Privacy

European police chiefs target E2EE in latest demand for ‘lawful access’

Privacy /

In the latest iteration of the never-ending (and always head-scratching) crypto wars, Graeme Biggar, the director general of the U.K.’s National Crime Agency (NCA), has called on Instagram’s parent, Meta, to rethink its continued rollout of end-to-end encryption (E2EE). The call follows a joint declaration on Sunday by European police chiefs, including the U.K.’s own, […]

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Lawmakers vote to reauthorize US spying law that critics say expands government surveillance

Privacy /

Lawmakers passed legislation early Saturday reauthorizing and expanding a controversial U.S. surveillance law shortly after the powers expired at midnight, rejecting opposition by privacy advocates and lawmakers. The bill, which passed on a 60-34 vote, reauthorizes powers known as Section 702 under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), which allows the government to collect the

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Your Android phone could have stalkerware — here’s how to remove it

Privacy /

Consumer-grade spyware apps that covertly and continually monitor your private messages, photos, phone calls and real-time location are a growing problem for Android users. This guide can help you identify and remove common surveillance apps from your Android phone, including TheTruthSpy, KidsGuard and other apps. READ OUR EXCLUSIVE INVESTIGATION Consumer-grade spyware apps are frequently sold

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Cape dials up $61M from a16z and more for mobile service that doesn’t use personal data

Privacy /

AT&T’s recent mega customer data breach — 74 million accounts affected — laid bare how much data carriers have on their users, and also that the data is there for the hacking. On Thursday, a startup called Cape — based out of Washington, D.C., and founded by a former executive from Palantir — is announcing

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Adtech giants like Meta must give EU users real privacy choice, says EDPB

Privacy /

The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has published new guidance that has major implications for adtech giants like Meta and other large platforms. Since November 2023, the owner of Facebook and Instagram has forced users in the European Union to agree to being tracked and profiled for its ad targeting business, or else pay it

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EU privacy body adopts view on Meta’s controversial ‘consent or pay’ tactic

Privacy /

Incoming guidance by an expert steering body on European Union data protection law could have major implications for Meta’s advertising business model. The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) has decided that large platforms such as Facebook and Instagram cannot force a “binary” pay or consent choice on users, Politico reported on Wednesday, citing two people

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Meta’s ‘consent or pay’ tactic must not prevail over privacy, EU rights groups warn

Privacy /

Nearly two dozen civil society groups and nonprofits have written an open letter to the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), urging it not to endorse a strategy used by Meta that they say is intended to bypass the EU’s privacy protections for commercial gain. The letter comes ahead of a meeting of the EDPB this

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Government spyware is another reason to use an ad blocker

Privacy /

Ad blockers might seem like an unlikely defense in the fight against spyware, but new reporting casts fresh light on how spyware makers are weaponizing online ads to allow governments to conduct surveillance. Spyware makers are reportedly capable of locating and stealthily infecting specific targets with spyware using banner ads. One of the startups that

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Alternative browsers report uplift after EU’s DMA choice screen mandate

Privacy /

A flagship European Union digital market regulation appears to be shaking up competition in the mobile browser market. It’s been a little over a month since the Digital Markets Act (DMA) came into application and there are early signs it’s having an impact by forcing phone makers to show browser choice screens to users. On

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Proton picks up Standard Notes to deepen its pro-privacy portfolio

Privacy /

Switzerland-based Proton, the privacy-focused firm behind end-to-end encrypted (E2EE) webmail ProtonMail and other apps, has acquired Standard Notes, a note-taking app founded back in 2017. It offers the same kind of robust privacy promise to its 300,000+ users by also applying E2EE. In a press release announcing the move, Proton emphasized the pair’s “shared values,”

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