The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission against Google alleging the company has been collecting and data mining children’s data and Internet searches on their Google-sponsored Chromebooks, despite signing a legally enforceable Student Privacy Pledge.
Link: Google Deceptively Tracks Students’ Internet Browsing, EFF Says in FTC Complaint
Mark Zuckerberg announced the birth of his daughter with the creation of a $45 billion dollar charity initiative in an open letter he posted on the social network earlier this week. The initiative has sparked criticisms from critics wary of the charity’s LLC status, which gives Zuckerberg and Chan more flexibility in how the money can be used.
Link: Mark Zuckerberg Vows to Donate 99% of his Facebook Shares for Charity and Zuckerberg, Chan $45B Pledge is Not for Charity, but a Company
Facebook authorities have agreed to meet with the Banglesh government to increase cyber security measures. In particular, the deal will focus on measures to stop violence against women occurring over, or because of information spread through the social network.
Link: Facebook, Bangladesh to Meet for Cyber Security Deal
Yahoo briefly experimented with blocking people using ad-blocking software. Users who tried to log in to their Yahoo mail were prompted to turn off their ad blocker. The experiment was abruptly discontinued following complaints.
Link: Yahoo Mail Tried to Block Ad Blockers, and it Might Have Backfired
Austrian privacy campaigner, Max Schrems, has filed complaints with the data protection agencies of Ireland, Germany and Belgium, demanding they stop Facebook from transferring data of EU citizens over to the United States.
Link: Max Schrems Demands Facebook Stop EU to US Data Transfer Due to Snooping
The Republic of Kazakhstan will require that all Internet users within the country install national security certificates, which could be used to track traffic going in and out of the country.
Link: Kazakhstan Announces Plan to Spy on Encrypted Internet Traffic
The NSA’s bulk surveillance expired as of midnight on November 30th. Under the new system, NSA analysts and law enforcement will be required to get a court order to gain access to phone records. All metadata that has been collected through the program will be preserved through February 29th.
Link: NSA to Shut Down Bulk Phone Surveillance Program by Sunday
New lending startups are looking at potential borrowers’ phone records to assess creditworthiness, using variables such the number of texts sent and received, miles traveled, or even how frequently they charge their phone, in lieu of absent credit histories.
Link: Lending Startups Look at Borrowers’ Phone Usage to Asses Creditworthiness
There was a congressional hearing on the new email privacy bill earlier this week.
Link: Congress Wants to Protect Your Emails from Warrantless Searches