OP Yesterday - 04:39 PM
In today's environment, digital surveillance is becoming a powerful tool for government agencies, allowing them to track people's movements with high accuracy. Fog Data Science's case study shows how personal data, including the healthcare facilities visited, can be used to monitor objects of interest.
How Does Fog Data Science Work?
Fog Data Science provides state and local governments with the Fog Reveal tool, which uses data collected from mobile phones. This data is collected through advertising networks and apps and includes information about the geolocation of devices. The company manages to keep the cost of its services low: less than $10,000 per year for local governments such as sheriffs and highway patrols. This makes it affordable even for small agencies.
The document, obtained from correspondence with Georgia law enforcement, contains a request form in which the police must indicate:
Biographical data of the target (name, pseudonyms, connections to criminal activity);
Places that a person visits: the homes of friends and relatives, doctors' offices, gyms, religious sites, and other frequently visited places.
![[Image: fog-data-science-art-2.png]](https://i.ibb.co/gSxkLYN/fog-data-science-art-2.png)
This data allows the company to narrow down its search to specific devices that regularly appear in specified locations. Law enforcement agencies can then track the movements of these devices in other locations.
Privacy at risk
Of particular concern is the request for addresses of doctors and medical institutions that can be used to track people visiting reproductive health clinics. In post-Roe America, where access to abortion has become limited, such tools could be used to spy on women crossing state lines for medical care. This raises significant concerns among privacy advocates.
In the past, similar cases have already caused a public outcry. For example, in 2022, Safegraph stopped selling data on clinic visits, including Planned Parenthood, after investigations showed how it was possible to trace visitors from where they came from, how long they stayed in the facility, and where they went afterward.
However, other companies, such as Babel Street and its Locate X tool, continue to provide access to data to track people's movements, including their visits to abortion clinics.
Legislative measures and public response
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) banned Venntel and Gravy Analytics from selling data on visits to medical facilities, shelters, and religious sites. However, this step does not fix the existing problem. Companies such as Fog Data Science remain in the gray zone of regulation, continuing to provide cheap and accessible surveillance tools.
In addition, from the company's correspondence with law enforcement agencies, it became known that Fog data may overlap with Venntel's databases, which indicates the interconnectedness of such companies and the scale of their activities.
Ethics and the future
The use of medical data for surveillance calls into question the ethical standards of both companies and law enforcement. The problem becomes especially acute in conditions where people may be persecuted for visiting certain places, whether they are reproductive health clinics or religious sites.
On the one hand, this data helps in the investigation of crimes such as human trafficking. On the other hand, they violate the rights of citizens to privacy and freedom of movement.
source : https://www.404media.co/location-data-fi...or-visits/
How Does Fog Data Science Work?
Fog Data Science provides state and local governments with the Fog Reveal tool, which uses data collected from mobile phones. This data is collected through advertising networks and apps and includes information about the geolocation of devices. The company manages to keep the cost of its services low: less than $10,000 per year for local governments such as sheriffs and highway patrols. This makes it affordable even for small agencies.
The document, obtained from correspondence with Georgia law enforcement, contains a request form in which the police must indicate:
Biographical data of the target (name, pseudonyms, connections to criminal activity);
Places that a person visits: the homes of friends and relatives, doctors' offices, gyms, religious sites, and other frequently visited places.
This data allows the company to narrow down its search to specific devices that regularly appear in specified locations. Law enforcement agencies can then track the movements of these devices in other locations.
Privacy at risk
Of particular concern is the request for addresses of doctors and medical institutions that can be used to track people visiting reproductive health clinics. In post-Roe America, where access to abortion has become limited, such tools could be used to spy on women crossing state lines for medical care. This raises significant concerns among privacy advocates.
In the past, similar cases have already caused a public outcry. For example, in 2022, Safegraph stopped selling data on clinic visits, including Planned Parenthood, after investigations showed how it was possible to trace visitors from where they came from, how long they stayed in the facility, and where they went afterward.
However, other companies, such as Babel Street and its Locate X tool, continue to provide access to data to track people's movements, including their visits to abortion clinics.
Legislative measures and public response
Recently, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) banned Venntel and Gravy Analytics from selling data on visits to medical facilities, shelters, and religious sites. However, this step does not fix the existing problem. Companies such as Fog Data Science remain in the gray zone of regulation, continuing to provide cheap and accessible surveillance tools.
In addition, from the company's correspondence with law enforcement agencies, it became known that Fog data may overlap with Venntel's databases, which indicates the interconnectedness of such companies and the scale of their activities.
Ethics and the future
The use of medical data for surveillance calls into question the ethical standards of both companies and law enforcement. The problem becomes especially acute in conditions where people may be persecuted for visiting certain places, whether they are reproductive health clinics or religious sites.
On the one hand, this data helps in the investigation of crimes such as human trafficking. On the other hand, they violate the rights of citizens to privacy and freedom of movement.
source : https://www.404media.co/location-data-fi...or-visits/
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![[Image: Sig.png]](https://i.ibb.co/xh4Mcd3/Sig.png)