• Sep 8, 2023
  • Glyn Moody
  • Cybersecurity, Encryption, General Privacy News, Governments, Online Privacy, Online Security, Social Media, Surveillance,

UK Government Halts Plans to Break End-to-End Encryption, but Privacy Risks Remain

A new law is about to be passed in the UK that will have a serious negative knock-on effect around the world. It’s part of a wider move by governments to force internet companies to break end-to-end encryption and undermine global privacy. We first reported on the UK’s Online Safety Bill two years ago. Since … Continue reading “UK Government Halts Plans to Break End-to-End Encryption, but Privacy Risks Remain”

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  • Dec 20, 2022
  • Glyn Moody
  • Cybersecurity, Encryption, General Privacy News, Online Privacy, Social Media,

Apple Updates: Better iCloud Security

Apple has made two important announcements that will enhance privacy for its users, and that could have important beneficial knock-on effects around the world: While the first would have been a terrible setback for individual privacy, the second… is the very opposite. Most notably, governments and official authorities around the world are pushing back against … Continue reading “Apple Updates: Better iCloud Security”

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  • Jan 15, 2022
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Social Media,

Good News for GDPR Enforcement against Cookie Walls, but Also a Dangerous Legal Challenge from WhatsApp

As most people know from bitter personal experience, one of the most tiresome aspects of moving around the web is the constant barrage of pop-ups, asking whether the user agrees to cookies. The companies running the websites like to blame this on the EU’s GDPR, which requires people to consent to cookies and the tracking … Continue reading “Good News for GDPR Enforcement against Cookie Walls, but Also a Dangerous Legal Challenge from WhatsApp”

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  • Oct 20, 2021
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Social Media, Surveillance,

Facebook’s Very Bad, No Good Week: What It Means for Privacy, and How to Make Things Better

On 5 October, Mark Zuckerberg sent a note to Facebook employees, beginning: “Hey everyone: it’s been quite a week, and I wanted to share some thoughts with all of you.” That’s something of an understatement in the wake of not one, but two, devastating blows to the company, both with important implications for privacy. The … Continue reading “Facebook’s Very Bad, No Good Week: What It Means for Privacy, and How to Make Things Better”

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  • Sep 21, 2021
  • Glyn Moody
  • Cybersecurity, Encryption, Governments, Social Media,

UK Leads the Charge Against End-to-End Encryption, Calls on Tech Companies to “Nerd Harder”

As Privacy News Online has reported, for years governments around the world have kept up a constant assault on end-to-end encryption. One of the leaders of this attempt to demonize a crucially important technology for preserving privacy is the UK. Wired reported back in April that the UK is trying to stop Facebook adding end-to-end … Continue reading “UK Leads the Charge Against End-to-End Encryption, Calls on Tech Companies to “Nerd Harder””

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  • May 18, 2021
  • Glyn Moody
  • General Privacy News, Governments, Social Media, Surveillance,

Bad news for Facebook on two fronts – and for Ireland’s role as EU’s privacy enforcer

Back in February, Privacy News Online wrote about a major change to the way WhatsApp and Facebook accounts would be managed. New terms and conditions for WhatsApp users meant that the service is granting itself the right to share users’ data with other Facebook companies. Since Facebook’s privacy policy also allows a more general cross-company … Continue reading “Bad news for Facebook on two fronts – and for Ireland’s role as EU’s privacy enforcer”

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  • May 11, 2021
  • Glyn Moody
  • Encryption, General Privacy News, Governments, Social Media, Surveillance,

Privacy concerns cause tensions over data localization and data transfers to rise

A recurrent theme on this blog has been the growing importance of controlling cross-border data flows, in part because of concerns about privacy. One increasingly popular approach with governments is to require data localization, whereby a country’s personal data remains within its borders. Although some companies like Facebook have been fighting this tendency, others providing … Continue reading “Privacy concerns cause tensions over data localization and data transfers to rise”

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Privacy News Online | Weekly Review: February 26, 2021

Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of February 26th, 2021 Clubhouse users are teaching each other how to stay private from Instagram Users on the audio only social media app have been sharing instructions on how to unlink the two apps so that Instagram doesn’t get any information about your Clubhouse usage. Some even think … Continue reading “Privacy News Online | Weekly Review: February 26, 2021”

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  • Feb 22, 2021
  • Caleb Chen
  • General Privacy News,

WhatsApp will eventually delete your account if you don’t accept new privacy policy

WhatsApp has confirmed that users that don’t accept their controversial new privacy policy will eventually have their accounts deleted. The new privacy policy’s roll out has been delayed from February until May 15th. After the Ides of May, WhatsApp users that haven’t accepted the privacy policy will no longer be able to send or receive … Continue reading “WhatsApp will eventually delete your account if you don’t accept new privacy policy”

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