Phone location data of top EU officials for sale, report finds

A recent investigation by European journalists has revealed alarming vulnerabilities in the privacy of top European Union officials. Despite the continent's stringent data protection regulations, it appears that location histories sold by data brokers can be easily accessed. According to a report from Netzpolitik, EU officials have expressed significant concern over the trade of mobile phone location data belonging to both citizens and officials. In response, they have issued new guidelines aimed at mitigating the risks of such tracking. The investigation uncovered a dataset, which was made available as a free sample from a data broker, comprising an astonishing 278 million location data points from mobile devices across Belgium. This information, primarily gathered through common mobile applications, is sold to brokers who then distribute it to various entities, including governments and military organizations. Among the troubling findings, reporters identified hundreds of devices linked to individuals in sensitive positions within the EU, including 2,000 location markers from 264 officials’ devices and approximately 5,800 markers from over 750 devices within the European Parliament. While Europe boasts some of the most robust data protection laws globally through its GDPR framework, enforcement against data brokers remains sluggish, as highlighted by the report. The data brokering industry has exploded into a billion-dollar enterprise, fueled by the sale of personal location data and sensitive information. To combat these privacy breaches, Apple users can anonymize their device identifiers, while Android users are encouraged to frequently reset theirs. Last year, a notable breach involving Gravy Analytics exposed the location details of tens of millions, illustrating the potential for extensive surveillance on individuals' movements.