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2019 has marked the year where activists worldwide have taken action against the use of privacy-threatening facial recognition technology in public spaces. Learn more:
The most sweeping data-privacy law in the country kicks in Jan. 1. The CCPA, short for the California Consumer Privacy Act, gives residents of the Golden State the right to learn what data companies collect about them. It also lets Californians ask companies to delete their data and not to sell it. Learn more about CCPA in a comprehensive CNet article:
The New York Times has obtained a massive data set of over 50 billion location pings linked to more than 12 million phones which illustrates the ease with which tech companies can track and identify individuals. What are your thoughts on this? Learn more:
New findings by security firm Pen Test Partners reveal that 47 million devices worldwide could be exposed and tracked thanks to a strikingly insecure cloud platform. Learn more about the privacy risks associated with these smartwatches:
Thanks to a statewide policy banning law enforcement use of facial recognition for three years, several agencies in San Diego will lose access to a database of facial scans on January 1, 2020. Learn more:
Five ad industry groups have asked California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to change stipulations about cookie-blocking in the state’s impending, far-reaching, almost-GDPR-but-not-quite privacy law, which goes into effect in the new year. What is your opinion on this request? Learn more:
EFF and a coalition of privacy advocates have filedcommentswith the California Attorney General seeking strong regulations to protect consumer data privacy. The draft regulations are a good step forward, but the final regulations should go further. What are your thoughts on the draft regulations that were published in October? Learn more:
The government claims that the new requirement will prevent fraud for citizens, but critics see it as the furthering of invasive surveillance measures. What are your thoughts? Learn more in an interesting Security Today article:
The use of facial recognition technology iscontinuing to expand, despite concerns about itsaccuracy and fairnessand about how it could be used by governments to spy on people. These concerns have been heightened following a report by theFinancial Timeswhich shows that Chinese groups have a significant influence in shaping international standards regarding the technology. Learn more:
Pressure is gathering for a federal privacy law in the US with the introduction of a second bill that would protect consumer data. The Consumer Online Privacy Rights Act from Washington Senator Maria Cantwell not only outlines strict privacy and security rules, but also establishes a dedicated FTC office to enforce them. Cantwell also pointed out in her Bill announcement that it defines privacy as a right in federal law. How do you feel about this bill? Learn more:
The Indian government is planning to gain unrestricted access to non-personal data of people in India, according to a report byTech2.Non-personal data is anonymized data which can’t be traced back to identify a person. For example, weather sensors without a specific location or e-Commerce data without personal identification. What are your thoughts on this initiative and its privacy implications? Learn more in a great The Next Web article:
Amid months of damaging investigative reporting and pressure by advocacy groups like EFF, senators are finally joining the fight to learn just how invasive and harmful Amazon’s Ring cameras are to the privacy of people in their vicinity. What are your thoughts on Ring cameras? Learn more in an interesting EFF article:
Bringing an assistant into the phone calls of customers to help with a restaurant booking is an idea fraught with privacy concerns. Australian telco Optus recently opened a privacy can of worms when the company introduced internally a live-transcription service that captures the phone call interaction between customers and a call centre officer. What is your opinion on this technology and its potential privacy implications? Learn more in an interesting ZDNet article:
Portland, Maine is looking to join Berkeley, San Francisco and Oakland, California in banning facial recognition technology. The ban seeks to prohibit the use of all facial recognition technology by city officials and employees. What is your opinion on this proposal? We strongly support it. Learn more:
The popular VPN provider, NordVPN, recently announced a server breach at a third-party data center. This breach has led many users to question what the best strategy is for protecting their privacy and security online. Learn about VPNs and how VPN services can better protect their users in a great EFF article:
The Indian government has played down fears of mass surveillance in response to concerns that its proposed facial recognition system lacks adequate oversight. What are your thoughts on this system and the privacy concerns surrounding it? Learn more in a great The Next Web article:
All six major browser vendors have plans to support DNS-over-HTTPS (or DoH), a protocol that encrypts DNS traffic and helps improve a user's privacy on the web. Learn more about this protocol, which is already present in all major browsers, that users love and ISPs hate in an interesting ZDNet article:
Automated License Plate Readers(ALPRs)—a mass surveillance technology that allows law enforcement to record the location and travel patterns of nearly every driver on the road—are poorly regulated, threaten privacy, and worsen the racial and economic inequalities already ingrained in our justice system. What are your thoughts on this privacy threat and how it should be handled? Learn more in an interesting EFF article:
Brain computer interface technology is developing fast. But just because we can read data from others' minds, should we? One thing is for sure: the implications that BCIs would have on privacy, security and inequality should be taken into account. What are your thoughts on this? Learn more:
New York City lawmakers are not advocating an outright ban of facial recognition technology, but say that regulation is necessary to know how police and business owners are using the software. What is your opinion on this? We'd love to hear your thoughts. Learn more in a great Security Today article:
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