Digital Chew reports: On Wednesday, Facebook announced they will be updating their terms of service to clarify what it does with user’s social media information. The changes to the TOS are in response to major business shakeups to Facebook’s business since the last time the company implemented major changes in 2015. This news comes after the Facebook/Cambridge Analytica scandal. However, …
Read More »Tag Archives: privacy
Grindr Exec: We’ve Stopped Sharing Users’ HIV Status
Axios reports: Grindr has stopped sharing users’ HIV status with its third-party vendors, the company’s head of security told Axios. However, much of the concerns with Grindr’s data-sharing practices were a misunderstanding of what was being shared and with whom, says Grindr security chief Bryce Case. Grindr may have been sharing more information than needed, but it insists the most …
Read More »Supreme Court To Hear DOJ’s Digital Privacy Case
Bloomberg reports: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether law enforcement officials conducting a criminal investigation can demand data held overseas by Microsoft Corp. and other technology companies in a high-stakes clash over digital privacy. The justices will review a federal appeals ruling that the Trump administration says has become a major obstacle in criminal probes. Already, Google Inc. …
Read More »iFAIL: Apple’s New Facial Recognition Thingy Doesn’t Recognize Face Of Dude Giving Launch Demo [VIDEO]
CNBC reports: During Apple’s demo on stage of the iPhone X’s Face ID, which is supposed to let a user unlock the phone by looking at it, the feature failed. Oops. The new Face ID feature is supposed to be more accurate and secure than Touch ID, which currently lets iPhone users unlock their devices with a fingerprint. But what …
Read More »DOJ Demands Web Hosting Company Turn Over IP Addresses Of Everybody Who Visited Anti-Trump Site
The Washington Post reports: A Los Angeles-based tech company is resisting a federal demand for more than 1.3 million IP addresses to identify visitors to a website set up to coordinate protests on Inauguration Day — a request whose breadth the company says violates the Constitution. “What we have is a sweeping request for every single file we have” in …
Read More »GOP US House Rep Defends Vote To Rollback Web Privacy: Nobody HAS To Use The Internet [VIDEO]
Raw Story reports: In a town hall appearance held on Thursday, Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis. defended his decision to vote to repeal the Broadband Consumer Privacy Rules passed by the FCC last October by arguing that “nobody’s got to use the internet.” When a constituent attending the event in Wisconsin’s fifth district raised the issue that she has only one …
Read More »Twitter Drops Lawsuit After Trump Administration Withdraws Summons To Unmask Anti-Trump Account
The San Jose Mercury News reports: Twitter dropped its legal fight with the federal government Friday after U.S. Customs and Border Protection reversed course and withdrew a summons seeking to unmask the users of an account critical of the Trump administration. “Because the summons has now been withdrawn, Twitter voluntarily dismissed without prejudice all claims against defendant,” said to a …
Read More »GOP Moves To Dismantle Internet Privacy Laws
The New York Times reports: Republican senators moved Thursday to dismantle landmark internet privacy protections for consumers in the first decisive strike against telecommunications and technology regulations created during the Obama administration, and a harbinger of further deregulation. The measure passed in a 50-to-48 vote largely along party lines. The House is expected to mirror the Senate’s action next week, …
Read More »Consumer Reports To Test Mobile Apps, Connected Devices, And Software For Privacy Safeguards
From the Consumer Reports company blog: In our recent CR Consumer Voices survey, 65 percent of Americans told us they are either slightly or not at all confident that their personal data is private and not distributed without their knowledge. We think it’s unfair and unrealistic to expect consumers to constantly play defense when the products and services they use …
Read More »New iPhone Technology Remotely Disables Cameras
The Guardian reports: House Democrats were able to garner wall-to-wall media coverage of their sit-in by broadcasting live from a congressman’s smartphone on 23 June. Yet that may not be possible in the future if a new patent recently granted to Apple is an indication of technology restrictions to come. The patent shows that Apple may allow iPhone cameras to …
Read More »TRAILER: Snowden
From the Daily Beast: The trailer for the forthcoming Oliver Stone movie Snowden has been viewed over two million times less than 24 hours after it was posted on Youtube, suggesting huge interest in the story of one of America’s most polarizing heroes/traitors, ahead of the film’s release in September this year. After the clip was posted, the real Edward …
Read More »Senate Intelligence Committee Readies Encryption Bill Mandating Assistance From Technology Companies
The Hill reports: A long-awaited Senate Intelligence Committee encryption bill would force companies to provide “technical assistance” to government investigators seeking locked data, according to a discussion draft obtained by The Hill. The measure — from Committee Chairman Richard Burr (R-N.C.) and ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) — is a response to concerns that criminals are increasingly using encrypted devices …
Read More »CALIFORNIA: FBI Unlocks San Bernardino Terrorist’s iPhone On Their Own, Drops Lawsuit Against Apple
From the Los Angeles Times: Federal officials on Monday dropped their legal fight against Apple after unlocking the iPhone used by an assailant in last year’s San Bernardino terror attack, leaving unsettled a vexing debate over privacy and security amid rapid advances in technology. The move comes a week after Justice Department officials put a sudden hold on their demands …
Read More »Gawker Hit With Another $25M In Hulk Hogan Case
Via Mediaite: After awarding $115 million to Hulk Hogan for economic and emotional damages in his trial against Gawker, they dropped another bomb on the gossip site with just over $25 million in punitive damages on Monday. While the first amount was designated to compensate Hogan, real name Terry Bollea, for the damage Gawker caused by posting excerpts of a …
Read More »Apple CEO Tim Cook Vows To Continue Fight Against Feds: We Have A Responsibility On Privacy [VIDEO]
MacWorld reports: On Monday, Apple chief executive Tim Cook positioned his company’s stance on protecting privacy as a patriotic duty. Cook addressed the ongoing iPhone privacy issue briefly as part of a presentation where Apple is expected to announce an new iPad Pro mini as well as a smaller iPhone. “We built the iPhone for you, our customers,” Cook said. …
Read More »FLORIDA: Jury Awards Wrestler Hulk Hogan $115M In Invasion Of Privacy Lawsuit Against Gawker.com
The New York Times reports: The retired wrestler Hulk Hogan was awarded $115 million in damages on Friday by a Florida jury in an invasion of privacy case against Gawker.com over its publication of a sex tape — an astounding figure that tops the $100 million he had asked for, that will probably grow before the trial concludes, and that …
Read More »John Oliver On Apple Vs FBI [VIDEO]
Mashable recaps: Apple’s refusal to create a backdoor that would help the FBI get into an iPhone that once belonged to a terrorist caused a number of reactions from businessmen, IT experts and politicians. Few, however, have the ability to summarize different aspects of a complex issue (and throw in a few jokes) as comedian John Oliver, who dissected the …
Read More »Precrime: China Goes Minority Report
Bloomberg reports: China’s effort to flush out threats to stability is expanding into an area that used to exist only in dystopian sci-fi: pre-crime. The Communist Party has directed one of the country’s largest state-run defense contractors, China Electronics Technology Group, to develop software to collate data on jobs, hobbies, consumption habits, and other behavior of ordinary citizens to predict …
Read More »Apple CEO Tim Cook Denounces Federal Court’s Order To Hack iPhone Of San Bernardino Terrorist
Apple CEO Tim Cook today issued a lengthy public letter which forcefully denounces a federal court’s order that his company provide the means to hack the iPhone of one of the San Bernardino terrorists. The Associated Press reports: Apple Inc. CEO Tim Cook says his company will fight a federal magistrate’s order to hack its users in connection with the …
Read More »Edward Snowden Joins Twitter
The Intercept reports: Edward Snowden isn’t just a hashtag anymore. The NSA whistleblower joined Twitter on Tuesday, using the @snowden Twitter handle. Snowden, who has lived in Russia since turning over a trove of top-secret documents to reporters more than two years ago, has remained in the public eye thanks to frequent appearances and interviews using video links and sometimes …
Read More »