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…
Bad news for Facebook on two fronts – and for Ireland’s role as EU’s privacy enforcer
Back in February, Privacy News Online wrote about a major change to the way WhatsApp and Facebook accounts would be managed. New terms and conditions for WhatsApp users meant that…
Anthropologists say smartphones are now “the place where we live”: what does that mean for privacy?
The modern smartphone is a wonder. In terms of raw computing power, an article on ZME Science compared an iPhone 6 with the computers used to send astronauts to the…
Privacy concerns cause tensions over data localization and data transfers to rise
A recurrent theme on this blog has been the growing importance of controlling cross-border data flows, in part because of concerns about privacy. One increasingly popular approach with governments is…
How to Unblock YouTube: a guide to unblocking YouTube videos
Whether you want your daily dose of cute cat videos or a step-by-step video guide for a software installation, YouTube is your go-to place no matter where you are in…