US lawmakers question Google, Twitter and others over auction of user data

Washington, United States

A group of US senators have sent letters to some major tech giants such as Google and Twitter to question the digital ad exchanges and whether user’s data has been sold to foreign entities that could use it for blackmail or other unethical practices.

In order to provide services of personalised ads a user receives, businesses gather personal information such as search history, IP address, age, gender and other sensitive information.

US senators have questioned the sale of this data during the auction process which was also provided to AT&T, Index Exchange, Magnite, OpenX, PubMatic and Verizon.

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"Few Americans realize that some auction participants are siphoning off and storing 'bidstream' data to compile exhaustive dossiers about them," Senator Ron Wyden, a Democrat representing Oregon said.

"This information would be a goldmine for foreign intelligence services that could exploit it to inform and supercharge hacking, blackmail, and influence campaigns," Wyden added.  

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The senators believe information such as user’s location, web activity, age, gender and devices can be gathered for the purpose of personalising ads.

"These dossiers are being openly sold to anyone with a credit card, including to hedge funds, political campaigns, and even to governments," the senators wrote.

Senators have given these big tech companies time till May 04 to respond to these questions. However, AT&T has denied the accusations.

"We received the letter and will respond as requested, but we have thorough processes in place to protect the data referenced in the letter," the company said.