Senator Ed Markey, a Massachusetts Democrat claims “Americans are increasingly aware that their privacy is evaporating before their eyes, and the real-world implications can be devastating. Today, companies we’ve all heard of as well as companies we’re completely unaware of are collecting troves of data about where we go, what we do, and who we are.”
The FTC did not comment about Fog Reveal, in particular.
The future of crime solving?
Matthew Broderick, Fog Reveal managing partner, told AP that local law enforcement was “at the front lines of trafficking and missing persons cases, but often fell behind in technology adoption.”
“We fill a gap for underfunded and understaffed departments,” he added that the company does not have access to people’s personal information, nor are search warrants required. The company refused to share information about how many police agencies it works with.
Fog Reveal was created by two former high-ranking Department of Homeland Security officials. It relies on advertising identification numbers, which Fog officials say are culled from popular cell phone apps that target ads. These apps include Waze, Starbucks and many others that are location based.
