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Read MoreA call for digital-privacy regulation 'with teeth' at the federal level
Credit to Author: scot.finnie@gmail.com| Date: Wed, 13 Mar 2024 03:00:00 -0700
How did we get to the point where the tech industry is in the user-data business instead of the tech business?
Every day, Google collects data on billions of people worldwide, according to The Regulatory Review. The dodge that users gain some benefit from ad targeting is fallacy. For example, if Google’s search were decoupled from its advertising, there would be less chance for users to be misled by ignored search terms and seemingly hard-wired results.
There’s nothing beneficial to the user about Google’s sponsored search results. That’s also true of the adjacent Google ads that follow you around from site to site.
EC's use of Microsoft 365 violates data-privacy rules, watchdog group says
The European Commission (EC) has violated several key data protection rules in its use of Microsoft 365 regarding the transfer of people’s personal data from Europe to other regions not covered by EU data-protection laws, a key European privacy watchdog found.
The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) on Tuesday chastized the EC after finding it did not take proper protective measures when sending personal data outside the EU and European Economic Area (EEA) when using the cloud-based app.
Researchers, legal experts want AI firms to open up for safety checks
More than 150 leading artificial intelligence (AI) researchers, ethicists and others have signed an open letter calling on generative AI (genAI) companies to submit to independent evaluations of their systems, the lack of which has led to concerns about basic protections.
The letter, drafted by researchers from MIT, Princeton, and Stanford University, called for legal and technical protections for good-faith research on genAI models, which they said is hampering safety measures that could help protect the public.
EC to grill Meta on Facebook ‘subscription for no ads’ plan
The European Commission (EC) on Friday said it needs more information from Facebook and Instagram parent company Meta to assess its compliance with applicable privacy and security laws in the European Union (EU).
The EC, in a statement, said Meta also needs to speed up its responses to requests in December for information, which centered on election information, terrorism and the protection of minors. The company has until March 15 to provide that information, with the new info about Meta’s pay-to-opt-out-of-tracking program due March 22.
Eight European consumer watchdogs file complaints over Meta’s data processing
Eight European consumer organizations have filed complaints against Facebook parent Meta accusing it of breaching the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) with its so-called “pay-or-consent” policy and opaque internal policies.
The organizations are all members of BEUC, the European Consumer Organization. Their complaints, publicized Thursday, argue that the large-scale consumer data collection practiced by Meta violates the GDPR, and that the company has abused its dominant market position to essentially coerce customers into accepting its terms. Each of the eight groups filed their complaints with their national data protection authorities, as there is no pan-European office to accept such complaints.
What a future without browser cookies looks like
Most online users have experienced it. You do an online search for healthcare purposes, travel information, or something to buy and soon you’re being bombarded with emails and targeted online ads for everything related to your search. That’s because browser cookies were tracking you as you performed your searches; they identified you and your activity.
Over the past few years, the online advertising industry has been undergoing a sea change as regulators restricted how cookies can be used and browser providers moved away from their use in response to consumer outcries over privacy.
“They often feel surveilled; some even find it ‘creepy’ that a website can show them ads related to their behavior elsewhere,” according to a recent study by the HEC Paris Business School.