BNN Bloomberg: Google’s ‘wi-spy’ settlement draws objection from 9 states. “Attorneys general from nine states urged a federal judge to toss out Google’s US$13 million settlement of a class-action lawsuit blaming its Street View mapping technology for a massive violation of consumer privacy.”
privacy
TechCrunch: Facebook’s dodgy defaults face more scrutiny in Europe
TechCrunch: Facebook’s dodgy defaults face more scrutiny in Europe. “Italy’s Competition and Markets Authority has launched proceedings against Facebook for failing to fully inform users about the commercial uses it makes of their data. At the same time a German court has today upheld a consumer group’s right to challenge the tech giant over data and privacy issues in the national courts.”
New York Times: Twitter Tells Facial Recognition Trailblazer to Stop Using Site’s Photos
New York Times: Twitter Tells Facial Recognition Trailblazer to Stop Using Site’s Photos. “Twitter sent a letter this week to the small start-up company, Clearview AI, demanding that it stop taking photos and any other data from the social media website ‘for any reason’ and delete any data that it previously collected, a Twitter spokeswoman said. The cease-and-desist letter, sent on Tuesday, accused Clearview of violating Twitter’s policies.”
CNN: This social network wants you to interact IRL, but may spark a new privacy concern
CNN: This social network wants you to interact IRL, but may spark a new privacy concern. “For many people, social media is synonymous with endless scrolling, constant distractions and blatant attempts to rack up comments, likes and views. But Justin Fuisz is betting on a different kind of social network — one that prioritizes real-life interactions with your good friends. On Octi, the social network that Fuisz and his team launched on Wednesday, the primary way for users to connect with each other is in person.”
City A.M.: Privacy ‘cannot be a luxury good’, says Google boss Sundar Pichai
City A.M.: Privacy ‘cannot be a luxury good’, says Google boss Sundar Pichai. “Privacy ‘cannot be a luxury good’, Google’s chief executive said today, while vowing his company would protect its users’ information. Sundar Pichai, who also leads parent company Alphabet, said privacy was ‘at the heart of what we do’.”
Engadget: Microsoft accidently exposed 250 million customer service records
Engadget: Microsoft accidently exposed 250 million customer service records. “While most people were out celebrating the start of a new year, Microsoft’s security teams were working overtime to close a potentially enormous security loophole. On Thursday, the company disclosed a database error that temporarily left approximately 250 million customer service and support records accessible to anyone with a web browser.”
CNET: Google finds Apple Safari anti-tracking feature actually enabled tracking
CNET: Google finds Apple Safari anti-tracking feature actually enabled tracking. “Apple focuses on privacy protections as a major selling point for its products, but a feature designed to protect your privacy when using its Safari browser also created vulnerabilities that put your data and privacy at risk, Google researchers have found.”
