EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE, EVERY MOVE YOU MAKE

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) on Wednesday barred an app alleged to be used as “stalkerware” and banned the company’s CEO from the surveillance industry following allegations that the company had collected and shared data to enable stalking.

As part of the order from the FTC, approved unanimously by commissioners, SpyFone and its CEO Scott Zuckerman were banned from operating in the surveillance business. The FTC further ordered the company to delete data taken from user devices through the SpyFone app, including location information and information on online activities.

The FTC alleged SpyFone sold access to this information in real time, enabling stalkers, domestic abusers and other malicious individuals to follow the movements of those targeted. The FTC also raised concerns that SpyFone lacked basic cybersecurity measures, further exposing individuals with targeted devices.

“SpyFone is a brazen brand name for a surveillance business that helped stalkers steal private information,” Samuel Levine, acting director of the FTC’s Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. “The stalkerware was hidden from device owners, but was fully exposed to hackers who exploited the company’s slipshod security.”