiff Jon Hart, one of the app’s multitude of users.
TWC is an IBM-owned offshoot of The Weather Channel that focuses on internet, mobile and cloud-based operations.
Click to expand...

The app delivers on that promise by asking first-time users for ongoing permission to access their device’s location. However, in asking for that consent, TWC offers no indication that it rakes in millions of dollars by transmitting or selling users’ “minute-by-minute geolocation data” to third-parties for advertising and marketing purposes, according to The Weather Channel class action lawsuit.
TWC collects far more than an app user’s city or ZIP code, according to Hart’s complaint.

“TWC has boasted that it is able to track users’ locations and movements with ‘unmatched accuracy and precision’ and even speculated that it may possess the world’s largest trove of consumer geolocation data.”
Click to expand...

[/quote]

Log in or Sign up

LA sues Weather Channel app owner over 'fraudulent' data use

ronjor Global Moderator

EASTER Registered Member

Kiebler Registered Member

Minimalist Registered Member

guest Guest

Log in or Sign up

LA sues Weather Channel app owner over 'fraudulent' data use

ronjor Global Moderator

EASTER Registered Member

Kiebler Registered Member

Minimalist Registered Member

guest Guest

Useful Searches