The Weather Channel app duped users into providing location data that the company then sold for advertising and other commercial purposes, according to a lawsuit brought by Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer.

The complaint (PDF), filed in Los Angeles Superior Court on Thursday, alleges that the mobile application, owned by IBM's Weather Company (TWC) , in seeking user permission to gather location data, fails to explain clearly how it shares the information.

"When seeking users' permission to track geolocation data, the app does not disclose to users that TWC will transmit that data to third parties, nor that the data will be used for advertising and other commercial purposes bearing no relation to weather or the services provided by the app," the complaint says.

"To the contrary, the app misleadingly suggests that such data will be used only to provide users with 'personalized local weather data, alerts and forecasts.'"

The complaint alleges that the Weather Channel app has collected detailed location data on app users for years and that the Weather Company has analyzed and/or transferred the data to third parties for targeted advertising and to help hedge funds understand consumer behavior.

It contends that one of IBM's primary reasons for buying the Weather Company was to profit from this data. And it says that TWC intentionally hides the fact that it shares location data in its lengthy privacy policy because the company recognizes many users would object to such data sharing if they knew of it.

"If the cost of a weather forecast will be the sacrifice of deeply private information – like precisely where we are, day and night – it must be clear, in advance," said Feuer in a statement. "But we allege TWC elevates corporate profits over users' privacy, misleading them into allowing their movements to be tracked, 24/7. We're acting to stop this alleged deceit."

Feuer argues Americans need to be properly informed before making privacy decisions.

IBM hardly alone in this

The lawsuit follows a report last month in the New York Times that delved into the extent to which mobile apps gather location data without adequate disclosure and a year of scrutiny of Facebook over its sharing of user data with partners and developers.

TWC, according to the complaint, has been able to convince about 80 per cent of users to grant access to geolocation data. The company is said to collect more than a billion pieces of location data per week.
[…]

IBM defended TWC's disclosure practices. "The Weather Company has always been transparent with use of location data; the disclosures are fully appropriate, and we will defend them vigorously," the company said in an emailed statement.
In a press conference streamed via Twitter – under investigation by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission over its collection of user location data – Feuer expressed skepticism about IBM's defense of its subsidiary.

"If a company were really transparent, that first screen [in the Weather Channel app] would tell the user that their location data was being used for far more than weather," he said.

The lawsuit seeks the statutory penalty under California's Unfair Competition Law, up to $2,500 per violation, or twice that when the victim is disabled or a senior citizen. The app is said to have 45 million monthly users; it's not yet clear how many reside in California. Feuer said it's premature to discuss how much a potential penalty might be.

Feuer made clear that many companies engage in similar downplayed location data gathering. TWC's app was targeted, he said, because it touches all demographics and seems benign and innocuous, because the company claims to have the largest trove of geolocation data and because the company did little to change its practices in the wake of the New York Times expose.

"The issue of our privacy in the digital age is one of the most fundamental issues we confront today," he said.

Auch Apples mit iOS mitgelieferte und unters Volk gebrachte Wetter-App nutzt den Service/die Dienste von The Weather Channel/Company (TWC), ist ein Wrapper drumherum oder gar direkt ein Produkt von TWC:

Hoffentlich war wenigstens der Datenstrom anständig verschlüsselt.

Diese Apperitis, für jeden Kack ne App ist mehr eh völlig fremd. Wieviele Pakete bekommt man denn so am Tag? Wieso reicht da nicht ein einfacher Klick auf den mitgelieferten Link? Demnächst gibt es nur noch Pakete, wenn man bei FB angemeldet ist...zzz grrr.
Mit ner App meiner Versicherung habe ich immer tollen Überblick über all meine Versicherungen... was soll der Scheiß? Sooo langweilig ist's mir nun wirklich nicht.

Diese Apperitis, für jeden Kack ne App ist mehr eh völlig fremd.

Hoffentlich war wenigstens der Datenstrom anständig verschlüsselt.

Genau! Und dieses dämliche Internet und Smartphones! Wozu braucht man den Quatsch? Man sieht doch, wie das Wetter gerade ist oder ob das Paket schon angekommen ist.

rattiBei DHL zb mußt du noch die PLZ eingeben wenn du mehr erfahren willst.

„Wäre nicht ein Technologie großartig, die eine App nur dann vorübergehend aus der Cloud installiert, solange man sie nutzt? Und wenn man sie schliesst, wird sie automatisch wieder vom Handy entfernt — und man würde von all dem nichts merken?“

„Gibt es schon. Nennt sich Website.“

NEW + BIG: @josephfcox gave a bounty hunter $300 and a phone number; the bounty hunter quickly located that phone using a poorly regulated service that is sold to a bunch of private industries including landlords, used car salesmen, and bail bondsmen

Ich habe auch nie den Sinn verstanden von tagesschau-App, Spiegel-App, NDR-App, 9Gag-App, MTN-App,… alle wollen eine App auf mein Handy knallen, und wenn sie erst drauf sind, dann nerven sie rum mit Push-Nachrichten, Werbung und Personalisierung. Kommt mir alles nicht auf's Gerät. Webbrowser und Werbeblocker, fertig.

Kommt noch dazu, dass Redakteure bald von Luft und Liebe leben müssen, wenn die Leute die App nicht installieren und im Browser die Werbung blockieren.

Erreiche interessierte, wertvolle Benutzer mit der kostengünstigsten mobilen Werbeplattform am Markt. …

Kommt noch dazu, dass Redakteure bald von Luft und Liebe leben müssen, wenn die Leute die App nicht installieren und im Browser die Werbung blockieren.

Selbst wenn Seiten wie MTN mit ca. 15€? recht günstig erscheinen würde sich das doch extrem läppern.