FTC Fines Avast $16.5 Million For Selling Browsing Data Harvested by Antivirus

· Feb 22, 2024 at 1:15 PM

I previously revealed that Jumpshot, part of the cybersecurity company Avast, was selling products based on users’ browsing data harvested by its antivirus software. Now the FTC has issued a multimillion dollar fine in response.

Image: Avast Software. Collage by 404 Media.

🖥️

404 Media is a journalist-owned website. Sign up to support our work and for free access to this article. Learn why we require this here.

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) fined cybersecurity company Avast $16.5 million for selling browsing data that the company harvested through its antivirus software and browser plugins, according to an announcement from the FTC. The sizable fine comes in response to a 2020 investigation of mine, that I worked on in collaboration with PCMag, that uncovered the data selling practices. The FTC will also ban Avast from selling browsing data for advertising purposes in the future.