Privacy
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California's Delete Act Deletion Mandate Takes Effect, Putting Data Brokers on the Hook for $200-a-Day Fines
As of August 1, nearly 600 California-registered data brokers must start processing consumer deletion requests through the state's DROP platform or face uncapped $200-a-day fines.
US Charges Atlanta Activist for Using GrapheneOS Duress Password to Wipe Phone at Border
Federal prosecutors have charged Atlanta activist Samuel Tunick under a rarely used destruction-of-property statute for allegedly wiping his phone with GrapheneOS's duress password during a border search.
Citizen Lab Finds Pegasus Spyware Hacked Phone of MEP Who Investigated Pegasus Abuses, as Civil Society Demands EU Action
Citizen Lab found Pegasus spyware infected the phone of a European Parliament member who sat on the committee investigating Pegasus abuses, prompting a joint civil-society demand for EU action.
EU Commission Finds Instagram and Facebook's Addictive Design Breaches Digital Services Act
Brussels says Meta failed to assess addiction risks from infinite scroll, autoplay and recommender systems on Instagram and Facebook, exposing the company to a fine of up to 6% of global turnover.
Meta Locks Down Ray-Ban Glasses' Privacy Light With Mandatory Firmware Update as It Preps a Non-Blinking 'Super-Sensing' Prototype
Meta is rolling out a mandatory update that disables its smart glasses' camera if the privacy LED is tampered with, even as it reportedly tests always-on glasses that would skip the light entirely.
New York Becomes First US State to Ban Smart Glasses From All Courthouses
New York's Unified Court System will bar recording-capable eyewear from its 1,240-plus courts starting July 20, the first statewide blanket ban of its kind.
Police License Plate Networks Used for School Enrollment Checks, Background Investigations, and Noise Complaints, EFF Finds
An EFF analysis of millions of Flock Safety ALPR searches reveals law enforcement using crime-fighting surveillance tools for school residency fraud checks, employment background investigations, and noise complaints — with no warrant required.
FTC Fines Cox Media Group $880,000 for Selling Fake AI Eavesdropping Ad Service That Was Just Resold Email Lists
The FTC settled for $930,000 total after CMG and two partners falsely claimed their 'Active Listening' service captured real-time smart-device voice data to deliver hyper-local ads — it was actually resold email lists.
Senators Demand DHS Abandon Plan to Equip ICE Agents With Biometric Smart Glasses
Democratic senators led by Markey and Merkley warn a $7.5M DHS smart glasses proposal would let ICE agents covertly identify people in public using facial recognition.
FTC Bans Data Broker Kochava From Selling Sensitive Location Data Without Consent, Closing a Four-Year Case
The FTC settled its 2022 lawsuit against Kochava and subsidiary Collective Data Solutions, barring the companies from selling precise location data without affirmative express consent in the most significant U.S. enforcement action against a location data broker.
Maryland Becomes First US State to Ban Grocery Surveillance Pricing, but Loopholes and a 45-Day Cure Period Test the Model
Governor Wes Moore signed HB 895 on April 28, prohibiting large food retailers and delivery apps from using personal data to set individualized prices, but consumer advocates say loopholes and a 45-day cure period weaken the bill.
ICE Confirms Domestic Use of Paragon Graphite Spyware, Raising Constitutional Alarms
ICE's acting director confirmed in an April letter that the agency deploys Paragon's zero-click Graphite spyware against fentanyl suspects, months after the same tool was linked to attacks on European journalists and civil society members.