Meena Harris writes:
Following the Guardian’s recent exposé on Whisper’s consumer-privacy practices, alleging that the social-media app that supposedly allows people “to anonymously share [their] thoughts with the world . . . in a community built around trust and honesty,” in fact tracks the geolocation of users who opted out of such data collection, Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee John D. Rockefeller IV (D-WV) has made an inquiry into the company’s practices and policies. Specifically, Rockefeller has requested from Whisper a staff briefing on the following issues:
- Whether and how Whisper has tracked the location of users who opted out of geolocation services, and if it has, how Whisper has used that data.
- The extent to which Whisper retains user data and where user data is processed and maintained.
- Whisper’s data sharing with third parties, including when and how those practices have changed over time.
- Whisper’s practices of notifying users about the company’s privacy and data-security policies pertaining to user data, and any changes to those policies.
Read more on Covington & Burling InsidePrivacy.