Google touts privacy options, but still depends on your data
SAN FRANCISCO – Google’s latest phone and smart-home devices came packaged with a not-so-subtle message: Google cares about your privacy. Does it? The tech company has had a complicated relationship...
View ArticleAustralian consumer watchdog sues Google over location data
CANBERRA, Australia — The Australian consumer watchdog is taking Google to court alleging the technology giant broke consumer law by misleading Android users about how their location data was used. The...
View Article50 years after internet conception, dark side stirs fear
SAN FRANCISCO — On October 29, 1969, Professor Leonard Kleinrock and a team at the University of California at Los Angeles got a computer to “talk” to a machine in what is now known as Silicon Valley....
View ArticleGoogle sued by Australian regulator over location tracking
CANBERRA, Australia — Australia’s consumer watchdog sued Google on Tuesday alleging the technology giant broke consumer law by misleading Android users about how their location data was collected and...
View ArticleApple resumes human reviews of Siri audio with iPhone update
Apple is resuming the use of humans to review Siri commands and dictation with the latest iPhone software update. In August, Apple suspended the practice and apologized for the way it used people,...
View ArticleGoogle, Facebook business models threat to rights – Amnesty report
San Francisco, United States — The data-collection business model fueling Facebook and Google represents a threat to human rights around the world, Amnesty International said in a report Wednesday. The...
View ArticlePrivacy, once hidden topic, gets attention at CES tech show
LAS VEGAS — Once a hidden and under-the-radar topic, privacy got more attention at the CES gadget show in Las Vegas this week. Startups now volunteer information about how they’re securing your data...
View ArticleFacebook rolls out tool globally to clear third-party data
The new feature, part of an effort to improve privacy, allows users to see and clear "off Facebook activity" used for targeted advertising.
View ArticlePrivacy rights may become next victim of killer pandemic
Digital surveillance may prove helpful in containing the coronavirus, but some fear this could harm privacy and digital rights.
View ArticlePrivacy groups: TikTok app violating children’s privacy
Privacy watchdogs say that the popular TikTok video app is violating a children’s privacy law and putting kids at risk. A coalition of 20 groups, including Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood and...
View ArticleVirus tracing app raises privacy concerns in India
NEW DELHI — As India enters an extended coronavirus lockdown, the government is actively pursuing contact tracing to help control infections. At the heart of the effort in the country of 1.3 billion...
View ArticleVideo app TikTok names top Disney streaming exec as new CEO
TikTok, the popular short-video app that has also drawn national-security and privacy concerns, has a new high-profile CEO from Disney, Kevin Mayer. Mayer will also be chief operating officer of...
View ArticleSignal users can now securely transfer their data from one device to another
Signal, the high-fidelity private messaging application, announced on Tuesday that a new feature has been added.
View ArticleWeb inventor: Closing digital divide must be top priority
UNITED NATIONS — World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lee said Thursday the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrates “the gross inequality” of a world where almost half the population is unable to connect to the...
View ArticleCoronavirus tracing app a test for privacy-minded Germany
BERLIN — Germany launched a coronavirus tracing app Tuesday that officials say is so secure even government ministers can use it. Smartphone apps have been touted as a high-tech tool in the effort to...
View ArticleGoogle tweaks privacy settings to keep less user data
Google is tweaking its privacy settings to keep less data on new users by default. The search giant said that starting Wednesday, it will automatically and continuously delete web and app activity and...
View ArticleReddit to release updated mobile app after clipboard privacy outcry
Reddit and other social media platforms are removing code from mobile apps which copied user clipboard contents.
View ArticleNew York bans use of facial recognition tech in schools until 2022
Lawmakers of the state of New York on Wednesday, July 22, passed a moratorium of facial recognition technology stating that it cannot be used in schools until at least 2022. In response to the Lockport...
View ArticleFacebook adds security to Messenger with Face ID unlock option
Facebook has begun rolling out additional security features for its dedicated chat application, Messenger, that will make it essentially impossible for anyone to read your conversations in the app —...
View ArticleCan we escape personalized internet content?
Is having digitally personalized content useful for us or the platforms creating them? Both, it seems. According to Netflix, 80% of the content its users watch stems from its personalized...
View ArticleIrish data regulator probes Instagram use of child data
Dublin, Ireland — Ireland’s data protection agency is investigating Instagram following concerns over how the image-sharing social platform handles children’s personal data, a spokesman said Monday....
View ArticleFacebook shuts dozens of Myanmar pages over ‘inauthentic behavior’
SINGAPORE — Facebook said on Friday it dismantled dozens of accounts and pages run in Myanmar by commercial operators because of what it described as inauthentic behavior, including some it said were...
View ArticleYour personal data is a goldmine, but would you ever consider selling it?
Californians recently adopted proposed legislation aiming to give users more control over their personal information online.
View ArticleWhatsApp delays data sharing change after backlash
SAN FRANCISCO, United States – WhatsApp on Friday postponed a data-sharing change as users concerned about privacy fled the Facebook-owned messaging service and flocked to rivals Telegram and Signal....
View ArticleWhatsApp flap shows importance of message platform to Facebook
WASHINGTON — When WhatsApp users began to raise concerns about a new privacy policy being rolled out, members of a Washington pickup soccer group decided to switch their communications to rival...
View ArticleFacebook to pay $650 million settlement over US privacy dispute
WASHINGTON — A US federal judge has given final approval to Facebook’s $650 million payment to settle a privacy dispute between the social media giant and 1.6 million users in the state of Illinois....
View ArticleWhich apps are the least friendly when it comes to respecting user privacy?
The social network Instagram has been found to share as much as 79% of the personal data provided by the user.
View ArticleWhatsApp delays enforcing new privacy terms
WASHINGTON – Facebook-owned messaging colossus WhatsApp on Friday retreated again from its plan to force users to accept new terms which critics said could expand data collection from its two billion...
View ArticleIreland rejects Facebook bid to block regulatory data probe
DUBLIN — Ireland’s High Court on Friday rejected Facebook’s bid to block an investigation that could potentially stop data transfers from the European Union to the United States. “I refuse all of the...
View ArticleApple revives encryption debate with move on child exploitation
Apple’s announcement that it would scan encrypted messages for evidence of child sexual abuse has revived debate on online encryption and privacy, raising fears the same technology could be used for...
View ArticleTikTok ramps up privacy protection for teens
SAN FRANCISCO – TikTok became the latest tech company Thursday to announce tighter protections for teenagers as social media platforms come under increased scrutiny over their privacy safeguards. The...
View ArticleApple defends child protection features over privacy concerns
SAN FRANCISCO – Apple on Friday defended new child protection features that would check images uploaded to its cloud storage and on its messaging platform, rejecting concerns the updates pose threats...
View ArticleAfter criticism, Apple says it will delay child safety updates
Apple Inc said on Friday it would take more time to collect feedback and improve proposed child safety features after the criticism of the system on privacy and other grounds both inside and outside...
View ArticleSingapore patrol robots stoke fears of surveillance state
SINGAPORE — Singapore has trialed patrol robots that blast warnings at people engaging in “undesirable social behavior”, adding to an arsenal of surveillance technology in the tightly controlled...
View ArticleTwitter bans sharing of photos without consent
SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter launched new rules Tuesday blocking users from sharing private images of other people without their consent, in a tightening of the network’s policy just a day after it...
View ArticleNPC: Data aggregators ‘unlikely to be the source’ of personalized sham texts
MANILA, Philippines — Data aggregators “are unlikely to be the source of the recent wave of targeted smishing messages” that include the name of recipients, the National Privacy Commission (NPC) said...
View ArticleMeta’s New Privacy Settings For Teens Now Active
Facebook will become a safer platform for young people. Meta’s new privacy settings for teens will protect them from potentially dangerous adults. The new features will become the default for new...
View ArticleItaly bans US-based AI chatbot Replika from using personal data
MILAN/LONDON — Italy’s Data Protection Agency said on Friday it was prohibiting artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot company Replika from using the personal data of Italian users, citing risks to...
View ArticleIs Someone Watching You? How to Spot Hidden Cameras with a Detector
Does it seem like someone is watching you? You’re not alone. Nowadays, hidden cameras are everywhere, so ensure you have a detector. Some are only in people’s pockets, while others are cleverly...
View ArticleCamera tech CamPro prevents unauthorized recognition
Facial recognition enables camera surveillance to identify people based on their faces. It has various purposes, such as finding missing people, identifying people at airports, and unlocking...
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