Today’s story is about Philips Hue by Signify. They will soon start forcing accounts on all users and upload user data to their cloud. For now, Signify says you’ll still be able to control your Hue lights locally as you’re currently used to, but we don’t know if this may change in the future. The Read more about Philips Hue will force users to upload their data to Hue cloud – changing their TOS after you bought the product for not needing an account[…]

T-Mobile US has had another bad week on the infosec front – this time stemming from a system glitch that exposed customer account data, followed by allegations of another breach the carrier denied. According to customers who complained of the issue on Reddit and X, the T-Mobile app was displaying other customers’ data instead of Read more about T-Mobile US exposes some customer data, but don’t say breach[…]

The Dutch Data Protection Foundation (SDBN) wants to enforce a mass claim for 11 million people through the courts against social media company X, the former Twitter. Between 2013 and 2021, that company owned the advertising platform MoPub, which, according to the privacy foundation, illegally traded in data from users of more than 30,000 free Read more about Dutch privacy watchdog SDBN sues twitter for collecting and selling data via Mohub (wordfeud, duolingo, etc) without notifying users[…]

[…] Specifically, the web giant’s Privacy Sandbox APIs, a set of ad delivery and analysis technologies, now function in the latest version of the Chrome browser. Website developers can thus write code that calls those APIs to deliver and measure ads to visitors with compatible browsers. That is to say, sites can ask Chrome directly Read more about Google Chrome’s Privacy Sandbox: any site can now query all your habits[…]

The Foundation for the Protection of Privacy Interests and the Consumers’ Association are taking the next step in their fight against Google. The tech company is being taken to court today for ‘large-scale privacy violations’. The proceedings demand, among other things, that Google stop its constant surveillance and sharing of personal data through online advertising Read more about Google taken to court in NL for large scale privacy breaches[…]

[…] The foundation, the Firefox browser maker’s netizen-rights org, assessed the privacy policies and practices of 25 automakers and found all failed its consumer privacy tests and thereby earned its Privacy Not Included (PNI) warning label. If you care even a little about privacy, stay as far away from Nissan’s cars as you possibly can Read more about Mozilla investigates 25 major car brands and finds privacy is shocking[…]

In the past I’ve sometimes described Australia as the land where internet policy is completely upside down. Rather than having a system that protects intermediaries from liability for third party content, Australia went the opposite direction. Rather than recognizing that a search engine merely links to content and isn’t responsible for the content at those Read more about Australian Government, Of All Places, Says Age Verification Is A Privacy & Security Nightmare[…]

Is Achmea or Bol.com customer service putting you on hold? Then everything you say can still be heard by some of their employees. This is evident from research by Radar. When you call customer service, you often hear: “Please note: this conversation may be recorded for training purposes.” Nothing special. But if you call the Read more about Companies are recording your conversations whilst you are on hold with them[…]

China has released draft regulations to govern the country’s facial recognition technology that include prohibitions on its use to analyze race or ethnicity. According to the the Cyberspace Administration of China(CAC), the purpose is to “regulate the application of face recognition technology, protect the rights and interests of personal information and other personal and property Read more about China floats rules for facial recognition technology – they are good and be great if the govt was bound by them too![…]

This weekend, a federal court tossed a subpoena in a case against the internet service provider Grande that would require Reddit to reveal the identities of anonymous users that torrent movies. The case was originally filed in 2021 by 20 movie producers against Grande Communications in the Western District of Texas federal court. The lawsuit Read more about Reddit Wins, Doesn’t Have to NARC on Users Who Discussed Torrenting[…]

Nearly three years after a 2020 court decision threatened to grind transatlantic e-commerce to a halt, the European Union has adopted a plan that will allow US tech giants to continue storing data about European users on American soil. In a decision announced Monday, the European Commission approved the Trans-Atlantic Data Privacy Framework. Under the Read more about New privacy deal allows US tech giants to continue storing European user data on American servers[…]

Google updated its privacy policy over the weekend, explicitly saying the company reserves the right to scrape just about everything you post online to build its AI tools. If Google can read your words, assume they belong to the company now, and expect that they’re nesting somewhere in the bowels of a chatbot. “Google uses Read more about Google Says It’ll Scrape Everything You Post Online for AI[…]

In 2015, Democratic Elk Grove Assemblyman Jim Cooper voted for Senate Bill 34, which restricted law enforcement from sharing automated license plate reader (ALPR) data with out-of-state authorities. In 2023, now-Sacramento County Sheriff Cooper appears to be doing just that. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) a digital rights group, has sent Cooper a letter requesting Read more about Sacramento Sheriff is sharing license plate reader data with anti-abortion states, records show[…]

Amidst ongoing protests in France, the country has just passed a new bill that will allow police to remotely access suspects’ cameras, microphones, and GPS on cell phones and other devices. As reported by Le Monde, the bill has been criticized by the French people as a “snoopers” charter that allows police unfettered access to Read more about France Allows Police to Remotely Turn On GPS, Camera, Audio on Phones[…]

A US-based fraud prevention company is in hot water over allegations it not only collected data from millions of EU citizens and processed it using automated tools without their knowledge, but that it did so in the United States, all in violation of the EU’s data protection rules. The complaint was filed by Austrian privacy Read more about $6.3b US firm Telesign breached GDPR, reputation-scoring half of the population of the planet with mobiles[…]

As of January 14, 2021, Google officially became the owner of Fitbit. That worried many privacy conscious users. However, Google promised that “Fitbit users’ health and wellness data won’t be used for Google ads and this data will be kept separate from other Google ad data” as part of the deal with global regulators when Read more about Fitbit Privacy & security guide – no one told me it would send my data to the US[…]

A former employee of Amazon.com’s Ring doorbell camera unit spied for months on female customers in 2017 with cameras placed in bedrooms and bathrooms, the Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing on Wednesday when it announced a $5.8 million settlement with the company over privacy violations. Amazon also agreed to pay $25 million Read more about Amazon’s Ring used to spy on customers, children, FTC says in privacy settlement[…]

[…] Today the European Data Protection Board (EDPB) announced that Meta has been fined €1.2 billion (close to $1.3 billion) — which the Board confirmed is the largest fine ever issued under the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). (The prior record goes to Amazon which was stung for $887 million for misusing customers data Read more about Meta ordered to suspend Facebook EU data flows as it’s hit with record €1.2BN privacy fine under GDPR – 10 years and 3 court cases later[…]

A spate of child safety rules might make going online in a few years very different, and not just for kids. In 2022 and 2023, numerous states and countries are exploring age verification requirements for the internet, either as an implicit demand or a formal rule. The laws are positioned as a way to protect Read more about Online age verification is coming, and privacy is on the chopping block[…]

Right now, developers simply need to declare to Google that account deletion is somehow possible, but beginning next year, developers will have to make it easier to delete data through both their app and an online portal. Google specifies: For apps that enable app account creation, developers will soon need to provide an option to Read more about Google Will Require Android Apps to Make Account Deletion Easier[…]

“We could see inside people’s garages and their private properties,” a former employee told Reuters. “Let’s say that a Tesla customer had something in their garage that was distinctive, you know, people would post those kinds of things.” One office in particular, located in San Mateo, reportedly had a “free-wheeling” atmosphere, where employees would share Read more about Tesla Employees Have Been Meme-ing Your Private Car Videos[…]

Speed cameras have been around for a long time and so have dash cams. The uniquely devious idea of combining the two into a traffic hall monitor’s dream device was not a potential reality until recently, though. According to the British Royal Automobile Club, such a combination is coming soon. The app, which is reportedly Read more about Dashcam App is driving nazi informer wet dream, Sends Video of You Speeding and other infractions Directly to Police[…]

[…] In 2017, the DHS began quietly rolling out its facial recognition program, starting with international airports and aimed mainly at collecting/scanning people boarding international flights. Even in its infancy, the DHS was hinting this was never going to remain solely an international affair. It made its domestic desires official shortly thereafter, with the TSA Read more about TSA Confirms Biometric Scanning Soon Won’t Be Optional Even For Domestic Travelers[…]