In March, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced an ongoing investigative sweep into the location data industry, highlighting growing concerns about the potential misuse of individual location data. The investigation seeks to uncover practices that may violate the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). 

The CCPA is one of the nation’s strictest pieces of privacy legislation at the state level. And while many organizations in the location data ecosystem are fully compliant with CCPA regulations – and in some cases, going a step further by developing privacy enhancing tools of their own – one can appreciate Attorney General Bonta’s commitment to enforcing privacy protections.

Perhaps somewhat misunderstood, however, are the number of benefits location data provides to California’s first responders, local governments, environmental protection organizations, among others. It’s essential that Bonta and other stakeholders recognize its critical importance – particularly for California – as they weigh additional enforcement.

Wildfires show data importance

One has to look no further than January’s wildfires in Los Angeles County to understand the vital role location data plays for local governments and first responders.

Organizations like Unacast actively partner with first responders and emergency services providers to help them better prepare for, and respond to, natural disasters. For the recent wildfires in Los Angeles, Unacast’s data revealed stark differences in how communities responded to wildfire evacuation orders.

For example, in the affluent neighborhood of Palisades, many residents were able to evacuate out of state, relocating to areas like the Rocky Mountains and the Southwest – often using second homes or leveraging greater financial resources. Meanwhile, nearby Altadena, a less affluent area, saw more localized displacement, with minimal out-of-state movement and a heavier reliance on nearby shelters and in-state relocation options.

These insights reveal how socioeconomic factors shape evacuation behavior and demonstrate how location data can help guide more equitable emergency planning and resource allocation such as the number of needed emergency shelters in particular areas or the best evacuation routes.

Schools also use the data

Universities are also leveraging location data to increase our understanding of evacuations during natural disasters. For example, the Natural Hazards Center at the University of Colorado Boulder leveraged Unacast’s insights to model evacuation behavior during the 2019 Kincade Fire in Sonoma County. The study’s findings were ultimately shared with emergency officials to inform how and when communities should be warned or when communities should start to evacuate.

In addition, Dr. Xilei Zhao of the University of Florida, has leveraged location data to study evacuation behavior across a range of catastrophic events, helping advance equitable and effective transportation planning during emergencies.

Economic impact assessment

Even beyond fire response, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is currently using aggregated human mobility data to conduct an economic impact assessment focused on beach and waterway usage.

The goal is to better allocate resources, especially in underserved communities vulnerable to flooding, hurricanes, and other climate-related events – demonstrating the wide-ranging, cross-sector utility of ethical, privacy-forward location data.

As climate change continues to affect communities across the world, California, in particular, will unfortunately come to expect more natural disasters. In 2024, California experienced 78 more annual “fire days” – when conditions are ripe for fires – than 50 years ago. It’s becoming clear that location data has a role in helping local governments and first responders in California prepare for more such days.

While location data is often associated with its private sector use cases, for instance – a retailer may use location data to better understand foot traffic in and around their store – it’s critical that we understand its broader use cases and societal benefits. Location data has the potential to fuel innovation within our communities and help solve some of our most pressing challenges.

 We hope Attorney General Bonta considers the myriad applications of location data as he conducts his investigation.

Jeff White is the founder and chief executive of Unacast, a provider of global location intelligence. Prior to founding Unacast, he founded govwin.com and sold the company to a publicly traded software company (Deltek). He also founded Blue Canopy, twice named to the Top 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in America and led the sale of Blue Canopy.