"v-Fluence halts operations after widespread backlash over private portal profiling environmental health advocates"

"A US company that was secretly profiling hundreds of food and environmental health advocates in a private web portal has said it has halted the operations in the face of widespread backlash, after its actions were revealed by the Guardian and other reporting partners.

The St Louis, Missouri-based company, v-Fluence, said it is shuttering the service, which it called a “stakeholder wiki”, that featured personal details about more than 500 environmental advocates, scientists, politicians and others seen as opponents of pesticides and genetically modified (GM) crops.

Among those profiled was Robert F Kennedy Jr, President Trump’s controversial pick for secretary of health and human services.

The profiles – part of an effort that was financed, in part, by US taxpayer dollars – often provided derogatory information about the industry opponents and included home addresses and phone numbers and details about family members, including children."

Carey Gillam, Margot Gibbs and Elena DeBre report for the Guardian February 10, 2025. [2]