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Category Archives: Privacy

Google’s Bard AI chatbot has learned to talk

Engadget – It understands 40 languages and can speak its responses. “Google’s Bard gained a handful of new features and functions Thursday in the chatbot AI’s latest round of updates, including expanded linguistic knowledge, more nuanced response controls and the ability to respond with spoken word in addition to text. In all the AI can… Continue Reading

Blocking unknown callers and other WhatsApp privacy features you should turn on right now

Popular Science – You can now access the app’s security and privacy tools more easily.  “WhatsApp’s new Privacy Checkup menu gives you the ability to block unknown callers, but that’s not the only way it will protect your one-on-one conversations and thriving group chats. The messaging app has come a long way in terms of… Continue Reading

Report – Meta and Tax Prep Companies “Recklessly” Shared Taxpayers’ Data

Elizabeth Warren: “Today I released a new 54-page report revealing that Big Tax Prep companies have recklessly shared personal and financial data of millions of taxpayers with Big Tech for years. Regulators need to fully investigate and prosecute those who violated the law… Via The MarkUp: “Meta and major tax preparation companies inappropriately shared millions… Continue Reading

FDA Approves First Nonprescription Daily Oral Contraceptive

“Today, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Opill (norgestrel) tablet for nonprescription use to prevent pregnancy— the first daily oral contraceptive approved for use in the U.S. without a prescription. Approval of this progestin-only oral contraceptive pill provides an option for consumers to purchase oral contraceptive medicine without a prescription at drug stores, convenience… Continue Reading

TikTok: Technology Overview and Issues

CRS Report – TikTok: Technology Overview and Issues, Updated June 30, 2023: “TikTok is a globally popular video-sharing smartphone application (app) owned by ByteDance Ltd., a privately held company headquartered in Beijing, China. It is under increasing scrutiny by the U.S. government as a potential privacy and security risk to U.S. citizens. This is because… Continue Reading

Google hit with lawsuit alleging it stole data from millions of users to train AI tools

CNN: “…The complaint alleges that Google “has been secretly stealing everything ever created and shared on the internet by hundreds of millions of Americans” and using this data to train its AI products, such as its chatbot Bard. The complaint also claims Google has taken “virtually the entirety of our digital footprint,” including “creative and… Continue Reading

Facebook could be tracking your online Plan B or HIV test purchases

Popular Science: “Looking for an at-home HIV test on CVS’ website is not as private an experience as one might think. An investigation by The Markup and KFF Health News found trackers on CVS.com telling some of the biggest social media and advertising platforms the products customers viewed. And CVS is not the only pharmacy… Continue Reading

How Threads’ privacy policy compares to Twitter’s (and its rivals’)

Ars Technica: “Here’s what is collected by Threads, as well as by Twitter, Bluesky, Mastodon, Spill, and Hive Social. Meta’s long-awaited Twitter alternative is here, and it’s called Threads. The new social media app launches at a time when alternatives, like Bluesky, Mastodon, and Spill, are vying for users who are dissatisfied with Elon Musk’s… Continue Reading

The Atlas of Surveillance

EFF: “The Atlas of Surveillance is a database of surveillance technologies deployed by law enforcement in communities across the United States. This includes drones, body-worn cameras, automated license plate readers, facial recognition, and more. This research was compiled by more than 1,000 students and volunteers, and incorporates datasets from a variety of public and non-profit… Continue Reading

Google Says It’ll Scrape Everything You Post Online for AI

Gizmodo – “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.… Continue Reading

LLRX June 2023 Issue

LLRX June 2023 Issue – Articles and Columns for June 2023 Brevity is the Soul of Profit: What Lawyers Need to Know About Executive Summaries – Elizabeth Southerland – The purpose of an executive summary is to boil this down to a few sentences that tell the leader what they want to know. AI and… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, June 30, 2023

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, June 30, 2023 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly… Continue Reading