Lithuanian Ad-Tech Firm Linked to Sale of US Military Location Data
A media investigation reveals sensitive data from US military personnel was sold via a complex web of ad-tech companies, raising serious national security concerns.
- A joint media investigation found that location data from US military and intelligence personnel overseas, including at German airbases, was sold by Florida-based data broker Datastream Group.
- The data was traced back to Eskimi, a Lithuanian ad-tech company, which allegedly collected the information through mobile app tracking tools embedded via SDKs.
- US Senator Ron Wyden has pressed both Eskimi and Lithuania's Data Protection Authority (DPA) for answers, with the DPA now gathering information but not yet launching a formal investigation.
- Eskimi, a participant in Google's Authorized Buyer program, denies selling data to Datastream and claims no commercial relationship with the company.
- Experts highlight the opaque nature of the location data industry, warning that advertising companies often operate as surveillance entities by monetizing sensitive data.
WIRED 
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