2024-09-12
While Draghi's report makes both sensible points (like enforcing GDPR faster) and strange ones (falling for the gen AI hype), it's sad to see a progressive neoliberal join the misguiding deregulation-at-any-cost populism known from right-wing technocrats and big tech lobbyists.
Bloomberg
A 397-page EC report, released shortly before the CJEU's verdicts against Apple and Google, says the EU's competition enforcement can be “harmful to innovation”
I don't think this requires further comments. … Jonatan Tylsgaard Larsen : A challenging yet liberating read. Finally, someone has tied up the loose ends. And it reflects exactly...
2024-07-23
Third-party cookie are staying in Chrome, I cannot f*cking believe it. Google has been misleading everyone for years, making regulators, policymakers and an entire industry think they will soon go away. Year-long deception at its finest, I take off my hat. https://privacysandbox.com/... [image]
Digiday
Google says it won't be “deprecating third-party cookies” in Chrome and will instead keep working on “privacy-preserving alternatives” via Privacy Sandbox APIs
After much back and forth, Google has decided to keep third-party cookies in its Chrome browser.
2024-03-14
Most likely, a forced TikTok divestment would distract from many other serious issues with predatory, toxic and irresponsible platform business models, which are serious threats to a democratic information society and must be urgently addressed. This mostly concerns US platforms.
Washington Post
The US House passes a bipartisan TikTok bill that forces a sale or ban of the app; the legislation faces an uncertain Senate path without a companion measure
Most likely, a forced TikTok divestment would distract from many other serious issues with predatory, toxic and irresponsible platform business models, which are serious threats to a democratic information society and must be urgently addressed. This mostly concerns US platforms.
Bloomberg
Memo: TikTok is “disappointed” that the US House passed the TikTok divestment bill, and reiterates its plans to lobby the Senate not to pass the legislation
TikTok told employees the company isn't planning to change its approach to protecting user data even after US lawmakers passed …
2024-01-30
“I never imported my data into Microsoft Edge, nor did I confirm whether I wanted to import my tabs. But here was Edge automatically opening after a Windows update with all the Chrome tabs I'd been working on. I didn't even realize I was using Edge at first”
The Verge
Microsoft Edge imported open Chrome tabs after a Windows update despite Edge's import tool being disabled; Windows users have reported the behavior for months
Last week, I turned on my PC, installed a Windows update, and rebooted to find Microsoft Edge automatically open with the Chrome tabs I was working on before the update.
2024-01-25
Today's report from @josephfcox confirms the affiliation between the mass surveillance tool Patternz and the digital advertising firm Nuviad. After years (!) Google now cut them off from its RTB data. Regulators in the EU & other regions must investigate! https://twitter.com/...
404 Media
An investigation details a spy tool called Patternz, which can track billions of phone profiles via ads in hundreds of thousands of apps, including 9gag and Kik
Hundreds of thousands of ordinary apps, including popular ones such as 9gag, Kik, and a series of caller ID apps …
2023-11-14
Most digital advertising involves uncontrolled data sharing about everyone, including policymakers, judges, military personnel. Many companies access the data; so can foreign state and malicious actors. New report on how RTB is a national security threat: https://www.iccl.ie/... [image]
Financial Times
Irish Council for Civil Liberties: data brokers collect and sell browsing data in greater detail than previously known, including on those in sensitive jobs
Campaigners warn proliferation of categories describing sensitive professions could leave users open to blackmail
2023-09-25
A drug smuggler helped create what are now entire divisions of data brokers like LexisNexis Risk, Thomson Reuters and TransUnion that serve both the US security state and private firms. Looking forward to reading @McKenzieFunk's book, fascinating excerpt: https://www.nytimes.com/...
New York Times
A profile of Hank Asher, the “father of data fusion” who died in 2013 after initiating a vast shift in privacy norms through his data mining software companies
McKenzie Funk / New York Times : X: @fighto , @badassdogooder , @wolfiechristl , and @mckenziefunk X: Paul Shapiro / @fighto : An absolutely insane story. Should be made into a mo...
2023-06-09
A while back, I stumbled upon a file I consider the largest piece of evidence revealing how hundreds of data brokers trade personal data on everyone, including very sensitive data, globally. Massive investigation by @themarkup and German @netzpolitik_org: https://themarkup.org/...
The Markup
A database on Microsoft's Xandr containing 650K+ “audience segments” shows how data brokers classify consumers by surveilling their online and offline activity
A spreadsheet on ad platform Xandr's website revealed a massive collection of “audience segments” …
Several data brokers including Epsilon (owned by French Publicis), Nielsen (UK), Neustar (TransUnion), Eyeota (Dun & Bradstreet), Oracle, Experian, LiveRamp sold lists of ‘union members’ via the Xandr data marketplace. ...which is highly problematic, not just under the GDPR. [image]
The Markup
A database on Microsoft's Xandr containing 650K+ “audience segments” shows how data brokers classify consumers by surveilling their online and offline activity
A spreadsheet on ad platform Xandr's website revealed a massive collection of “audience segments” …
The file is dated May 2021, but was available on the Xandr website until last week, when Microsoft who didn't respond to any media inquiry, took it offline. We don't know which segments they sell today. Microsoft still lists 63 data providers on the site. https://docs.xandr.com/... [image]
The Markup
A database on Microsoft's Xandr containing 650K+ “audience segments” shows how data brokers classify consumers by surveilling their online and offline activity
A spreadsheet on ad platform Xandr's website revealed a massive collection of “audience segments” …
Some more examples from my own analysis of the file. Xandr (re)sold lists of ‘disabled’ people and of the ‘poorest 10% of the nation’, payday loan prospects, people with ‘poor’ credit level, ‘poor’ income, ‘very poor’ financial stability, ‘chronically poor health caregivers’. [image]
The Markup
A database on Microsoft's Xandr containing 650K+ “audience segments” shows how data brokers classify consumers by surveilling their online and offline activity
A spreadsheet on ad platform Xandr's website revealed a massive collection of “audience segments” …
In this thread, I want to share some additional details about what the file from Xandr/Microsoft, which was reported yesterday (https://t.co/...), reveals about how hundreds of consumer data brokers trade personal information on billions of people at a global level.⬇️
The Markup
A database on Microsoft's Xandr containing 650K+ “audience segments” shows how data brokers classify consumers by surveilling their online and offline activity
A spreadsheet on ad platform Xandr's website revealed a massive collection of “audience segments” …
Spent one more hour to extract a number of segments that are related to casino+online gambling. Several data brokers sold lists of gamblers in many different countries via Xandr, e.g. US/EU/UK, Brazil, Columbia, Chile, Japan. One company explicitly sold data on gambling addicts. [image]
The Markup
A database on Microsoft's Xandr containing 650K+ “audience segments” shows how data brokers classify consumers by surveilling their online and offline activity
A spreadsheet on ad platform Xandr's website revealed a massive collection of “audience segments” …
2023-05-23
Max Schrems and his tiny nonprofit NOYB deserve limitless praise for their extraordinary persistence and achievements. But it's a shame for EU policy that GDPR enforcement against big tech and in the broader digital economy relies on a nonprofit and that much of it fails so hard.
Wall Street Journal
The EU issues Meta a record €1.2B GDPR fine for sending European user data to the US and orders stopping the transfers and unlawful processing within six months
but only for 15 minutes European Data Protection Board : Binding Decision 1/2023 on the dispute submitted by the Irish SA on data transfers by Meta Platforms Ireland Limited for it...
2023-05-22
Max Schrems and his tiny nonprofit NOYB deserve limitless praise for their extraordinary persistence and achievements. But it's a shame for EU policy that GDPR enforcement against big tech and in the broader digital economy relies on a nonprofit and that much of it fails so hard.
Wall Street Journal
The EU fines Meta €1.2B over sending European user data to the US, a record GDPR fine, and orders Meta to stop transfers and delete the data within six months
Decision places pressure on Washington to implement surveillance changes for Europe to allow Meta to keep the data spigot open
2023-02-12
“Data protection rules are fully applicable, irrespective of the merger clearance” DPAs or other policy interventions must stop this. https://twitter.com/...
Reuters
An advertising joint venture by Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefonica, and Vodafone to rival Meta and Google wins unconditional EU antitrust approval
Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE), Orange (ORAN.PA), Telefonica (TEF.MC) and Vodafone (VOD.L) on Friday secured unconditional EU antitrust approval …
2022-10-26
iOS devs are not happy with paid recommendations (aka 'ads') Apple shows alongside their app listings, which includes gambling ads shown alongside app listings for children's education and gambling addiction recovery apps (see responses). h/t @publictorsten https://twitter.com/...
MacRumors
After Apple rolls out its new App Store ad units, prominent developers complain about gambling ads appearing in their app listings with no way to stop them
Apple today rolled out new ad placements in the App Store on the iPhone, allowing developers to advertise their apps in more places …
2022-10-13
2 months after Austrian's right-wing chancellor was forced to resign after massive corruption probes including raids of his office and the headquarters of his conservative party, he joined Thiel Capital. Now teaming up with the former NSO CEO. What's next? https://en.globes.co.il/...
Bloomberg
Dream Security, a cybersecurity startup co-founded by former NSO Group CEO Shalev Hulio with a focus on protecting critical infrastructure, has raised $20M
Ivan Levingston / Bloomberg :
2022-09-02
As detailed in the report, Fog appears to be closely affiliated with Venntel, a location data broker that was caught selling similar data to large US federal agencies such as ICE, CBP, DEA and FBI. Fog might be a reseller focusing on smaller agencies. https://www.eff.org/...
Associated Press
An investigation details local US law enforcement using the “Fog Reveal” phone tracking tool, at times without warrants, to search records from 250M devices
Associated Press :