US authorities fined Avast, a security company, for selling user data from the company's programs for advertising purposes. The company is also banned from using them in the future for sale or advertising purposes.
According to the FTC, Avast violated the rights of thousands of consumers by collecting, storing and selling their browsing data, without their knowledge, for advertising purposes. This collection was carried out while they were using company software that, theoretically, promised to block this collection of information.
The FTC accuses Avast of its practices, especially because the software that the company provided to consumers was presented as being used to block exactly this collection of information.
FTC order will ban Avast from selling browsing data for advertising purposes, require it to pay $16.5 million over charges the firm sold browsing data after claiming its products would block online tracking: https://t.co/jGNur9Ezfx #privacy /1
— FTC (@FTC) February 22, 2024
At the same time, authorities also claim that the amount of data collected from users is surprising, with more than eight petabytes of information stored by the company dating back to 2014.
The FTC further alleges that Avast began collecting data in 2014, and did not inform consumers of such practices, while also not providing simple ways to prevent such collection or for users to remove the data that was collected.
FTC says despite its promises to protect consumers from online tracking, Avast sold consumers' browsing data to third parties /2
— FTC (@FTC) February 22, 2024
Among the information collected are data on the websites visited, the time at which this occurred, and in some cases, potentially sensitive information that could be found on the websites. The company claims that all data was collected anonymously, although authorities have confirmed that there is the possibility of associating the information collected with specific users.
The FTC also accuses Jumpshot, a subsidiary company of Avast that collected the data, of storing it indefinitely, in addition to selling this data to more than 100 companies between 2014 and 2020.
The company thus finds itself with a fine of 16.5 million dollars, resulting from activities carried out with its software. Furthermore, the company will also have to delete all data collected during these years, and is prohibited from collecting data without authorization from its customers.
"Hello,
All good? We are Avast's press agency in Brazil and would like to share the company's statement regarding its publication:
https://www.menosfios.com/avast-multada-nos-eua-por-recolher-dados-dos-utilizadores-desde-2014/
The aforementioned statement from Avast follows:
“Avast has reached an agreement with the FTC regarding the resolution of the investigation into Avast's past provision of customer data to its Jumpshot subsidiary, which Avast voluntarily closed in January 2020. We are committed to our mission to protect and empower people’s digital lives. While we disagree with the FTC's allegations and characterization of facts, we are pleased to resolve this matter and look forward to continuing to serve our millions of customers around the world.”
We would appreciate it if you could rate it and, if possible, update your post considering this Avast statement on the topic.
We are available for whatever is needed.
Thankful,
Felipe Almeida
[email protected]
+55 15998301105