Stripe Payment Provider is Silently Recording Your Movements On its Customers’ Websites

Among startups and tech companies, Stripe seems to be the near-universal favorite for payment processing. When I needed paid subscription functionality for my new web app, Stripe felt like the natural choice. After integration, however, I discovered that Stripe’s official JavaScript library records all browsing activity on my site and reports it back to Stripe. Read more about Stripe Payment Provider is Silently Recording Your Movements On its Customers’ Websites[…]

Zoom sex party moderation: app uses machine-learning to patrol nudity – will it record them to put up on the web?

As Rolling Stone reported, the app is now playing host to virtual sex parties,  “play parties,” and group check-ins which have become, as one host said, “the mutual appreciation jerk-off society.” According to Zoom’s “acceptable use” policy, users may not use the technology to “engage in any activity that is harmful, obscene, or indecent, particularly Read more about Zoom sex party moderation: app uses machine-learning to patrol nudity – will it record them to put up on the web?[…]

TalkTalk customers unable to opt out of ISP’s ad-jacking DNS – just like six years ago

TalkTalk broadband users are complaining they can’t opt out of its Error Replacement Service, which swaps NXDomain DNS results with an IP address. And if that sounds familiar, it should. Users of the budget ISP complained about the very same issue back in 2014. The Error Replacement Service redirects links to DNS addresses that don’t Read more about TalkTalk customers unable to opt out of ISP’s ad-jacking DNS – just like six years ago[…]

US Judge rules Twitter can’t be transparent about amount of surveillance requests processed per year due to “national security” of the 4th Reich

Six years ago, Twitter sued the US government in an attempt to detail surveillance requests the company had received, but a federal judge on Friday ruled in favor of the government’s case that detailing the requests would jeopardize the country’s safety. If Twitter revealed the number of surveillance requests it received each calendar quarter, it Read more about US Judge rules Twitter can’t be transparent about amount of surveillance requests processed per year due to “national security” of the 4th Reich[…]

Disney Plus’ butt cover-up hides a much bigger problem – corporations feel free to put out revisionist histories

There’s a scene in Touchstone Pictures’ 1984 movie Splash where a young Tom Hanks watches a beautiful naked mermaid run off into the ocean from which she came. In the original version, the camera follows Hanks’ gaze, showing a brief glimpse of a naked butt. Splash received a PG rating because of the shot (and Read more about Disney Plus’ butt cover-up hides a much bigger problem – corporations feel free to put out revisionist histories[…]

India says ‘Zoom is a not a safe platform’ and bans government users

India has effectively banned videoconferencing service Zoom for government users and repeated warnings that consumers need to be careful when using the tool. The nation’s Cyber Coordination Centre has issued advice (PDF) titled “Advisory on Secure use of Zoom meeting platform by private individuals (not for use by government offices/officials for official purpose)”. The document Read more about India says ‘Zoom is a not a safe platform’ and bans government users[…]

ICANN’s founding CEO and chair accuse biz of abandoning principles in push for billion-dollar .org sale

ICANN has been accused by its founding CEO and original chair of abandoning the organization’s core principles and accepting commitments it knows it cannot enforce in order to push through the sale of the .org registry later this week. In a furious letter [PDF] from Mike Roberts and Esther Dyson to the attorney generals of Read more about ICANN’s founding CEO and chair accuse biz of abandoning principles in push for billion-dollar .org sale[…]

Apple: We respect your privacy so much we’ve revealed a little about what we can track when you use Maps

Apple has released a set of “Mobility Trends Reports” – a trove of anonymised and aggregated data that describes how people have moved around the world in the three months from 13 January to 13 April. The data measures walking, driving and public transport use. And as you’d expect and as depicted in the image Read more about Apple: We respect your privacy so much we’ve revealed a little about what we can track when you use Maps[…]

Twitter Obliterates Its Users’ Privacy Choices

The EFF’s staff technologist — also an engineer on Privacy Badger and HTTPS Everywhere, writes: Twitter greeted its users with a confusing notification this week. “The control you have over what information Twitter shares with its business partners has changed,” it said. The changes will “help Twitter continue operating as a free service,” it assured. Read more about Twitter Obliterates Its Users’ Privacy Choices[…]

Mozilla installs Scheduled Telemetry Task on Windows with Firefox 75 – if you had put telemetry on

Observant Firefox users on Windows who have updated the web browser to Firefox 75 may have noticed that the upgrade brought along with it a new scheduled tasks. The scheduled task is also added if Firefox 75 is installed on a Windows device. The task’s name is Firefox Default Browser Agent and it is set Read more about Mozilla installs Scheduled Telemetry Task on Windows with Firefox 75 – if you had put telemetry on[…]

Creepy Face Recognition Firm Clearview AI Sure Has a Lot of Ties to the Far Right – the extremist kinds of far right

Clearview AI, the dystopian face recognition company that claims to have amassed a database of billions of photos, signed contracts with hundreds of law enforcement agencies, and shopped its app around to the rich and powerful, has extensive links to the far right, according to a Huffington Post investigation. In fact, one of its associates Read more about Creepy Face Recognition Firm Clearview AI Sure Has a Lot of Ties to the Far Right – the extremist kinds of far right[…]

Facebook asks users about coronavirus symptoms, releases friendship data to researchers

Facebook Inc said on Monday it would start surveying some U.S. users about their health as part of a Carnegie Mellon University research project aimed at generating “heat maps” of self-reported coronavirus infections. The social media giant will display a link at the top of users’ News Feeds directing them to the survey, which the Read more about Facebook asks users about coronavirus symptoms, releases friendship data to researchers[…]

Dr. Drew Pinsky Played Down COVID-19, Then Tries To DMCA Away The Evidence

Update: The full video is now back up and it’s even worse than the original clip we posted. It’s unclear if it went back up thanks to YouTube deciding it was fair use, or Pinsky removing the bogus takedown. Either way, watch it here: Copyright system supporters keep insisting to me that copyright is never Read more about Dr. Drew Pinsky Played Down COVID-19, Then Tries To DMCA Away The Evidence[…]

For the past five years, every FBI secret spy court request to snoop on Americans has sucked, says watchdog

Analysis The FBI has not followed internal rules when applying to spy on US citizens for at least five years, according to an extraordinary report [PDF] by the Department of Justice’s inspector general. The failure to follow so-called Woods Procedures, designed to make sure the FBI’s submissions for secret spying are correct, puts a question Read more about For the past five years, every FBI secret spy court request to snoop on Americans has sucked, says watchdog[…]

Amazon says it fired a guy for breaking pandemic rules. Same guy who organized a staff protest over a lack of coronavirus protection

On Monday, Amazon fired Chris Smalls, a worker at its Staten Island, New York, warehouse, who had organized a protest demanding more protection for workers amid the coronavirus outbreak. Smalls, in a statement, said, “Amazon would rather fire workers than face up to its total failure to do what it should to keep us, our Read more about Amazon says it fired a guy for breaking pandemic rules. Same guy who organized a staff protest over a lack of coronavirus protection[…]

A Feature on Zoom Secretly Displayed Data From People’s LinkedIn Profiles

But what many people may not know is that, until Thursday, a data-mining feature on Zoom allowed some participants to surreptitiously have access to LinkedIn profile data about other users — without Zoom asking for their permission during the meeting or even notifying them that someone else was snooping on them. The undisclosed data mining Read more about A Feature on Zoom Secretly Displayed Data From People’s LinkedIn Profiles[…]

Thousands of recorded Zoom Video Calls Left Exposed on Open Web

Thousands of personal Zoom videos have been left viewable on the open Web, highlighting the privacy risks to millions of Americans as they shift many of their personal interactions to video calls in an age of social distancing. From a report: Many of the videos appear to have been recorded through Zoom’s software and saved Read more about Thousands of recorded Zoom Video Calls Left Exposed on Open Web[…]

NSO Group: Facebook tried to license our spyware to snoop on its own addicts – the same spyware it’s suing us over

NSO Group – sued by Facebook for developing Pegasus spyware that targeted WhatsApp users – this week claimed Facebook tried to license the very same surveillance software to snoop on its own social-media addicts. The Israeli spyware maker’s CEO Shalev Hulio alleged in a statement [PDF] to a US federal district court that in 2017 Read more about NSO Group: Facebook tried to license our spyware to snoop on its own addicts – the same spyware it’s suing us over[…]

Someone Convinced Google To Delist Our Entire Right To Be Forgotten Tag In The EU For Searches On Their Name, which means we can’t tell if they are abusing the system

The very fact that the tag being delisted when searching for this unnamed individual is the “right to be forgotten” tag shows that whoever this person is, they recognize that they are not trying to cover up the record of, say, an FTC case against them from… oh, let’s just say 2003… but rather are Read more about Someone Convinced Google To Delist Our Entire Right To Be Forgotten Tag In The EU For Searches On Their Name, which means we can’t tell if they are abusing the system[…]

US Officials Use Mobile Ad Location Data to Study How COVID-19 Spreads, not cellphone tower data

Government officials across the U.S. are using location data from millions of cellphones in a bid to better understand the movements of Americans during the coronavirus pandemic and how they may be affecting the spread of the disease… The data comes from the mobile advertising industry rather than cellphone carriers. The aim is to create Read more about US Officials Use Mobile Ad Location Data to Study How COVID-19 Spreads, not cellphone tower data[…]

Israel uses anti-terrorist tech to monitor phones of virus patients

Israel has long been known for its use of technology to track the movements of Palestinian militants. Now, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to use similar technology to stop the movement of the coronavirus. Netanyahu’s Cabinet on Sunday authorized the Shin Bet security agency to use its phone-snooping tactics on coronavirus patients, an official confirmed, Read more about Israel uses anti-terrorist tech to monitor phones of virus patients[…]

Zoom Removes Code That Sends Data to Facebook – but there is still plenty of nasty stuff in there

On Friday video-conferencing software Zoom issued an update to its iOS app which stops it sending certain pieces of data to Facebook. The move comes after a Motherboard analysis of the app found it sent information such as when a user opened the app, their timezone, city, and device details to the social network giant. Read more about Zoom Removes Code That Sends Data to Facebook – but there is still plenty of nasty stuff in there[…]

Yeah, that Zoom app you’re trusting with work chatter? It lives with ‘vampires feeding on the blood of human data’

As the global coronavirus pandemic pushes the popularity of videoconferencing app Zoom to new heights, one web veteran has sounded the alarm over its “creepily chummy” relationship with tracking-based advertisers. Doc Searls, co-author of the influential internet marketing book The Cluetrain Manifesto last century, today warned [cached] Zoom not only has the right to extract Read more about Yeah, that Zoom app you’re trusting with work chatter? It lives with ‘vampires feeding on the blood of human data’[…]

Android Apps Are Transmitting what other apps you have ever installed to marketing peole

At this point we’re all familiar with apps of all sorts tracking our every move and sharing that info with pretty much every third party imaginable. But it actually may not be as simple as tracking where you go and what you do in an app: It turns out that these apps might be dropping Read more about Android Apps Are Transmitting what other apps you have ever installed to marketing peole[…]

Ring corporate surveillance doorbells Continues To Insist Its Cameras Reduce Crime, But Crime Data Doesn’t Back Those Claims Up

Despite evidence to the contrary, Amazon’s Ring is still insisting its the best thing people can put on their front doors — an IoT camera with PD hookups that will magically reduce crime in their neighborhoods simply by being a mute witness of criminal acts. Boasting over 1,000 law enforcement partnerships, Ring talks a good Read more about Ring corporate surveillance doorbells Continues To Insist Its Cameras Reduce Crime, But Crime Data Doesn’t Back Those Claims Up[…]