Tag Archives: privacy

Via press release from Airbnb: Airbnb is banning the use of indoor security cameras in listings globally as part of efforts to simplify our policy on security cameras and other devices and to continue to prioritize the privacy of our community. Historically, Airbnb allowed the use of indoor security cameras in common areas of listings, such as hallways and living …

Business Insider reports: On Thursday, Google agreed to settle a $5 billion class-action privacy lawsuit alleging that it spied on people who used the “incognito” mode in its Chrome browser to track their internet use. The lawsuit filed in 2020 claimed Google misled users into believing that it wouldn’t track their internet activities while using incognito mode. The suit argued …

Ars Technica reports: Genetic profiling service 23andMe has commenced an investigation after private user data was been scraped off its website.  Friday’s confirmation comes five days after an unknown entity took to an online crime forum to advertise the sale of private information for millions of 23andMe users. The forum posts claimed that the stolen data included origin estimation, phenotype, …

Today’s news about TikTok being fined by the European Union reminded me to give you a heads-up that this here website thingy will soon comply with a recent Google edict related to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). All US-based sites that carry Google ads must issue a statement regarding privacy and personal data collection. A new message on …

The Guardian reports: TikTok has been fined €345m (£296m) for breaking EU data law in its handling of children’s accounts, including failing to shield underage users’ content from public view. The Irish data watchdog, which regulates TikTok across the EU, said the Chinese-owned video app had committed multiple breaches of GDPR rules. It found TikTok had contravened GDPR by placing …

CNBC reports: Meta has been fined a record 1.2 billion euro ($1.3 billion) by European privacy regulators over the transfer of EU user data to the U.S. The decision links back to a case brought by Austrian privacy campaigner Max Schrems who argued that the framework for transferring EU citizen data to America did not protect Europeans from U.S. surveillance. …

Reuters reports: Tesla Inc assures its millions of electric car owners that their privacy “is and will always be enormously important to us.” The cameras it builds into vehicles to assist driving, it notes on its website, are “designed from the ground up to protect your privacy.” But between 2019 and 2022, groups of Tesla employees privately shared via an …

Reuters reports: Facebook owner Meta Platforms has agreed to pay $725 million to resolve a class-action lawsuit accusing the social media giant of allowing third parties, including Cambridge Analytica, to access users’ personal information. The proposed settlement would resolve a long-running lawsuit prompted by revelations in 2018 that Facebook had allowed Cambridge Analytica to access data of as many as …

CNBC reports: Epic Games, the developer and publisher of the video game Fortnite, will pay $520 million in fines to settle with the FTC over violations of the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The FTC had alleged that Epic paired children and teens “with strangers,” exposed them to “dangerous and psychologically traumatizing issues,” and failed to introduce adequate parental …

The Washington Post reports: Several top privacy and security executives resigned from Twitter on Thursday, citing fears over the risks from Elon Musk’s leadership, a stunning exodus that prompted federal regulators to warn they might step in. Chief Information Security Officer Lea Kissner tweeted Thursday morning that they had made the “hard decision” to resign, and the company’s chief privacy …

The New York Times reports: Meta was fined roughly $400 million for breaking European Union data privacy laws for its treatment of children’s data on Instagram, the latest in a series of steps by authorities in Europe and the United States to crack down on what information is collected and shared by companies about young people online. European laws give …

Via press release from the FTC: The Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against data broker Kochava Inc. for selling geolocation data from hundreds of millions of mobile devices that can be used to trace the movements of individuals to and from sensitive locations. Kochava’s data can reveal people’s visits to reproductive health clinics, places of worship, homeless and domestic …

Ars Technica reports: Four Democratic US senators today asked the Federal Trade Commission to “investigate Apple and Google for engaging in unfair and deceptive practices by enabling the collection and sale of hundreds of millions of mobile phone users’ personal data.” The letter cited the Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, saying that women “seeking abortions and other reproductive …

Ars Technica reports: A tracking tool installed on many hospitals’ websites has been collecting patients’ sensitive health information—including details about their medical conditions, prescriptions, and doctor’s appointments—and sending it to Facebook. The Markup tested the websites of Newsweek’s top 100 hospitals in America. On 33 of them we found the tracker, called the Meta Pixel, sending Facebook a packet of …

ABC News reports: Washington, D.C., Attorney General Karl Racine has sued Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly failing to protect consumer data following the Cambridge Analytica data leak. “The evidence shows Mr. Zuckerberg was personally involved in Facebook’s failure to protect the privacy and data of its users leading directly to the Cambridge Analytica incident,” Racine said in a statement …

Engadget reports: Grindr’s past willingness to share sensitive data may have been more problematic than previously thought. The Wall Street Journal understands precise Grindr user location data was collected from the online ad network MoPub (once owned by Twitter) and put on sale through its partner company UberMedia (now UM) since “at least” 2017. The LGBTQ dating app curbed the …

The Associated Press reports: Norway’s data privacy watchdog on Wednesday fined gay dating app Grindr 65 million kroner ($7.16 million) for sending sensitive personal data to hundreds of potential advertising partners without users’ consent — a breach of strict European Union privacy rules. The Norwegian Data Protection Authority said it imposed its highest fine to date because the California-based company …

Axios reports: Ray-Ban Stories, the smart glasses being debuted by Facebook and Ray-Ban today, are most notable for just how much they look like a standard pair of the brand’s sunglasses. That speaks to both the most promising and troublesome aspect of the $299 glasses: They look and feel just like a standard pair of Ray-Bans while adding the ability …

CNBC reports: After objections about privacy rights, Apples said Friday it will delay its plan to scan users’ photo libraries for images of child exploitation. “Based on feedback from customers, advocacy groups, researchers and others, we have decided to take additional time over the coming months to collect input and make improvements.” Apple’s CSAM detection system was supposed to go …

The Verge reports: Apple has announced the first US states that will support iOS 15’s new ability to store driver’s licenses and state IDs in the Wallet app. Arizona and Georgia will lead the way, with Connecticut, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Oklahoma, and Utah following after that. No timetable is given for exactly when the new feature will be adopted by …