privacy
France slaps Google with €325M fine for violating cookie regulations
The French data protection authority has fined Google €325 million ($378 million) for violating cookie regulations and displaying ads between Gmail users’ emails without their consent. During several investigations between 2022 and 2023, the National Commission on Informatics and Liberty (CNIL) found that Google’s Gmail email service displayed advertisements in the “Promotions” and “Social” tabs without the […]
US sues robot toy maker for exposing children’s data to Chinese devs
The U.S. Department of Justice has sued toy maker Apitor Technology for allegedly allowing a Chinese third party to collect children’s geolocation data without their knowledge and parental consent. A complaint filed by the Justice Department, following a notification from the Federal Trade Commission, alleges that Apitor violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Rule (COPPA) by failing to notify […]
Disney to pay $10M to settle claims it collected kids’ data on YouTube
Disney will pay $10 million to settle claims by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission that it mislabeled videos for children on YouTube, which allowed the collection of kids’ personal information without their consent or notification to their parents. This occurred after the entertainment giant failed to tag kid-directed videos on YouTube as “Made for Kids” […]
Mozilla warns Germany could soon declare ad blockers illegal
A recent ruling from Germany’s Federal Supreme Court (BGH) has revived a legal battle over whether browser-based ad blockers infringe copyright, raising fears about a potential ban of the tools in the country. The case stems from online media company Axel Springer’s lawsuit against Eyeo – the maker of the popular Adblock Plus browser extension. Axel Springer […]
Brave blocks Windows Recall from screenshotting your browsing activity
Brave Software says its privacy-focused browser will block Microsoft’s Windows Recall from capturing screenshots of Brave windows by default to protect users’ privacy. Windows Recall is an opt-in Windows feature that takes screenshots of active windows every few seconds, analyzes them, and enables Windows 11 users to search for text within the snapshots using natural language. […]
Proton launches privacy-respecting encrypted AI assistant Lumo
Proton has launched a new tool called Lumo, offering a privacy-first AI assistant that does not log user conversations and doesn’t use their prompts for training. Proton is a Swiss company behind proven privacy and security tools and services, including Proton Mail, Proton VPN, and Proton Drive. In June 2024, it transitioned to a non-profit structure, […]
ExpressVPN, IP Address, Leak, Privacy, Remote Desktop, VPN,
ExpressVPN has fixed a flaw in its Windows client that caused Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) traffic to bypass the virtual private network (VPN) tunnel, exposing the users’ real IP addresses. One of the key premises of a VPN is masking a user’s IP address, allowing users to stay anonymous online, and in some cases, bypass censorship. […]
Germany asks Google, Apple to remove DeepSeek AI from app stores
The Berlin Commissioner for Data Protection has formally requested Google and Apple to remove the DeepSeek AI application from the application stores due to GDPR violations. The commissioner, Meike Kamp, alleges that DeepSeek’s owner, Hangzhou DeepSeek Artificial Intelligence, based in Beijing, unlawfully collects data from German users and transfers them for processing in servers in China. […]
UK fines 23andMe for ‘profoundly damaging’ breach exposing genetics data
The UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has fined genetic testing provider 23andMe £2.31 million ($3.12 million) over ‘serious security failings’ that led to a ‘profoundly damaging’ data breach in 2023. The data protection watchdog said today that 23andMe failed to protect the sensitive data of UK residents who had their genotype data, health reports, and personal […]
Germany fines Vodafone $51 million for privacy, security breaches
The German data protection authority (BfDI) has fined Vodafone GmbH, the telecommunications company’s German subsidiary, €45 million ($51.4 million) for privacy and security violations. “Due to malicious employees in partner agencies who broker contracts to customers on behalf of Vodafone, there had been fraud cases due to fictitious contracts or contract changes at the expense of […]