Oracle’s 5bn-consumer identity graph ‘violates privacy of billions’: Dr Johnny Ryan, privacy campaigners say in new lawsuit

News 22 Aug 2022 - 4 min read

Oracle’s 5bn-consumer identity graph ‘violates privacy of billions’: Dr Johnny Ryan, privacy campaigners say in new lawsuit

By Sam Buckingham-Jones - Deputy Editor

"We are taking this action to stop Oracle’s surveillance machine," Dr Johnny Ryan says.

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Tags: Oracle, Google, Washington, lobbying, data wars, Android, privacy, Facebook, Amazon Johnny Ryan

Oracle is in the crosshairs of global privacy advocates, with a trio of powerful campaigners – including the Irish Council for Civil Liberties’ Dr Johnny Ryan – filing a class action lawsuit in California alleging violations of privacy on behalf of all internet users. Oracle has “hidden dossiers” on 5 billion people, the lawsuit says, and coordinates a global trade of data through its Data Marketplace.

What you need to know:

Dr Johnny Ryan is among three plaintiffs to file a class action against Oracle for alleged privacy breaches.
Oracle is one of the world’s largest data brokers. Dr Ryan, along with Michael KatzLacabe and Dr Jennifer Golbeck, say they are acting for all internet uses who have had their privacy violated by Oracle. The case has been filed in the Northern District of California.
With 5 billion individual profiles of people and revenues of $42.4 billion, Oracle is one of the world’s biggest data brokers. Ryan et al say those profiles amount to “hidden dossiers” that are violating worldwide internet users.

Three privacy advocates, including Dr Johnny Ryan, have filed a class action lawsuit against Oracle for alleged privacy violations over “hidden dossiers” on 5 billion internet users.

Ryan, who is a Senior Fellow at the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, joined Michael Katz-Lacabe and Dr Jennifer Golbeck to file a lawsuit in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. The complaint, which makes claims under Californian Law, a federal wiretap law, unfair competition and unjust enrichment laws, has been shared publicly.

“Oracle is an important part of the tracking and data industry. It has claimed to have amassed detailed dossiers on 5 billion people, and generates $42.4 billion in annual revenue,” Ryan said in a statement.

Oracle’s data stores include name, home address, email, purchases online and in the real world, physical movements in the real world, income, interests and political views, and a detailed account of online activity, the plaintiffs claim.

Consent is a key part of the case. Those included in the ID Graph compiled by Oracle “lack a direct relationship with Oracle and have no reasonable or practical basis upon which they could legally consent to Oracle’s surveillance,” per the complaint.

Oracle is one of the world’s largest data brokers, with a market capitalisation of US$227 billion. It buys and sells digital data, operates the Oracle Data Marketplace and Oracle ID Graph, and matches and combines individual identities into customer profiles. Interestingly, Oracle has been reported as using Google’s data against it to lobby in Washington.

Ryan is well known in the ad tech world for campaigning against behavioural targeting. He has ongoing lawsuits in other jurisdictions – Ireland, Belgium and Germany, and last year was a part of a case that found an IAB Europe consent system unlawful in its current form. In his statement, Ryan said the company coordinates the global trade of these dossiers through its marketplace. “Oracle has violated the privacy of billions of people across the globe,” he said. “This is a Fortune 500 company on a dangerous mission to track where every person in the world goes, and what they do. We are taking this action to stop Oracle’s surveillance machine.”

In asking for a jury trial of the case, the plaintiffs demanded the court “permanently restrain Oracle, and its officers, agents, servants, employees and attorneys, from intercepting, tracking, collecting, or compiling the personal information of Class members.”

Oracle has been contacted for comment.