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Category Archives: Privacy

Google offers more control over the ads you see

ZDNet: “Google on [October 20, 2022] began rolling out a new tool that gives users more control over the ads they see when using Google products – without hampering the way products like Google Search, Discover, and YouTube actually work. My Ad Center, among other things, lets users block whole categories of ads they’re not… Continue Reading

Texas AG Sues Google for its Unau­tho­rized Cap­ture and Use of Bio­met­ric Data and Vio­la­tion of Tex­ans’ Privacy

“Attorney General Paxton has sued Google, alleging that the tech giant has unlawfully captured and used the biometric data of millions of Texans without properly obtaining their informed consent to do so.  The lawsuit alleges that Google, in yet another violation of Texans’ privacy, has collected millions of biometric identifiers, including voiceprints and records of… Continue Reading

Freedom on the Net 2022: Countering an Authoritarian Overhaul of the Internet

“Global internet freedom declined for a 12th consecutive year as more governments erected digital barriers designed to censor dissent and monitor users, according to a report released today by Freedom House. The study finds that more than three-quarters of the world’s internet users now live in countries where authorities punish people for exercising their right… Continue Reading

TikTok Parent ByteDance Planned To Use TikTok To Monitor The Physical Location Of Specific American Citizens

Forbes: “…The team behind the monitoring project — ByteDance’s Internal Audit and Risk Control department — is led by Beijing-based executive Song Ye, who reports to ByteDance cofounder and CEO Rubo Liang. The team primarily conducts investigations into potential misconduct by current and former ByteDance employees. But in at least two cases, the Internal Audit… Continue Reading

DuckDuckGo for Mac beta now open to the public

Spread Privacy: “Enjoy browsing again with a fast, sleek browsing app that cleans up the web as you use it, thanks to DuckDuckGo’s unique built-in privacy protections. New since the closed beta: Duck Player, a YouTube player that helps protect your privacy; password management integration with Bitwarden; upgraded automatic cookie pop-up handling; instant access to… Continue Reading

How to rescue your hacked account: Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, and more

The Verge: “Hackers commandeer online accounts at industrial scale. Here’s how to restore and protect your access to Apple, Facebook, Google, Instagram, Snapchat, Spotify, TikTok, and Twitter. Nearly 2 out of 5 Americans say that hackers have taken over their social media accounts. And those numbers are likely to rise as more and more account… Continue Reading

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cybersecurity issues – October 15, 2022

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cybersecurity issues – October 15, 2022 – 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

Data Protection and Privacy Law: An Introduction

CRS in Focus – Data Protection and PrivacyLaw: An Introduction, Updated October 12, 2022 – “Recent controversy surrounding how third parties protect the privacy of individuals in the digital age has raised national concerns over legal protections of Americans’ electronic data. The current legislative paradigms governing cybersecurity and data privacy are complex and technical and… Continue Reading

How TikTok ate the internet

Washington Post: “If you have not used TikTok, you are rapidly becoming the global exception. In five years, the app, once written off as a silly dance-video fad, has become one of the most prominent, discussed, distrusted, technically sophisticated and geopolitically complicated juggernauts on the internet — a phenomenon that has secured an unrivaled grasp… Continue Reading

Protect your privacy and your phone number with Firefox Relay

Mozilla Distilled: “When you share your personal phone number with anyone outside your circle of family and friends, it essentially gives them permission to call you anytime of the day. This can mean robocallers at lunch and dinner, not to mention spam text messages throughout the day. …The new Firefox Relay phone number masking feature… Continue Reading