• Jan 6, 2020
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments,

Why 2020 will be make or break time for transatlantic personal data transfers

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, that typically means that huge quantities of personal data cross the Atlantic every day. If information concerns EU citizens, those data flows are governed by … Continue reading “Why 2020 will be make or break time for transatlantic personal data transfers”

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  • Dec 31, 2019
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

As public fears mount over online surveillance and lack of control, advertising industry gets privacy religion – sort of…

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 Americans believe their online and offline activities are being tracked and monitored by companies and the government with some regularity. It is such a common … Continue reading “As public fears mount over online surveillance and lack of control, advertising industry gets privacy religion – sort of…”

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  • Nov 25, 2019
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

EU’s ePrivacy regulation is being subverted by publishers who want their “right” to use tracking cookies enshrined in law

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 new law, which aims to regulate how metadata is gathered and used, and to limit how people are tracked online, for example using cookies. A … Continue reading “EU’s ePrivacy regulation is being subverted by publishers who want their “right” to use tracking cookies enshrined in law”

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  • Oct 4, 2019
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

Web sites have a problem after top EU court rules that pre-ticked checkboxes for tracking cookies aren’t valid for consent

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 that is likely to have an even bigger impact on privacy and the Internet. It involves the use of pre-ticked checkboxes for allowing cookies. It’s … Continue reading “Web sites have a problem after top EU court rules that pre-ticked checkboxes for tracking cookies aren’t valid for consent”

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  • Sep 27, 2019
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments,

Top court says “right to be forgotten” doesn’t always apply outside EU – and orders search engines to manipulate results

One of the more controversial elements of EU data protection law is the so-called “right to be forgotten” (RTBF), which dates back to 2014. This allows EU citizens to request internet search engines such as Google to remove search results directly related to them. Despite its misleading name, they are not “forgotten”: the material that … Continue reading “Top court says “right to be forgotten” doesn’t always apply outside EU – and orders search engines to manipulate results”

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  • Jun 1, 2019
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

General Data Protection Regulation one year on: what has it done?

A year ago, arguably the most important event in the recent history of privacy occurred: the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) started to be enforced. To mark that anniversary Privacy News Online will look at what the GDPR has achieved in its first 12 months, and what is likely to happen next. The GDPR … Continue reading “General Data Protection Regulation one year on: what has it done?”

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  • Mar 26, 2019
  • Caleb Chen
  • Censorship, General Privacy News, Governments,

Article 13: EU passes copyright directive which will lead to a more censored internet

The European Union (EU) has passed all articles, including Article 13 and Article 11, of the Copyright in the Digital Single Market Directive.  Article 13 of the copyright directive mandates that websites are responsible for keeping copyrighted materials off of their site – in the most absolute sense. Over the next two years, the directive … Continue reading “Article 13: EU passes copyright directive which will lead to a more censored internet”

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  • Dec 1, 2018
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

Multiple threats from EU’s GDPR to today’s corporate surveillance and targeted advertising system

Eighteen months ago, Privacy News Online wrote about how pervasive corporate surveillance is threatening the privacy of everyone who uses the Internet. Nearly every move people make online is being tracked and recorded. This is not in order to spy on the public directly, but to create vast databases about people’s interests and habits, which … Continue reading “Multiple threats from EU’s GDPR to today’s corporate surveillance and targeted advertising system”

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  • Nov 10, 2018
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments,

AI-based lie detection system will screen travellers to EU for ‘biomarkers of deceit’

As the borders between nations have become increasingly sensitive from a political point of view, so the threats to privacy there have grown. Privacy News Online has already reported on the use of AI-based facial recognition systems as a way of tightening border controls. As software improves, and hardware becomes faster and cheaper, it’s likely … Continue reading “AI-based lie detection system will screen travellers to EU for ‘biomarkers of deceit’”

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  • Sep 29, 2018
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Surveillance,

Call for wide-ranging GDPR investigation into online ads, which could kill today’s real-time bidding system

Privacy News Online recently wrote about how the widely-used real-time bidding (RTB) system for online ads causes personal data to be spread widely among potential advertisers. We noted that one key proposal of the ePrivacy regulation, currently working its way through the EU legislative process, is to make it easy for people to opt out … Continue reading “Call for wide-ranging GDPR investigation into online ads, which could kill today’s real-time bidding system”

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