Johnny RyanOct 7, 2025
After 8 years of inaction, the DPC now claims that RTB adtech does not provide location data to dodgy firms.
Wrong.
Meet "Patternz" for example:
An Israeli surveillance tool built on RTB data that provides a targeted individual's coordinates and "driving path"
https://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/PATTERNZ-NATIONAL-SECURITY-PATTERN-DETECTION.pdf
Show threadJohnny Ryan
Screenshot from their website shows where a person is, and where they were on what previous days.
Google and other major RTB players are shown as sources for their worldwide data.
https://www.iccl.ie/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/screencapture-isasecurity-org-patternz-2021-06-22-14_12_33.png
Oct 7, 2025 at 8:53amWeb
Show threadJohnny RyanOct 7, 2025
We told the DPC about this. It has known for years.
But yesterday it released this in a statement - perhaps in an attempt to absolve itself from the location scandal shown on national TV recently.
The statement is incorrect.
Show threadJohnny RyanOct 7, 2025

In fact European authorities - including the DPC - have confirmed that RTB does indeed expose people’s location data and movements to data brokers in a binding Article 60 Decision.

See Art 60 Decision of 2/2/2022, EDPB, para 515
https://www.edpb.europa.eu/system/files/2022-03/be_2022-02_decisionpublic_0.pdf

Show threadJohnny RyanOct 7, 2025
The DPC is also contradicted by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.
The recent FTC decision on notorious data broker "Mobilewalla" states plainly that data brokers collect location data from RTB.
https://www.ftc.gov/policy/advocacy-research/tech-at-ftc/2024/12/unpacking-real-time-bidding-through-ftcs-case-mobilewalla
Unpacking Real Time Bidding through FTC’s case on Mobilewalla

The FTC recently 

Federal Trade Commission
Show threadJohnny RyanOct 7, 2025
The DPC is even contradicted by RTB's own technical specification.
Note latitude, longitude, GPS data, IP address, etc...
https://github.com/InteractiveAdvertisingBureau/openrtb2.x/blob/main/2.6.md#objectgeo
openrtb2.x/2.6.md at main · InteractiveAdvertisingBureau/openrtb2.x

OpenRTB 2.x specification, from 2.6 onward. Contribute to InteractiveAdvertisingBureau/openrtb2.x development by creating an account on GitHub.

GitHub
Show threadJohnny RyanOct 7, 2025
The U.S. FTC chair said that ICCL's report on the national security threat of RTB data was the impetus for the FTC's investigation and enforcement against the data broker Mobilewalla collecting RTB location data.
https://www.iccl.ie/digital-data/ftc-acts-against-rtb-company-mobilewalla/