Latest News: Privacy

Meta, formerly known as Facebook, has agreed to a $1.4 billion settlement with Texas to resolve allegations that it collected and used biometric data from millions of Texas residents without their consent. The settlement, announced by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, is the largest ever for a

Google Maps will transition its Timeline feature from cloud-based to on-device storage by December 1, 2024. The feature, previously known as Location History, tracks routes and visits. It will now link this information to individual devices instead of cloud-based Google accounts. This change was

Microsoft's new AI feature for Windows 11, called Recall, which is designed to "recall" user activities on compatible PCs, has triggered privacy alarms following its Monday reveal at an AI event. The Recall feature captures screenshots of the active window every few seconds to create a

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued substantial fines totaling nearly $200 million against four major US telecom companies — AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, and Sprint — for illicitly selling customers' location data without their consent. This landmark decision wraps up a lengthy

A covert operation undertaken by Facebook, known internally as "Project Ghostbusters," has been exposed, revealing the company performed secret surveillance on Snapchat's network traffic. This was done to covertly analyze user behavior and gain a competitive edge. Initiated in 2016, this secretive

The US House of Representatives has passed a bill requiring TikTok's parent company, ByteDance, to divest the app's US assets. The House voted overwhelmingly (352-65) to pass the legislation, which gives ByteDance a six-month ultimatum to sell TikTok's US business or face a ban. The bill gained

What Does it Mean for Personal Privacy, Secure Communication, and Access to Information? Russian sources have announced that a ban on VPN services will go into effect on March 1st. The ban encompasses advertisements and websites that provide information about how to bypass blocked resources in

The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has imposed a $16.5 million fine on Avast for its practices regarding the collection and selling of users’ browsing data. This ruling not only subjects Avast to a substantial financial penalty but also bans the company from selling or licensing web browsing

In a concerning discovery, about 55% of all inputs to generative AI platforms contain sensitive and personally identifiable information (PII). This revelation was uncovered in a new report released by Menlo Security, which highlighted the rapid developments of both generative AI and the

Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) has published a report on the widespread use of commercial spyware, commonly supplied by Europe-based startups for government surveillance campaigns. In one recent campaign, government-backed hackers used tools supplied by Variston, a Barcelona-based spyware