South Africa’s highest court bans bulk internet surveillance
South Africa’s Constitutional Court - or Concourt as it is often referred to - has banned mass surveillance of internet communications in the country. The court decisions came as a…
Surveillance
Police used geofence warrant to make Google to identify George Floyd protestors
In the aftermath of the George Floyd Protests, Police served Google with a geofence warrant to identify suspects in crimes committed during the protests. Minneapolis Police say that the looting…
Time to get rid of pervasive online ad tracking once and for all: the alternative is simple, effective, and fully respects privacy
This blog has been pointing out for years the fundamental incompatibility between privacy and the current online advertising model. Today, most Web sites seek to gather as much personal information…
China releases draft of major new privacy law: why it matters to everyone online
China has frequently figured in this blog, usually in the context of its censorship, surveillance activities, and wide-ranging abuse of human rights. But there's another side to the story. Like…
Defense Intelligence Agency gathered US smartphone location data without a warrant
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) is the most recent government agency that has been revealed to gather US smartphone location data without a warrant. This most recent revelation that the…
Tencent has been caught spying on your web browsing history with QQ Messenger
QQ Messenger, a popular Chinese instant messaging app by Tencent, was caught scraping web browser history with their desktop client. The discovery was made by Chinese internet users on the…
Not going dark: personal data from the Internet of Things ushers in a golden age for law enforcement
Last week, Privacy News Online wrote about the increasing use of vehicle forensics to solve crimes. These "smartphones on wheels" join a growing list of everyday devices that are becoming…
UK rules against the use of general warrants to hack into citizen’s devices
The United Kingdom (UK) High Court has ruled that the country’s security and intelligence agencies can no longer use “general warrants” as legal writ for property interference, aka hacking. The…
Today’s online advertising not only seriously harms privacy, but is seriously broken in other ways; we need to fix it
For three and half years now, Privacy News Online has been warning about the huge, and largely ignored, danger of micro-targeted ads and real-time bidding (RTB). The approach sounds plausible.…
Police are increasingly using digital vehicle forensics to solve cases
Police investigators are increasingly taking advantage of a new class of forensics technology known as digital vehicle forensics. When police have access, they will suck up an inordinate amount of…