Virginia has just passed a law banning the sale of location data. It is the first state in the United States to say enough is enough: companies can no longer buy or sell information about where you are at any given moment. Phone carriers, mapping apps and advertising giants are left without one of their most lucrative businesses.
Until now, geolocation data was cold, hard cash. Your phone, the apps you use, your carrier… they all collected your location and sold it to advertisers, insurers or even the police without a court order. Under the new law, companies operating in Virginia are prohibited from trading in that data unless the user signs an explicit written consent. Fines go up to $100,000 per violation.
This does not stop at Virginia. California and Texas are already preparing similar laws, following in the footsteps of Europe with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For anyone with a phone in their pocket, the news is good: your location is no longer a product sold to the highest bidder without you knowing. Privacy is advancing, step by step.
— Marta, for intermittent intelligence.
