All posts in User Data
Facebook halts election reminders in the EU, in response to concerns from regulators
Facebook has paused its election notification feature, after a key European privacy regulator raised privacy concerns, according to TechCrunch. The social media platform offers an “Election Day Reminder” notification designed to increase voter turnout. A study by the company in 2012 conducted with the University of California at San Diego showed the notifications brought 340,000 additional […]
Facebook launches tools for users to track and control third-party data collection
Facebook has launched its “Off-Facebook Activity” tool in the UK and other regions, giving users more transparency and a degree of control over data collected on their activities beyond the social media platform, according to BBC News. Many websites and apps collect data on a user’s activity and send it to Facebook, where it’s linked to […]
Most requests for cookie consent don’t comply with EU rules, new research suggests
Most consent requests for digital cookies to track users’ web activity do not comply with Europe’s data collection regulations, according to new research, detailed in a report from TechCrunch. The findings echo another study published in August, which also suggested that consent notices routinely fail to offer the meaningful choice required by EU law—which states that […]
UK to establish new watchdog to regulate tech giants after Brexit, amid calls to curb their power
The UK will create a new regulator next year, tasked specifically with monitoring and regulating large tech companies following the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union, the Financial Times reported Wednesday. The watchdog will wield new powers to enforce a code of conduct for tech giants. The move was recommended in a review of large […]
Google is set to acquire FitBit for $2.1 billion
Google is planning to purchase the wearable fitness tracker company FitBit for $2.1 billion, according to BBC News. With the acquisition, Google will now compete directly with Apple and other wearable technology companies, and will gain access to detailed health data from millions of FitBit users. “With Google’s resources and global platform, Fitbit will be able […]
Facebook agrees to pay a £500k fine to the UK over the Cambridge Analytica data scandal
Facebook has agreed to pay a £500,000 fine to the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) over the Cambridge Analytica scandal, in which nearly 90 million users had their personal data shared with the political consulting firm without their knowledge or consent. The social media company has now withdrawn its appeal after a year of litigation, agreeing […]
Europe’s highest court rules that websites need active consent to install tracking cookies
The European Court of Justice has ruled that companies must acquire active and explicit consent in order to install cookies and track users for advertising, according to Bloomberg. The ruling states that the pre-checked boxes offered by many websites do not qualify as the active consent required by European law. Under the General Data Protection Regulation […]
Hundreds of millions of Facebook users have had their phone numbers leaked
Hundreds of millions of phone numbers from Facebook users have been discovered in an unsecured database online, in the latest privacy lapse linked to the social media company, according to Gizmodo. With a total of more than 400 million records, the database includes 18 million users from the UK, as well as 122 million from the […]
Europe’s mental health websites are selling sensitive user data to advertisers
A new study has revealed that mental health websites in Europe are selling information collected from users, including psychological health data such as answers from quizzes, according to BBC News. The study, by Privacy International (PI), found that the way this information was collected is “neither transparent nor fair” and that many websites are “failing to meet […]
Google security team reveals years-long spyware attack on iPhone users
Security researchers at Google have discovered a hacking operation which installed malware on the iPhones of “thousands of users a week,” over two and a half years, according to BBC News. Cybersecurity experts are calling it the worst general security failure yet found on Apple devices, and some researchers have suggested it showed signs of a hacking […]