Privacy
Stay up to date on privacy news coverage, from data protection, policy and emerging tech, and how startups are trying to solve some of the biggest data privacy problems for the future.
Meta’s ‘pay or consent’ model fails EU competition rules, Commission finds
The EC has found that Meta’s “pay or consent” offer to Facebook and Instagram users in Europe does not comply with the bloc’s DMA.
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Welcome to the fediverse: Your guide to Mastodon, Threads, Bluesky and more
The fediverse isn’t just another social media platform; it’s a rallying cry and a manifesto of sorts.
The EU Digital Identity Wallet: Everything you need to know about the EU’s plans for a universal digital identity system
If all goes to plan, Europeans will be able to download and use a free EU Digital Identity Wallet to access a wide range of public and private services.
A new startup from Figure’s founder is licensing NASA tech in a bid to curb school shootings
Cover says what sets it apart is the underlying technology it employs, which has been exclusively licensed from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
EU member states remain divided on controversial CSAM-scanning plan — but for how long?
Opponents also contend the EU plan will fail at its claimed aim of protecting children, suggesting law enforcement will instead be swamped by millions of false positives.
Stop playing games with online security, Signal president warns EU lawmakers
A controversial European Union legislative proposal to scan the private messages of citizens in a bid to detect child sexual abuse material (CSAM) is a risk to the future of…
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Privacy app maker Proton transitions to nonprofit foundation structure
The newly setup Proton Foundation will serve as the main shareholder to the existing corporate entity that is Proton AG, which will continue as a for-profit company under the auspices of the Foundation.
To give users more control over the contacts an app can and cannot access, the permissions screen has two stages.
LinkedIn to limit targeted ads in EU after complaint over sensitive data use
LinkedIn has confirmed it will no longer allow advertisers to target users based on data gleaned from their participation in LinkedIn Groups. The move comes more than three months after…
Artists got an unpleasant surprise when they opened Photoshop this week, as they were shown a pop-up window asking them to agree to new terms…
The next few weeks could be pivotal for Worldcoin, the controversial eyeball-scanning crypto venture co-founded by OpenAI’s Sam Altman, whose operations remain almost entirely shuttered in the European Union following…
Microsoft hit with EU privacy complaints over schools’ use of 365 Education suite
Microsoft’s education-focused flavor of its cloud productivity suite, Microsoft 365 Education, is facing investigation in the European Union. Privacy rights nonprofit noyb has just lodged two complaints with Austria’s data…
Spain bans Meta from launching election features on Facebook, Instagram over privacy fears
Meta has been banned from launching features on Facebook and Instagram that would have collected data on voters in Spain using the social networks ahead of next month’s European Elections.…
EU’s ChatGPT taskforce offers first look at detangling the AI chatbot’s privacy compliance
A data protection taskforce that’s spent over a year considering how the European Union’s data protection rulebook applies to OpenAI’s viral chatbot, ChatGPT, reported preliminary conclusions Friday. The top-line takeaway…
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Signal’s Meredith Whittaker on the Telegram security clash and the ‘edgelords’ at OpenAI
Among other things, Whittaker is concerned about the concentration of power in the five main social media platforms.
Jolla has taken the official wraps off the first version of its personal server-based AI assistant in the making. The reborn startup is building a privacy-focused AI device — aka…
Flock Safety’s solar-powered cameras could make surveillance more widespread
Flock Safety is a multibillion-dollar startup that’s got eyes everywhere. As of Wednesday, with the company’s new Solar Condor cameras, those eyes are solar-powered and use wireless 5G networks to…
Google’s call-scanning AI could dial up censorship by default, privacy experts warn
A feature Google demoed at its I/O confab yesterday, using its generative AI technology to scan voice calls in real time for conversational patterns associated with financial scams, has sent…
Apple touts stopping $1.8B in App Store fraud last year in latest pitch to developers
Apple released new data about anti-fraud measures related to its operation of the iOS App Store on Tuesday morning, trumpeting a claim that it stopped over $7 billion in “potentially…
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UnitedHealth data breach should be a wake-up call for the UK and NHS
The ransomware attack that has engulfed U.S. health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group and its tech subsidiary Change Healthcare is a data privacy nightmare for millions of U.S. patients, with CEO Andrew Witty confirming this week that it may impact as much as one-third of the country. But it should also…
ChatGPT’s ‘hallucination’ problem hit with another privacy complaint in EU
OpenAI is facing another privacy complaint in the European Union. This one, which has been filed by privacy rights nonprofit noyb on behalf of an individual complainant, targets the inability…
Meta could face further squeeze on surveillance ads model in EU
Meta’s tracking ads business could be facing further legal blows in the European Union: An influential adviser to the bloc’s top court affirmed Thursday that the region’s privacy laws limit…
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Security bugs in popular phone-tracking app iSharing exposed users’ precise locations
The location-sharing app iSharing, which has 35 million users, fixed vulnerabilities that exposed users’ personal information and precise location data.
Mozilla finds that most dating apps are not great guardians of user data
Dating apps are not following great privacy practices and are collecting more data than ever in order to woo Gen Z users, a new study by Mozilla pointed out. Researchers reviewed…
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UnitedHealth says Change hackers stole health data on ‘substantial proportion of people in America’
The health tech giant processes 15 billion health transactions a year, and handles health information for about half of all Americans.
European police chiefs target E2EE in latest demand for ‘lawful access’
The director general of the UK’s National Crime Agency has targeted Meta over its planned expansion of end-to-end encryption to Instagram.
Lawmakers vote to reauthorize US spying law that critics say expands government surveillance
House and Senate lawmakers passed a bill reauthorizing the controversial Section 702 powers under FISA, which allows U.S. spy agencies to conduct warrantless searches of Americans’ communications.
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Your Android phone could have stalkerware — here’s how to remove it
This simple guide helps you identify and remove common consumer-grade spyware apps from your Android phone.
Cape dials up $61M from a16z and more for mobile service that doesn’t use personal data
“You can’t leak or sell what you don’t have,” according to the company’s website.
Adtech giants like Meta must give EU users real privacy choice, says EDPB
The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has published new guidance that has major implications for adtech giants like Meta and other large platforms. Since November 2023, the owner of Facebook…
