Glyn Moody is a freelance journalist who writes and speaks about privacy, surveillance, digital rights, open source, copyright, patents and general policy issues involving digital technology. He started covering the business use of the Internet in 1994, and wrote the first mainstream feature about Linux, which appeared in Wired in August 1997. His book, "Rebel Code," is the first and only detailed history of the rise of open source, while his subsequent work, "The Digital Code of Life," explores bioinformatics - the intersection of computing with genomics.
Last month, this blog wrote about governments around the world continuing to trial facial recognition systems, and the growing concerns this is provoking. There's one area in particular where facial…
The transfer of personal data lies at the heart of much of online activity. Since many of the leading online companies were founded and have their headquarters in the US,…
A new Pew Research Center survey confirms what readers of this blog already know: many people are deeply worried about the routine tracking of their activities online: A majority of…
Two themes crop up again and again on this blog: facial recognition and DNA sequencing. Both technologies on their own are powerful, and steadily becoming greater threats to privacy. So…
Amazon may have started out by selling books, but it is now getting heavily into the surveillance market. There are four main sectors where it is already working on solutions…
A year ago, this blog wrote about the spread of facial recognition systems, and the danger they represent to privacy. Since then, the roll-out has accelerated, as the technology becomes…
Earlier this year, Privacy News Online wrote about the latest news concerning plans to create a model "smart city" on Toronto's waterfront. The company involved, Sidewalk Labs, is part of…
Last year, Privacy News Online wrote about the important EU ePrivacy legislation. As that noted, it was moving through the EU's legislative process slowly because of massive lobbying against the…
At the beginning of this year Privacy News Online wrote about how people were waking up to the dangers of micro-targeted advertising. Despite that, nothing much happened – until now.…
Last week, Google announced that it would be buying Fitbit, valuing the 12-year-old company at $2.1 billion. Many have seen this as an attempt to boost Google's position in the…
Two years ago, Privacy News Online wrote about Aadhaar, India's billion-person biometric database, used to check identity, and its potential to become the world's biggest privacy disaster. Barely six months…
Tracking vehicles as a way of carrying out surveillance has been used by governments around the world for years. When exactly it should be allowed is still a hot topic,…
Two years ago, Privacy News Online wrote about Ireland's plans to introduce an identity card by stealth. The Irish government pretended that its Public Services Card (PSC) was not an…
The protests in Hong Kong are much in the news. But for readers of this blog, there's a particular reason why they are of interest. Mainland China is well known…
Last week we wrote about two important judgments from the EU's top court – the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). It has just released another long-awaited ruling…