Security News > 2023 > March > Catholic clergy surveillance org 'outs gay priests'

A Catholic clergy conformance organization has reportedly been buying mobile app tracking data to identify gay priests, and providing that information to bishops around the US. The group, Catholic Laity and Clergy for Renewal, was formed in Colorado in 2019 and relocated its principal office to Casper, Wyoming in April, 2020, according to Colorado State business records [PDF].

The Washington Post on Thursday said that it learned of CLCR's app data acquisition program from two people with first-hand knowledge of the program, heard an audio recording of group president Jayd Henricks discussing it, and saw documents supporting the allegations.

The group is said to have cross-referenced location data obtained from data brokers, who have access to ad exchange information, with church residences and facilities to identify priests using these apps.

Last June, a group of US senators - Democratic and Independent - proposed the Health and Location Data Protection Act to ban the sale of Americans' health and location data.

Last week, another group of US senators - including Elizabeth Warren who backed the previous bill, and two other Democrats - introduced the Upholding Protections for Health and Online Location Data Privacy Act, which prohibits the use of health data for advertising and disallows the sale of location data.

"Data brokers collect information about the precise movements of hundreds of millions of people without their knowledge or meaningful consent, and then sell this data to a variety of private and state actors," said EFF spokesperson Josh Richman in an email to The Register.

News URL

https://go.theregister.com/feed/www.theregister.com/2023/03/10/catholic_clergy_surveillance/