ZDNet – As TV operating systems become smarter, they present new privacy concerns. Here’s what automatic content recognition (ACR) is all about – and why you should consider turning it off. Did you know that whenever you turn on your smart TV, you invite an unseen guest to watch it with you? These days, most popular TV models utilize automatic content recognition (ACR), a form of ad surveillance technology that gathers information about everything you watch and transmits it to a centralized database. Manufacturers then use your data to identify your viewing preferences, enabling them to deliver highly targeted ads. What’s the incentive behind this invasive technology? According to market research firm eMarketer, in 2022, advertisers spent an estimated $18.6 billion on smart TV ads, and those numbers are only going up. To understand how ACR works, imagine a constant, real-time Shazam-like service running in the background while your TV is on. It identifies content displayed on your screen, including programs from cable TV boxes, streaming services, or gaming consoles. ACR does this by capturing continuous screenshots and cross-referencing them with a vast database of media content and advertisements…”
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Category Archives: Privacy
Building a Trump-Proof Tech Stack Without Big Tech
Joan Westenberg – Here’s What I’m Using [this is a long comprehensive read, and very useful especially for researchers, librarians, government, academics, journalists]: “…Apple, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and other tech companies operating on American soil can talk a big game about their sovereignty, independence, and encryption. But talk may be all it is; there can… Continue Reading
Your face could be in this database. How will it be used?
Thaddeus Johnson, a former police officer, is a senior fellow at the Council on Criminal Justice and teaches criminology at Georgia State University. Natasha Johnson is a faculty member at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State. No Paywall: “Imagine strolling down a crowded sidewalk when police officers stop a man. In… Continue Reading
Protect your personal information, easily take action on outdated content in Search results
Google Blog: “Seeing that others have published your personal information online can be stressful. Google’s newly-redesigned Results about you tool protects your privacy by scanning for results containing information like your phone number or address and helping you quickly remove them. Our new hub makes signing up easier than ever, and with proactive monitoring, we’ll… Continue Reading
Your boss is watching
MIT Technology Review [unpaywalled]: “…A New York Times investigation in 2022 found that eight of the 10 largest private companies in the US track individual worker productivity metrics, many in real time. Specialized software can now measure and log workers’ online activities, physical location, and even behaviors like which keys they tap and what tone… Continue Reading
How to change your settings to make yourself less valuable to Meta
Go to accountscenter.facebook.com and complete the steps below. Continue Reading
Assessing Common PINs
Assessing Common PINs – “ABC News analyzed 29 million leaked four-digit PINs from Have I Been Pwned? (a database of exposed credentials from data breaches) and visualized the data using a grid where each square represents a unique PIN. The brightness of each square indicates the popularity of the code—brighter squares show more commonly used… Continue Reading
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, February 22, 2025
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, February 22, 2025 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex… Continue Reading
A Digital Extension of Historical Bias: Arab Americans and the New Frontier of Algorithmic Discrimination
Via LLRX – A Digital Extension of Historical Bias: Arab Americans and the New Frontier of Algorithmic Discrimination – The integration of artificial intelligence into U.S. national security operations has automated and amplified discriminatory practices established in the post-9/11 era, creating unprecedented barriers for Arab Americans. This paper by Natalie Abdou examines how AI systems… Continue Reading
DOGE Has ‘God Mode’ Access to Government Data
The Atlantic [unpaywalled]: “The president’s special commission now has an unprecedented ability to view and manipulate information at many federal agencies. The employee’s account, along with the accounts of several others across federal agencies, offers the clearest portrait yet of just how deep DOGE has burrowed into the systems of the federal government—and the sensitive… Continue Reading
Climate and DEI Deleted From Government Websites, Federal Workers Fired
Via LLRX – Climate and DEI Deleted From Government Websites, Federal Workers Fired – Since January 20, 2025 America has been catapulted into an unimaginable inflection point. Sabrina I. Pacifici chronicles seismic events in recent weeks which have upended America’s democracy, jeopardized our economy, financial system, national security, science and medical communities, and fractured our… Continue Reading
Back Up Everything. Even if Elon Musk Isn’t Looking at It.
The New York Times [unpaywalled] – “In recent weeks, Elon Musk and his aides have gained access to many federal agencies’ systems and unknown amounts of data. Many readers have written in to share their fears that the agencies — and the personal data they possess on hundreds of millions of taxpayers — are now… Continue Reading
