Security News > 2020 > August > IBM Settles Lawsuit Over Weather Channel App Data Privacy

IBM, the owner of the Weather Channel mobile app, has reached a settlement with the Los Angeles city attorney's office after a 2019 lawsuit alleged that the app was deceiving its users in how it was using their geolocation data.

The 2019 lawsuit claimed, the app's permission prompt for users to share their geolocation data did not make them aware that it was also selling that data to third-party companies.

"The Weather Company has always been transparent about its use of location data," an IBM spokesperson told Threatpost.

Regardless, according to Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer, under the settlement IBM agreed to revise their data privacy disclosures, which he said will help "Ensure transparency and informed consent." They will do so by changing the permission prompts presented to users when they decide whether to allow location tracking.

The lawsuit comes on the heels of a groundbreaking 2018 New York Times investigation that outed 75 companies - including the Weather Channel app - for misleading consumers about data collection and selling location data to advertisers.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/ibm-settles-lawsuit-over-weather-channel-app-data-privacy/158529/