How Discussions at the World Wide Web Consortium Could Undermine Efforts to Strengthen Privacy
One of the surest signs that privacy is becoming a major factor in the online world is the attempt by major Internet companies to claim that they value it. Mark…
What the Pegasus Spyware Leak Means for Surveillance, Smartphones & Encryption Backdoors
A few months ago, we wrote about dual-use surveillance systems – that is, technology that can be used for both peaceful and military purposes. The post discussed some limited efforts…
How Do You Solve a Privacy Problem Like Facebook? Two New Ways Emerge
As numerous posts on Privacy News Online demonstrate, Facebook is one of the biggest problems for privacy around the world. That problem just became bigger, as the company's market capitalization…
Multiple European Attempts to Strengthen Online Privacy Are Likely to Have Global Impact
Often it can seem that the battle to protect online privacy is hopeless, as companies gather ever-more data about us as we move around the internet. But in the background,…
Markpainting: how to fight deceptive AI-manipulated images with a sprinkle of digital cleverness
One way of looking at privacy is in terms of controlling personal data. That means stopping others from accessing existing private information or collecting new personal data; and not allowing…
Yet another biometric surveillance system: using a person’s “micro-movements” to detect emotions
Surveillance systems often use biometrics to identify key aspects of individuals. A previous blog post discussed the use of gait recognition, behavioral biometrics, and even cardiac signatures for this purpose.…
What does the recent Trojan Shield sting tell us about privacy, trust and surveillance?
Police forces across the world have revealed details of Trojan Shield, what is probably the most successful digital sting operation yet: A series of large-scale law enforcement actions were executed…
Say hello to the new and improved Private Internet Access!
You may have noticed that the Private Internet Access website recently got a makeover. We decided it was finally time to give our incredible VPN product the look and feel…
Antitrust investigations on both sides of the Atlantic emerge as an important new way of protecting privacy
A few weeks ago, Privacy News Online wrote about the Hamburg Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information taking action against Facebook, in a move that signalled growing unhappiness…
How to delete saved passwords in Firefox
Most modern browsers, Mozilla Firefox included, offer to save your usernames and passwords, making it easier to login to your favorite websites. Over time, these login credentials may change, or…
What can remote working by psychoanalysts teach us about protecting privacy?
Working from home has become the norm for millions, perhaps billions, of people around the world. This huge shift in how people spend most of their waking hours naturally brings…
Major fightbacks against “cookie banner terror” and facial image scraping launched across Europe by privacy activists
The EU's main privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is three years old. Access Now has produced what it calls an "implementation report", which usefully summarizes the GDPR's…
European privacy campaigners win battles against mass surveillance by UK and Swedish governments, but have they lost the war?
Back in 2018, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled that the UK's mass interception of fiber-optic cable traffic violated people's right to privacy because of insufficient safeguards. The…
How data minimization can protect privacy and reduce the harms of collecting personal information
It's no secret that many companies and governments try to collect as much personal information as possible. This might be because they believe this will improve the results of their…
Better than the EU’s GDPR? China’s new privacy law includes a rule for handling personal information after death
Back in January, Privacy News Online wrote about China's important new privacy legislation, the Personal Information Protection Law. That post concentrated on the law's extraterritorial reach, and its likely impact…