145 public authorities acquired data in 2015, and most of these requests came from the UK’s police forces and law enforcement agencies. Law enforcement officers acquired 93.7 per cent of all data requested by public authorities in 2015. Only 5.7 per cent of data was acquired by the intelligence agencies, and a mere 0.6 by Read more about UK Gov is open about how much it spied on its’ citizens[…]
Film studio Warner Brothers has asked Google to remove its own website from search results, saying it violates copyright laws. It also asked the search giant to remove links to legitimate movie streaming websites run by Amazon and Sky, as well as the film database IMDB. The request was submitted on behalf of Warner Brothers Read more about Warner Brothers reports own site as illegal[…]
Now that WhatsApp is sharing phone numbers with Facebook, it’s no longer the security oasis users relied on. Source: WhatsApp’s Privacy Cred Just Took a Big Hit | WIRED
Since Facebook owns WhatsApp, it’s finally time for the purchase to pay off. Facebook now wants your WhatsApp data, including your phone number. Here’s how to opt out. Source: How to opt out of WhatsApp sharing your information with Facebook You have 30 days. Why is this a problem, what have they done? What do Read more about How to opt out of WhatsApp sharing your information with Facebook[…]
To get started, head to facebook.com/ads/preferences. Here, you’ll find a large collection of “interests” Facebook thinks you have, sorted into categories. Click on “Lifestyle and Culture” to find, among other things, where you land politically. If you haven’t explicitly Liked the Facebook page of a particular politician, Facebook will guess and place that guess here. Read more about Find Out How Facebook Thinks You Think With This Setting[…]
Facebook knows more about your personal life than you probably realize. As part of the company’s increasingly aggressive advertising operation, Facebook goes to great lengths to track you across the web. The company compiles a list of personal details about every user that includes major life events and general interests. For years, details have been Read more about All of the Creepy Things Facebook Knows About You[…]
Anti-Beacon is small, simple to use, and is provided free of charge. It was created to address the privacy concerns of users of Windows 10 who do not wish to have information about their PC usage sent to Microsoft. Simply clicking “Immunize” on the main screen of Anti-Beacon will immediately disable any known tracking features Read more about Spybot Anti-Beacon for Windows[…]
Facebook, Google, eBay, and others own vast swaths of Web activity and have unprecedented power over us, inspiring an effort to re-decentralize the Web.[…] Berners-Lee’s new project, underway at his MIT lab, is called Solid (“social linked data”), a way for you to own your own data while making it available to the applications that Read more about How the father of the World Wide Web is trying to decentralise it.[…]
the plan’s not in action yet but has been agreed in principle. It’s hoped the scheme will be up and running in about six months, by which time you’ll only be able to buy trackable SIMs when you visit. The good news is that if your phone roams, you’ll be exempt. And with roaming plans Read more about Thailand plans to track non-citizens with their mobile phones[…]
If you want to downgrade back to an earlier version, you used to have 30 days time to consider it. Now they’re only giving you 10 days. Source: Microsoft verkort bedenktijd Windows 10-upgrade They REALLY REALLY want you to run their spyware for them!
A recent extension of UK copyright for industrially manufactured artistic works represents “a direct assault on the 3D printing revolution,” says Pirate Party founder Rick Falkvinge. The UK government last month extended copyright for designs from 25 years to the life of the designer plus 70 years. In practice, this is likely to mean a Read more about UK copyright extension on designed objects is “direct assault” on 3D printing. Also, how much money was UK gov paid to extend it 70+ years?[…]
A little-known web standard that lets site owners tell how much battery life a mobile device has left has been found to enable tracking online, a year after privacy researchers warned that it had the potential to do just that. The battery status API was introduced in HTML5, the fifth version of the code used Read more about Your battery status is being used to track you online[…]
While most of the media attention focused on the role of ISPs, there is an even more controversial proposal that has been largely overlooked. According to the report, pirated content should be banned on the operating system level. “Other players that possess the potential ability to limit piracy are the companies that own the major Read more about Report: Operating Systems Should Actively Block Pirated Downloads – TorrentFreak[…]
In an extraordinary judgment, the organization that hopes to take over running the top level of the internet later this year has been slammed by an independent review as at best incompetent and at worst deliberately mendacious. The decision [PDF] by ICANN’s Independent Review Panel (IRP) over the organization’s decision to refuse “community” status for Read more about Simply not credible: The extraordinary verdict against ICANN – the body that hopes to run the internet[…]
We find that 84\% of paths originating in Brazil traverse the United States, but when relays are used for country avoidance, only 37\% of Brazilian paths traverse the United States. Using the open DNS resolver infrastructure allows Kenyan clients to avoid the United States on 17\% more paths. Unfortunately, we find that some of the Read more about Characterizing and Avoiding Routing Detours Through Surveillance States[…]
Perfect anonymization of data sets that contain personal information has failed. But the process of protecting data subjects in shared information remains integral to privacy practice and policy. While the deidentification debate has been vigorous and productive, there is no clear direction for policy. As a result, the law has been slow to adapt a Read more about A legal approach to mitigate anonymisation with risk[…]
Unfortunately, it seems our service has to come to an untimely end. After being previously told we were in 100% compliance with the rules, our Amazon affiliate account was closed a few months ago. Amazon claimed we were violating their rules against showing product and price information that was more than 24 hours old. Obviously, Read more about Amazon randomly kills PriceZombie price comparison site[…]
Unfortunately, it seems our service has to come to an untimely end. After being previously told we were in 100% compliance with the rules, our Amazon affiliate account was closed a few months ago. Amazon claimed we were violating their rules against showing product and price information that was more than 24 hours old. Obviously, Read more about Amazon randomly destroys price tracking site PriceZombie[…]
Everyone has been there. So in 2010, London-based UX designer Harry Brignull decided he’d document it. Brignull’s website, darkpatterns.org, offers plenty of examples of deliberately confusing or deceptive user interfaces. These dark patterns trick unsuspecting users into a gamut of actions: setting up recurring payments, purchasing items surreptitiously added to a shopping cart, or spamming Read more about Dark Patterns make you do stuff you don’t want to on websites[…]
The popular streaming service is now the latest platform that is opening its data to targeted advertising. Everything from your age and gender, to the music genres you like to listen will be available to various third-party companies. Spotify is calling it programmatic buying and has already enabled it. Advertisers will have access to the Read more about Spotify is now selling your information to advertisers[…]
Microsoft is cutting its free 15GB OneDrive cloud storage space down to 5GB, and eliminating the 15GB free camera roll for many users. Files will be deleted by Redmond until your account is under the free limit. Clouds turn to rain to hide your tears Source: Empty your free 30GB OneDrive space today – before Read more about Empty your free 30GB OneDrive space today – before Microsoft deletes your files for you[…]
the new legislation — which Edward Snowden has called “Russia’s new Big Brother law” — is not only severe against those involved in “international terrorism,” its financing, and its non-denunciation. Law enforcement agencies will also be granted access to any user’s messages without any judicial oversight. Several key provisions will directly affect the internet and Read more about Russian leader Putin signs controversial ‘Big Brother’ law[…]
More than 800 UK police staff inappropriately accessed personal information between June 2011 and December 2015, according to a report from activist group Big Brother Watch. The report says some police staff used their access to a growing trove of police data, which includes personal information on civilians, for entertainment and personal and financial gain. Read more about UK Police Accessed Civilian Data 1283 times for Fun and Profit, New Report Says[…]
Facebook wants to show advertisers that their ads make you visit their bricks-and-mortar stores and buy their stuff. To do this, they’ll use phones’ location services to track whether people actually walk into the stores after seeing an ad. Source: Facebook Will Start Tracking Which Stores You Walk Into
Back in 2010, the US Patent and Trademark Office granted Citigroup a trademark for “thankyou,” which the company uses for credit card services. Today the company is suing AT&T over its own use of the terms “thanks” and “thanks AT&T.” Check the date, because this isn’t April Fool’s. Source: Citigroup Is Suing AT&T For Using Read more about Citigroup Is Suing AT&T For Using the Word ‘Thanks’ Because Citi Trademarked Thankyou[…]