• Jan 31, 2024
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Online Privacy, Social Media, Surveillance,

How Massive Server-to-Server Data Transfers Represent a Hidden Threat to Privacy

It’s well known that we are routinely tracked whenever we use the internet. Most people also understand that the primary business model online is surveillance advertising, whereby huge quantities of personal data are collected and aggregated in order to provide information for highly targeted digital advertising. While those facts are common knowledge, we still lack … Continue reading “How Massive Server-to-Server Data Transfers Represent a Hidden Threat to Privacy”

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  • Jan 17, 2024
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

LAPD Plans to Build a Real-Time Crime Center

We’ve previously warned that the rise of internet-connected doorbell cameras could give local police forces a powerful new surveillance tool. A follow-up article looked at the increasing number of partnerships between US police departments and Amazon’s Ring network. There’s was a 2021 story by the Los Angeles Times that reveals how close the relationship between … Continue reading “LAPD Plans to Build a Real-Time Crime Center”

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  • Nov 2, 2023
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Online Privacy, Social Media, Surveillance,

Meta Offers Ad-Free Subscriptions in EU, but Is Banned from Using Behavioral Advertising without Consent

One of the most important and longest-running privacy battles has been taking place over Meta’s use of behavioral ads on Facebook and Instagram. As we shared back in August, the end seems to be close for surveillance advertising in the EU, with Meta announcing that it will seek user consent for behavioral ads. A big … Continue reading “Meta Offers Ad-Free Subscriptions in EU, but Is Banned from Using Behavioral Advertising without Consent”

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  • Dec 1, 2022
  • Glyn Moody
  • Online Privacy, Social Media, Surveillance,

The End of Facebook’s Dominance on Social Media? Who Will Seize The Crown, And What Does It Mean For Privacy?

Facebook has been part of our lives for so long it’s easy to forget that there were hugely popular online services and sites before it. Remember AOL, MySpace, CompuServe, or GeoCities? All of them now shadows of their former selves, if they exist at all. It is important to remember that Facebook, too, will likely … Continue reading “The End of Facebook’s Dominance on Social Media? Who Will Seize The Crown, And What Does It Mean For Privacy?”

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  • Nov 17, 2022
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Online Privacy, Social Media, Surveillance,

Should We Be Worried About Doorstep Surveillance – How Surveillance Is Changing Us & Society

Surveillance used to be something that spies did to a few high-value targets using absurdly expensive pieces of specialized equipment. The arrival of the Internet as a mass medium changed all that when companies like Google and Facebook adopted advertising as their main business model. In a mistaken belief that highly-targeted advertising is better than … Continue reading “Should We Be Worried About Doorstep Surveillance – How Surveillance Is Changing Us & Society”

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  • Nov 24, 2021
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

Amazon has Been Lobbying Hard Against Privacy Protections – Mostly with Success; Who’s Smiling Now?

Recently, this blog explored the allegations by 17 US states that Google had abused its monopoly power to stifle competition, and delayed the EU’s ePrivacy legislation. Hard on its heels comes a major report from Reuters that Amazon has lobbied hard against data protection in the US, mostly with success. In a way, that’s not … Continue reading “Amazon has Been Lobbying Hard Against Privacy Protections – Mostly with Success; Who’s Smiling Now?”

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  • Oct 21, 2021
  • Glyn Moody
  • Cybersecurity, General Privacy News, Surveillance,

Do We Really Want Amazon’s Internet-Connected Autonomous Surveillance Robots Wandering Around our Homes?

It might seem strange that Amazon has figured so many times on this blog, what with its facial recognition service, eavesdropping Alexa devices, Ring home surveillance, and Halo wearable device. Amazon may have begun as an online bookseller, but its ambitions in the digital space seem limitless. Recently it has announced two new autonomous devices … Continue reading “Do We Really Want Amazon’s Internet-Connected Autonomous Surveillance Robots Wandering Around our Homes?”

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