2021-01-04 19:54
Police investigators are increasingly taking advantage of a new class of forensics technology known as digital vehicle forensics. When police have access, they will suck up an inordinate amo… Read More
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Online Privacy blog by Private Internet Access VPN. Learn how an anonymous VPN can help protect you and your family along with other top tech news and info.
2021-01-04 17:22
Nijeer Parks is suing the police after he was arrested and jailed in 2019 for ten days based on an incorrect facial recognition match. After a crime in Woodbridge, NJ, the local police depar… Read More
2021-01-01 17:01
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of January 1st, 2021
ACLU sues to find out how the FBI is breaking into encrypted devices
Court documents show that the Federal Bureau of Investig… Read More
2020-12-31 18:29
Get Schooled, an educational non profit organization created as a partnership between The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Viacom with significant help from AT&T has suffered a data… Read More
2020-12-30 16:41
It would be something of an understatement to say that Covid-19 has caused major changes to everyday life around the world. In the world of education, virtual classrooms, with students and… Read More
2020-12-24 15:40
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has the ability to break into encrypted phones and laptops, and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is suing so that the public can finally le… Read More
2020-12-24 14:00
The SolarWinds hack is the most serious breach of governmental and corporate security in years, perhaps the most serious breach ever – at least among those that we know about. The fir… Read More
2020-12-23 22:33
On December 18th, the U.S. Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released a proposed regulation seeking to increase financial surveillance of cryptocurren… Read More
2020-12-22 16:52
The fast growing world of fintech may eventually develop to the point where your credit score is based on your internet history. A new blogpost on the International Monetary Fund (IMF) blog… Read More
2020-12-18 17:30
Representative Tulsi Gabbard (D-HI) and Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) are cosponsoring a bipartisan bill titled the Protect Our Civil Liberties Act (H.R. 8970). If passed, the Act woul… Read More
2020-12-18 17:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of December 18th, 2020
WhatsApp calls Apple’s new privacy nutrition labels for iOS 14 anti-competitive
Facebook’s WhatsApp messenger h… Read More
2020-12-16 17:51
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has filed suit against the Baltimore Police Department (BDP) to end the use of spy planes for an invasive aerial surveillance campaign that has been… Read More
2020-12-15 16:11
A couple of weeks ago, Privacy News Online wrote about France’s controversial Global Security Law. One striking element was the authorization of drones for routine police surveillance… Read More
2020-12-15 14:22
The Private Internet Access (PIA) NextGen VPN Network keeps getting better. PIA is announcing the release of its dedicated IP address feature. This feature has been widely requested. We are… Read More
2020-12-14 17:49
The preliminary feedback from initial reviewers of Amazon’s wearable Halo band is in: namely that the Amazon Halo band is “the most invasive tech we’ve ever tested.”… Read More
2020-12-11 17:01
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of December 11th, 2020
The US government admits to using the Patriot Act to collect web browsing information
The Director of National Intelligence… Read More
2020-12-10 23:31
Facebook’s WhatsApp is publicly protesting Apple’s privacy nutrition labels, calling the privacy labels “anti-competitive.” WhatsApp wishes its iOS users to know that… Read More
2020-12-10 16:26
It’s no secret that practically every Web page we visit is infested with trackers. On its own, that would be bad enough. But most trackers are used in order to aggregate enormous qua… Read More
2020-12-04 17:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of December 4th, 2020
Amazon’s Ring moves even closer to becoming the perfect urban police surveillance system
The increased prevalence of A… Read More
2020-12-03 20:56
Letters between the Director of National Intelligence (DNI) and Senator Ron Wyden confirm that the United States government has used Section 215 of the Patriot Act to collect web browsing in… Read More
2020-12-03 16:40
U.S. Customs Border Protection (CBP) has filed a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that highlights their ongoing plans to create a facial recognition database with mugshots of all non-US… Read More
2020-12-01 22:00
The Amazon Sidewalk program has officially launched in the United States: and it’s opt-out. Amazon Sidewalk turns your home’s Amazon Alexa device into a bridge device – a r… Read More
2020-12-01 16:53
For the second time in a week, demonstrations took place across France against a new “Global Security Law”. The proposed legislation would bring in wide-ranging police surveilla… Read More
2020-11-30 16:53
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has been in hot water and under investigation by its oversight body for buying location information on American citizens without a warrant. Motherboard has… Read More
2020-11-27 17:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of November 27th, 2020
Official Trump 2020 App collected phone numbers from contact lists without consent and could sell that data
New details abou… Read More
2020-11-24 16:23
Back in July last year, this blog wrote about Amazon’s Ring series, whose key product is a small Internet-connected camera built into a doorbell. At that time, it was already clear tha… Read More
2020-11-24 16:20
Google is being sued by individuals that allege that the company uses cellular data without permission to send information back to Google. Google is facing a lawsuit that highlights just how… Read More
2020-11-20 17:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of November 20th, 2020
Proposed FTC settlement is a disservice to Zoom customers, says Commissioner
The FTC has released its proposed settlem… Read More
2020-11-20 16:27
Some default Apple apps on MacOS Big Sur bypass any VPN or firewall rules set by the user to send information like what programs you run back to Apple. Namely, the Apple App store and 50 oth… Read More
2020-11-19 16:22
As this blog has frequently noted, the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) plays a crucial role in the privacy world. It not only creates protections for privacy online in… Read More
2020-11-18 23:42
Phunware, the developers of the Official Trump 2020 App, is in dire financial straits due to a lawsuit with Uber. This has lead experts and media to question what will happen to the vast dro… Read More
2020-11-16 20:36
Zoom and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) have come to a tentative settlement agreement regarding the video conferencing company’s false advertising of end-to-end encryption along wi… Read More
2020-11-13 17:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of November 13th, 2020
EU continues to push for lawful access (aka backdoors) to end-to-end encrypted data
A draft resolution by the Council of the… Read More
2020-11-12 16:30
This blog frequently covers the world of EU data protection because it is that region of the world that leads the way in regulating digital privacy, just as the US leads the way in terms of… Read More
2020-11-09 21:42
A leaked draft resolution from the Council of the European Union highlights that the government is planning to crack down on the end-to-end (e2e) encryption used by messaging apps such as Si… Read More
2020-11-06 17:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of November 6th, 2020
EU politicians want Europe’s next big digital law to tackle micro-targeted advertising, by regulating or even banning i… Read More
2020-11-05 16:45
On election day, California voters chose to pass Proposition 24, which alters the newly inaugurated California Consumer Protection Act (CCPA) with some pretty significant changes that can be… Read More
2020-11-04 17:00
A couple of weeks ago, this blog looked at a rather unexpected consequence of the decision by the EU’s top court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), to strike down the… Read More
2020-11-02 18:06
When Privacy News Online first wrote about Covid-19, in February, we noted that it would touch on key concerns of this blog: freedom of speech, surveillance and privacy. Already by March, i… Read More
2020-10-30 16:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of October 30th, 2020
Thailand orders ISPs to block Telegram amid ongoing protests
According to a leaked document that was marked top secret, the T… Read More
2020-10-30 13:00
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has recently gained approval to start recording the aerial footage captured by its helicopters. The police say that being able to record video survei… Read More
2020-10-27 21:31
Internet service providers (ISPs) in Germany may soon be forced to apply DNS blocks to stop users from accessing porn sites like Pornhub, xHamster, and YouPorn. German authorities, led by a… Read More
2020-10-27 15:29
Although privacy is by its very nature personal, it is also something that concerns everyone. As a result, local data protection laws can have a global impact. That’s certainly been th… Read More
2020-10-23 19:30
A new report by non profit in Washington D.C. has used FOIA requests to highlight that police departments across the country have tools to break into phones and download all data. The report… Read More
2020-10-23 18:30
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of October 23rd, 2020
French data protection authority says it can’t trust top US Internet companies with EU personal data – even if th… Read More
2020-10-20 20:32
Thai users of Telegram will soon need a VPN to access the increasingly popular messaging app. The government of Thailand has ordered Thai internet service providers (ISPs) to block the Teleg… Read More
2020-10-19 17:17
The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) has officially banned TikTok for providing access to “immoral and indecent” videos – though it remains to be seen how perman… Read More
2020-10-16 16:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of October 16th, 2020
Survey finds 85% of smartphone users believe they’re being spied on by a mobile app
A new survey by WhistleOut asked u… Read More
2020-10-15 13:00
Last month, this blog looked at the continuing repercussions of the decision by the EU’s top court, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), to strike down the Privacy Shield… Read More
2020-10-12 16:00
According to court records from an arson case in Florida, Google regularly provides information to law enforcement about people that search a particular term or physical location using a Goo… Read More
2020-10-09 20:34
U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu of Oakland, CA has issued a subpoena to Twitter asking the social media platform to provide the IP address and account registration information used to create… Read More
2020-10-09 16:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of October 9th, 2020
Representatives Garcia and Wagner introduce EARN IT Act to the House
The EARN IT Act has officially been introduced to the Ho… Read More
2020-10-08 15:05
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has an oversight body, and according to Motherboard, that oversight body has launched a formal investigation into the IRS’s use of location data with… Read More
2020-10-07 18:00
A new survey by WhistleOut provides some numbers to back up a growing sentiment: That an app on your smartphone is spying on you right this second while you read this article. The latest num… Read More
2020-10-07 17:30
National governments in the EU are very keen for communication companies to store traffic and location data for all their users. They claim this is necessary to enable the authorities to fi… Read More
2020-10-05 14:30
The Eliminating Abusive and Rampant Neglect of Interactive Technologies Act (EARN IT Act) is now on the House of Representatives floor. The bill (full text) was submitted by Representatives… Read More
2020-10-02 16:01
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of October 2nd, 2020
Russia wants to outlaw TLS 1.3, ESNI, DNS over HTTPS, and DNS over TLS
A newly released draft law by the Russian Ministry of… Read More
2020-10-02 15:28
A senior US state official has alleged that big tech companies are already handing over Hong Kong user data to Chinese officials, The Guardian reports. Hong Kong has been drastically changed… Read More
2020-09-30 22:55
At least five bar owners in Grenoble, France have been arrested for providing WiFi at their businesses without keeping logs. The bar owners were arrested under a 2006 law that technically cl… Read More
2020-09-30 19:55
We recently launched our NextGen VPN networks of servers which are faster, better for streaming and have more locations to choose from. All users must update to the latest client version: (W… Read More
2020-09-30 15:00
It is hardly news that we are being tracked as we visit Web sites, and move around the Internet. As this blog has reported, it’s the basis of today’s main online business model:… Read More
2020-09-25 16:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of September 25th, 2020
TikTok and WeChat banned in the US? American users need a VPN
The U.S. Department of Commerce has issued an order to essen… Read More
2020-09-23 18:30
Facebook is facing a lawsuit which alleges that the Instagram app spied on users through their cameras. Earlier this year, an update to iOS which included privacy warnings when an app does t… Read More
2020-09-23 15:32
Last week Privacy News Online wrote about developments in the long-running battle between the privacy campaigner Max Schrems and Facebook. One of the key issues there is the failure by the… Read More
2020-09-22 15:11
The Russian Ministry of Digital Development, Communications, and Mass Media has released a draft law which outlines plans to outlaw TLS 1.3, ESNI, DNS over HTTPS, and DNS over TLS. The draft… Read More
2020-09-18 19:26
Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) are a popular and effective way to bypass bans. Recently, the governments in India and the United States have banned certain apps like WeChat and TikTok from… Read More
2020-09-18 16:07
The United States government has officially banned TikTok and WeChat from American phones, citing national security concerns. Starting Sunday, September the 20th, TikTok and WeChat will no l… Read More
2020-09-18 16:01
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of September 18th, 2020
SaveOnlineFreeSpeech.org lets you comment against Trump’s “Censor the Internet” executive order
Digital… Read More
2020-09-17 19:30
Privacy flaws in contact discovery have led to a research team being able to enumerate all American Signal users. Enumeration means that using the contact discovery built into the Signal app… Read More
2020-09-17 17:18
Back in July, this blog reported on a major victory for the privacy campaigner Max Schrems at the Court of Justice of the European Union, (CJEU). Following that win, the big question now is… Read More
2020-09-16 20:18
AT&T is planning to offer ad-supported phone plans within a year, according to an exclusive interview that AT&T CEO John Stankey had with Reuters. For those that are keeping track of… Read More
2020-09-14 16:08
Fight for the Future has unveiled a new website and campaign to Save Free Speech Online: SaveOnlineFreeSpeech.org. The website helps you make a comment on the public record against President… Read More
2020-09-11 16:00
Quantum computing is gradually moving from the realm of science – and even science fiction – to become a practical technology that is being used in real-life contexts. Three yea… Read More
2020-09-11 16:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of September 11th, 2020
Federal courts rule that reverse location requests by police violate the Fourth Amendment
Law enforcement has previously u… Read More
2020-09-10 16:43
Human rights experts from the United Nations have published a 14-page letter which was sent to China in which they lay out their concerns that China is violating international human rights a… Read More
2020-09-09 18:00
The Private Internet Access Next Generation Network is online and functional, but you need to be using the latest version of the PIA client on your device to take full advantage of it. The N… Read More
2020-09-05 00:40
Julian Assange, the editor and founder of WikiLeaks, will be taken into a London courtroom on Monday for a hearing which will determine whether he will be extradited to the United States to… Read More
2020-09-04 16:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of September 4th, 2020
Mozilla study reaffirms that internet history can be used for “reidentification”
The sites we visit on the inte… Read More
2020-09-03 03:58
The United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit has just ruled that the “NSA’s bulk collection of Americans’ phone records was illegal.” For years, the NSA h… Read More
2020-09-02 17:59
The Fourth Amendment has been interpreted to mean that law enforcement can’t serve a warrant on tech companies like Google to try and find out what devices were near the scene of a cri… Read More
2020-09-02 15:30
One of the reasons why protecting privacy is so hard is that our data is vulnerable in so many ways as it flows across the Internet. Threats can come from the companies that run online serv… Read More
2020-08-31 15:02
A recent research paper has reaffirmed that our internet history can be reliably used to identify us. The research was conducted by Sarah Bird, Ilana Segall, and Martin Lopatka from Mozilla… Read More
Google Is Removing Fediverse Apps From The Play Store Because They Can Be Used To Access Hate Speech
2020-08-28 18:24
A growing number of mobile apps meant to access the Fediverse are being removed from the Google Play Store. According to user reports, recently removed apps include Husky, Subway Tooter, and… Read More
2020-08-28 16:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of August 28th, 2020
Max Schrems files 101 complaints across 30 European countries to turbocharge GDPR’s impact – and he’… Read More
2020-08-27 16:15
Due to the success of our weekly Privacy News Online videos, we are now releasing each episode and special as a free podcast which is available through several popular platforms:
Apple Podca… Read More
2020-08-26 22:31
The government in Denmark has fired 3 top officials from the country’s foreign intelligence agency, the Forsvarets Efterretningstjeneste (FE), following revelations from a whistleblowe… Read More
2020-08-26 15:31
Two years ago, Privacy News Online warned that the growing number of large-scale DNA databases were likely to become a serious threat to people’s privacy. Sadly, things have not impro… Read More
2020-08-24 16:56
The second largest torrent site in the world, YTS, is actively working with copyright infringement lawyers to extort cash from torrent downloaders. This isn’t the only historical insta… Read More
2020-08-21 19:00
Consumer credit reporting agency Experian has suffered a data breach at their South African branch. The Experian data breach didn’t expose consumer credit or financial information, but… Read More
2020-08-21 16:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of August 21st, 2020
How the government legally tracks your smartphone use with the Anomaly Six SDK
Some of the apps on your smartphone could be s… Read More
Unsecured Social Data Database Leaks 235 Million Public Profiles From TikTok, Instagram, And YouTube
2020-08-20 19:15
Researchers from Comparitech have discovered yet another unsecured database which has leaked 235 million records to the world. The records include hundreds of millions from Instagram, forty… Read More
2020-08-19 16:00
Last month, Privacy News Online discussed another major win for the privacy activist Max Schrems. The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), the EU’s top court, agreed with Sch… Read More
2020-08-19 15:03
Clear Channel, a international traditional advertising company known for its billboards, will be bringing its Radar tracking program to Europe following some tweaks to the program to bring i… Read More
2020-08-14 16:53
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of August 14th, 2020
Chinese gamers will need to verify their real names on all games by September
The Chinese government is rolling out a real na… Read More
2020-08-13 21:00
The New Jersey Supreme Court has ruled that passcodes aren’t protected by the Fifth Amendment. States around the country, and other countries around the world, continue to rule differe… Read More
2020-08-13 16:23
A new class action lawsuit in the state of Illinois is trying to bring Facebook to task for illegally harvesting biometrics data, specifically facial recognition data or a “face templa… Read More
2020-08-12 16:21
Automated facial recognition has emerged as one of the most problematic technologies for privacy. That’s reflected in the increasing number of posts on this blog dealing with the issue… Read More
2020-08-11 15:55
A Virginia based government contracting firm called Anomaly Six LLC has been revealed to be inserting a proprietary software development kit (SDK) into over five hundred mobile apps then sha… Read More
2020-08-10 17:14
The Great Firewall of China is getting longer. Chinese censors upgraded the GFW to be able to block HTTPS traffic that uses TLS 1.3 and ESNI. We know about this news thanks to a joint report… Read More
2020-08-07 16:00
Featured: Privacy News Online – Week of August 7th, 2020
The Garmin hack could have been a disastrous, large scale privacy breach
The recent ransomware attack on GPS company Garmin h… Read More
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