Privacy News Online | Weekly Review: January 29, 2021
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of January 29th, 2021
TikTok tracks you even if you never made an account
TikTok’s privacy policy allows the social media company to track a lot of app usage information, even from those that have never signed up. A VICE reporter who has never made a TikTok account sent a GDPR request to ByteDance to find out what information the social media company had on him. Even without an account, the reporter found that his TikTok activity was tracked, linked to his real identity, and shared with third parties like Facebook.
Is the GDPR finally going to get some teeth?
Almost three years after the landmark privacy law in Europe, we are still left to ask the same question. Data shows that so far, the GDPR has only been used to levy some 272 billion euros worth of fines. The more high profile cases, such as those against Facebook put forth by Max Schrems in Ireland and Belgium, are still stuck in court. However, there’s been a ray of hope that the EU’s Court of Justice may finally rule in favor of GDPR enforcement. Fingers crossed!
Defense Intelligence Agency gathered US smartphone location data without a warrant
The Defense Intelligence Agency is the latest government agency to admit to buying smartphone location data from data brokers without a warrant. The agency admitted to gathering location data in this manner five times in the last two and a half years. To stop this unconstitutional practice, Senator Ron Wyden has introduced legislation called the “Fourth Amendment is not for Sale Act” to stop the government from continuing with this latest form of illegal search and seizure.
More Privacy News This Week:
A Home Security Worker Hacked Into Surveillance Systems to Watch People Have Sex
An ADT employee has pleaded guilty to spying on the most intimate moments of 220 customers. Over the course of several years, the defendant noted which houses had attractive women, then would grant himself access to their cameras through the company’s online security system. Understandably, many of the violated customers are suing ADT for the breach of privacy. Never forget that the cloud is just somebody else’s computer.
Proposed Bipartisan Bill Looks To Protect Oklahomans’ Privacy On The Internet
Two Oklahoma state representatives have introduced a new bill that may catapult the state to having one of the country’s best online privacy laws. The bill would require companies like Facebook to obtain explicit opt-in permission before collecting personal information from users and sharing it with third parties. The two representatives, Democrat Collin Walke and Republican Josh West, believe that this bill will help bring Oklahomans constitutional protections from big tech. Way to go, Oklahoma!
A series of seven vulnerabilities in a popular DNS software package enabled DNS cache poisoning attacks
The vulnerabilities, collectively dubbed DNSspooq potentially effect android devices as well as network hardware such as routers, wireless access points, and firewalls. Be sure to regularly check for firmware updates for any such devices on your network.
Brought to you by Private Internet Access
Privacy News Online is brought to you by Private Internet Access, the world’s most trusted VPN service.
Special thanks to Intego
Thank you to Josh Long, our cybersecurity correspondent from Intego, makers of award-winning security software.
