CAIR, Georgetown Law Clinic to Announce Filing of FTC Complaint in Response to 'Deceptive and Unfair Extraction of Personal Data' from Muslim Apps for Use in Warrantless Surveillance

WASHINGTON, April 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- On Tuesday, April 12, the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) and its counsel, the Communications & Technology Law Clinic (CTLC) at Georgetown University Law Center, plan to hold a news conference at CAIR'S Washington, D.C., headquarters to announce the filing of a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) complaint over alleged deceptive and unfair practices used to extract personal data from Muslim app users for potential use in warrantless surveillance. 

CAIR and CTLC are requesting that the FTC investigate and enforce "potential violations of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act across the location data industry." 

WHAT: CAIR and CTLC News Conference on Deceptive Extraction of Muslim App Users' Data 
WHEN: Tuesday, April 12, 11 a.m. 
WHERE: CAIR Capitol Hill Headquarters, 453 New Jersey Avenue, SE, Washington, D.C. 
CONTACT: CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, [email protected]; CAIR National Deputy Director Edward Ahmed Mitchell, 404-285-9530, [email protected]
LIVESTREAMING: https://www.facebook.com/CAIRNational 

"The FTC must take action to protect Muslim consumers from surreptitious collection and unconsented dissemination of their location data," said CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas. "The FTC is the federal agency with sufficient authority to end these troubling practices by the location data industry." 

"Actors in the location data industry consistently violate the trust of consumers, increasing the risk that their movements will be tracked for unscrupulous purposes," said Luke Evans, a student in the Georgetown Law clinic representing CAIR on the complaint. 

"These unfair and deceptive trade practices violate the FTC Act and infringe on the constitutionally protected freedoms of millions of Americans," said Quinten Stewart, another student in the clinic. 

CTLC works on matters at the intersection of law and technology. The clinic advocates on behalf of nonprofit organizations and individuals seeking to advance policies that promote the use of technologies to serve underrepresented groups.

CAIR's mission is to protect civil rights, enhance understanding of Islam, promote justice, and empower American Muslims. 

To join CAIR's media list, go to: https://action.cair.com/a/newsletters 

CONTACT: CAIR Senior Litigation Attorney Gadeir Abbas, 720-251-0425, [email protected]; CTLC Director Prof. Laura Moy, 202-662-9547, [email protected]; CTLC Teaching Fellow Victoria Tang, 202-662-9543, [email protected]; CTLC Student Attorney Luke Evans, 614-564-7221, [email protected]; CTLC Student Attorney Quinten Stewart, 704-247-0030, [email protected]; CAIR National Communications Director Ibrahim Hooper, 202-744-7726, [email protected]; Georgetown Law Office of Communications, [email protected]

SOURCE Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)