Potential Privacy Storm for the Weather Company

The City of Los Angeles is suing IBM subsidiary the Weather Company, which it says misinformed those downloading its app about the use of their data.

According to the New York Times, the Weather Channel's information for app users was 'fraudulent and deceptive', in contravention of California's Unfair Competition Law; encouraging them to turn on location tracking for the app with the assurance that it would only be used to personalize weather reports, but then making use of the data for ad targeting.

The lawsuit asks for up to $2,500 for each breach - potentially expensive given the number of Californians who downloaded the app. An IBM spokesman told the Times the Weather Company, which the IT giant bought in 2015, 'has always been transparent with use of location data' and said Big Blue would vigorously defend the case.

Web site: www.theweathercompany.com .