Tracked topic
Protect your digital life with the latest privacy news, covering smart device surveillance risks and OS security backdoors.
Requiring Google to share data and system access with competitors may come with some security risks, but Google undeniably has a vested interest in maintaining its market position. Both of those things can be true, but is one maybe a little more true than the other? That’s the issue with which the European Commission must grapple. The EU is undertaking this effort under the auspices of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), which has designated Google, Meta, Amazon, and other giant tech firms as “gatekeepers” that are subject to additional regulation. Google has openly opposed the DMA, calling for the
Google warns EU's plans to weaken its monopoly could expose user data… He claims that AI tools are widely supported, with phone makers playing a key role in vetting them. Granting non-Gemini AI platforms deeper integration with Android could circumvent safeguards, he said. Similarly, Google contends that sharing search data as the EU now demands will risk user privacy. …
… There are many ways to anonymize user data in aggregate, and Google would know—it frequently leverages anonymized user data, and it stresses the privacy-protecting aspects of this process. Sometimes it hides identities by merging all the data for a group that shares some trait, like a postal code. …
… That seems particularly clear since X is currently under investigation for its “unauthorized collection of European users’ data to train its Grok AI model without valid GDPR consent” advocated noted. “X Corp.’s foray into artificial intelligence development should prompt greater FTC oversight of th… …
… Those breaches do not suggest that X gets a gold star for data privacy, the commenter suggested, while also shooting down X’s claims about its GDPR compliance efforts ensuring consumer protection. “The Irish Data Protection Commission’s 2024 formal inquiry into X Corp.’s use of user data to train t… …
… But the company is still making the same privacy promises it did before, when all of its AI models were either running locally on your devices or on Apple-controlled server hardware. For years, Apple has touted user privacy as a key benefit of using its platforms. …
… However, those laws do not cover worker confidentiality, and that allegedly leaves a huge privacy loophole in Google’s deal, especially when you consider that the tech giant is buying worker data, not consumer data. “The privacy architecture of this transaction is consumer-facing; its payload is di… …
… The lawsuit pointed to a Federal Trade Commission policy statement that businesses “engaging in surreptitious and unexpected collection or use of biometric information” may violate the FTC Act’s prohibition on deceptive and unfair trade practices. “Ring’s collection, retention, and use of biometric… …
… Even more frustrating to plaintiffs, OpenAI had already searched those samples for NYT content as part of its research into “creating a filter that could be used to block the regurgitation of copyrighted content,” the court filing said. “OpenAI was willing and able to search its output logs—when it… …
… If you’re uncertain about using AI tools on a site, you should always try to parse its privacy policy, which will tell you how your data AI-generated or not will be used. As long as Google is deploying AI as an opt-out service, you’ll have to be extra vigilant. …
… Regarding the latter, the Guardian reported that “under the studio’s design, voters would be required to verify their identity through Login.gov, the federal sign-in gateway, and to have their citizenship checked against a database run by the Department of Homeland Security.” Any plan for data rete… …