The FBI has NSA envy. While the NSA gets all the hot new tools to hack iPhones, Androids and all your favorite social media accounts, the FBI has been left to do regular old police […]
Tag: privacy
Facebook Owned Instagram To Be Covered In Ads
When a tech billionaire buys a product that is ad free and all about the users its usually a sign that things will change in the very near future. True to form, serial privacy invader […]
Google Announces Snow Job Of ‘Privacy Improvement’ In Attempt To Distract And Confuse Users
It’s important to remember that search, video and mobile phone operating systems are not the products Google makes. You’re the product. Or rather the troves of data the search giant maintains on you and sells […]
United Nations Rules Encryption And Anonymity Need To Be Protected
The United Nations released a report this week the underscored the importance of encryption and anonymity in the digital age, in order to preserve basic rights and freedoms. Authored by the UN special rapporteur on […]
Users March Against Facebook To Protest Dangerous Real Name Policy
Users around the world are becoming increasingly disgruntled with Facebook, the privacy-invading social network that is increasingly placing the internet, and social lives, in a strangle hold. A group that feels marginalized by Facebook’s ‘real […]
Uber Joins Silicon Valley Privacy Abuser Club, New App Will Track You 24/7
The latest attack on individual privacy comes courtesy of quasi-legal ride sharing app Uber, which will release an update to their app the week of July 15th that will track your location even when the […]
All The Photos You Upload To Google’s New Photos App Can Be Used By Google
Google’s new Photos app is a service that wants to “organize your memories.” But what Anil Sabharwal, head of Google Photos, didn’t tell you on Thursday is that all the photos you upload to Google’s […]
Judge Allows Lawsuit Against Yahoo Over Illegal Email Data Collection Used To Target Ads
A U.S. judge has allowed Yahoo Inc to face a nationwide class-action lawsuit for illegally intercepting the content of emails sent to Yahoo Mail subscribers from non-Yahoo Mail accounts, and then using that information to […]
Wearable Devices Found To Track Lots More Than They’re Supposed To
Wearable devices are all the rage, from smart watches to fitness trackers to portable music system they’re invading our life. Sometimes they’re even sewn into our clothes. But security firm Context Information Security recently released […]
Get Ready For More WhatsApp Spam
WhatsApp, the popular mobile messaging service owned by privacy monetizer Facebook, will be opening its platform up to businesses, allowing them to communicate with their customers. While its a way to monetize the service it […]
UK Government Secretly Changes Laws To Allow Illegal Spying
If anyone still thought legal challenges to surveillance are possible, think again. After, against all odds, succeeding in the United Kingdom it appears lawmakers will simply change the laws to allow for the otherwise illegal […]
South Korean Law Forces Spyware On Teen Mobile Phones
South Korea has adopted the highly repressive North Korean regime as its personal freedom reference point. As the North blocks sites and web pages with gusto, South Korea is now telling parents they must install […]
Facebook Creates Payment Platform To Steal Your Payment Data
It’s well known Facebook loves slurping your data. The content-ad network knows more about you than any other company on earth. It then sells this data to marketers, hence its multi-billion dollar valuation. But Facebook’s […]
Belgian Police Warn Facebook Is Seriously Violating Privacy Of Both Users And Non-Users
Belgium’s privacy watchdog, The Commission de Protection de la Vie Privée (CPVP), condemned Facebook for its tracking of users and non-users, saying the company is in breach of EU privacy laws. The commission said it […]
Google Leaves Backdoor In Hangouts For Easy Warantless Wiretapping
Google, a known NSA collaborator, has done its very best to muddy the waters about its cooperation with the unconstitutional spy programs. While on one hand allowing NSA wiretapping of its servers on the other […]
Rand Paul Threatens To Filibuster PATRIOT Act Renewal
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) has said he will filibuster to prevent any renewal of the controversial Patriot Act, which mostly expires on June 1st. The move can only be described as ‘privacy theater’. While the […]
Worker Fired For Disabling GPS App That Tracked Her 24 Hours Per Day
A case in California will set a legal landmark about just how much your employer can track and trace your every move. A California woman claims she was fired for uninstalling an app that her […]
Senators Want CIA Director To Admit He Lied In Hacking Scandal
While Congress and the Senate seem perfectly happy to have our secret police spy on law abiding Americans they apparently think they should be exempt from such measures. And they’re particularly upset that the CIA, […]
Virginia Sued Over Illegal Use Of License Plate Readers
The Fairfax County Police Department (FCPD) and its chief of police have been sued by a Virginia man for the unlawful collection of information about his license plate. The state’s own attorney general has previously […]
Court Rules Cellphone Tracking Doesn’t Require A Warrant
The latest blow to your privacy comes courtesy of the Atlanta-based 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The court ruled that investigators do not need a search warrant to obtain cellphone tower location records in […]
NSA Now Spying On Every American Phone Call By Converting Them To Text
New reports show that the NSA has been using software to convert your phone calls into transcripts stored in searchable databases, it was revealed on Tuesday. Documents leaked by Edward Snowden and published by The […]
Facebook’s Internet.org Is A Privacy Nightmare
Facebook announced yesterday that it was opening up its Internet.org service to all sites, in response to criticism that it was playing favorites and undermining net neutrality in developing countries – effectively conditioning the population […]
The Truth About Apps That Secretly Connect To Tracking Sites
There are two different ways to download apps. The first is the carefully curated Apple app store, which takes a notoriously tough review to have your app listed. The second is via the Google Play […]
Mass Surveillance Ruled Unconstitutional In Slovak Republic
Laws that allow for spying on European citizens continue to fall across the continent. First it was Bulgaria, which followed in the wake of the Netherlands. Yesterday the Constitutional Court of the Slovak Republic has […]
Here’s A List Of Everything Facebook Knows About You
And it isn’t just Facebook that knows all this – your data is freely shared with the NSA and CIA. It’s also available, without a warrant, to every law enforcement branch in the country. Just […]
New Legislation Voids Fourth Amendment, Shares Your Data Without Permission
While defense secretary Ashton Carter unveiled the Pentagon’s new Cyber Strategy last week he failed to mention the provision that will send private data about U.S. citizens and companies to foreign militaries. “To improve shared […]
Motel 6 Caught Uploading Guest Information To Police
In yet another example of pervasive spying on Americans by law enforcement and big corporations, the Providence Journal reports on a newly signed agreement between Motel 6 in Warwick, R.I. and the local police force. […]
Facebook Complains About EU Pressure To Be Accountable For Privacy
Facebook’s sizable EU lobby, headed by Richard Allan, has taken out advertising in leading newspapers this morning to complain about “multiple” EU nations digging around the network’s data slurping business practices. The company’s complaint is […]
Swiss Banks Latest To Declare War On Cash, Ban Withdrawals
Stunning news out of Switzerland this weekend where a Swiss pension fund manager, after calculating that he would save at least 25,000 CHF per year on every CHF 10m deposit due to negative interest rates, […]
Internet Bill Of Rights Shows Brazil Understands What We Don’t
CryptoRave, the largest conference on cryptology and Internet privacy in Latin America, kicked off Friday in São Paulo, Brazil. Several thousand people – young programmers, activists, hackers and self-described “cyberpunks” – will attend the 24-hour […]