Category Archives: Privacy

Saudi Arabia warns Snapchat users that ‘insulting’ regime is a criminal offense

Posted on by

Users of the social media app have faced legal consequences for posts – some private – that are critical of Saudi authorities

Saudi state media issued an explicit warning that it is a criminal offense to “insult” authorities using social media apps such as Snapchat, the California-based messaging app whose chief executive recently forged a new “cooperation” deal with the kingdom’s culture ministry.

The threat – which was originally televised in April and then deleted – has gained new resonance as more cases emerge in which Snapchat users and influencers in the kingdom have been arrested by authorities and, in some cases, sentenced to decades-long prison sentences.

Continue reading...

Amazon’s Ring doorbell was used to spy on customers, FTC says in privacy case

Posted on by

In the agency’s latest effort to hold big tech accountable, the company agreed to settle the privacy violations for $5.8m

A former employee of Amazon’s Ring doorbell camera unit spied on female customers for months in 2017 with cameras placed in bedrooms and bathrooms, the Federal Trade Commission said in a court filing on Wednesday when it announced a $5.8m settlement with the company over privacy violations.

Amazon also agreed to pay $25m to settle allegations it violated children’s privacy rights when it failed to delete Alexa recordings at the request of parents and kept them longer than necessary, according to a court filing in federal court in Seattle that outlined a separate settlement.

Continue reading...

Facebook owner Meta fined €1.2bn for mishandling user information

Posted on by

Penalty from Ireland’s privacy regulator is a record for breach of EU data protection regulation

Facebook’s owner, Meta, has been fined a record €1.2bn (£1bn) and ordered to suspend the transfer of user data from the EU to the US.

The fine – equivalent to $1.3bn – imposed by Ireland’s Data Protection Commission (DPC), which regulates Meta across the EU, is a record for a breach of the bloc’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Continue reading...

Real estate agents push back against Australian privacy law changes designed to protect personal data

Posted on by

Real Estate Institute of Australia president says additional layer of responsibility could force smaller agencies to close down

Real estate agents are pushing back against proposed privacy law changes, saying small businesses should not face more red tape to keep customer and tenant data safe.

The Real Estate Institute of Australia president, Hayden Groves, said that an “additional layer of responsibility is really not necessary” on top of agents’ existing duties, saying that increased regulatory risks could be “the last straw” for smaller agencies which may shut up shop.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Ministers looking at body-worn facial recognition technology for police

Posted on by

Government’s intentions revealed in document produced for surveillance camera commissioner

Ministers are calling for facial recognition technology to be “embedded” in everyday policing, including potentially linking it to the body-worn cameras officers use as they patrol streets.

Until now, police use of live facial recognition in England and Wales has been limited to special operations such as football matches and public events such as the coronation.

Continue reading...

Warnings over NHS data privacy after ‘stalker’ doctor shares woman’s records

Posted on by

Exclusive: Victim speaks of feeling violated by hospital doctor incident that expert says is evidence of ‘systemic’ flaw in England

The confidentiality of NHS medical records has been thrown into doubt after a “stalker” hospital doctor accessed and shared highly sensitive information about a woman who had started dating her ex-boyfriend, despite not being involved in her care.

The victim was left in “fear, shock and horror” when she learned that the doctor had used her hospital’s medical records system to look at the woman’s GP records and read – and share – intimate details, known only to a few people, about her and her children.

Continue reading...

EU lawyers say plan to scan private messages for child abuse may be unlawful

Posted on by

Under proposed ‘chat controls’ regulation, any encrypted service provider could be forced to screen for ‘identifiers’

An EU plan under which all WhatsApp, iMessage and Snapchat accounts could be screened for child abuse content has hit a significant obstacle after internal legal advice said it would probably be annulled by the courts for breaching users’ rights.

Under the proposed “chat controls” regulation, any encrypted service provider could be forced to survey billions of messages, videos and photos for “identifiers” of certain types of content where it was suspected a service was being used to disseminate harmful material.

Continue reading...

UK competition watchdog launches review of AI market

Posted on by

CMA to look at underlying systems of artificial intelligence tools amid concerns over false information

The UK competition watchdog has fired a shot across the bows of companies racing to commercialise artificial intelligence technology, announcing a review of the sector as fears grow over the spread of misinformation and major disruption in the jobs market.

As pressure builds on global regulators to increase their scrutiny of the technology, the Competition and Markets Authority said it would look at the underlying systems, or foundation models, behind AI tools such as ChatGPT. The initial review, described by one legal expert as a “pre-warning” to the sector, will publish its findings in September.

Continue reading...

Australian government resists blanket WeChat ban despite restrictions by multiple departments

Posted on by

Several federal departments already banning Chinese communications app after decision on TikTok in early April

The Australian government is resisting issuing a ban on WeChat on government devices despite many government departments instituting their own bans after the TikTok edict earlier this month.

TikTok was banned from government devices in early April over data collection and security concerns connected to the Chinese government.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

TikTok data collection could reveal what floor a user is on, cybersecurity firm says

Posted on by

Australian-US company Internet 2.0 says social media app now seeks users’ altitude information, according to source code

The Australian-US cybersecurity company that last year revealed the extent of TikTok’s data collection says the social media company has increased what location information it collects to include altitude, which could tell it what floor of a building a user is on.

Last year Internet 2.0 released a study on the data TikTok attempts to collect on user devices, which includes contact lists and calendars, and its scanning of hard drives and geolocating devices on an hourly basis.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

TikTok can still access data from Australian government devices via app on personal phones, academic warns

Posted on by

Data sharing between platforms could limit effectiveness of social media app’s ban from government devices

TikTok could still access information held on Australian government devices if public servants and politicians continue to use the app on their personal mobile devices, according to a legal academic from the University of New South Wales.

Dr Katharine Kemp, who focuses on consumer law and has researched a wide variety of privacy policies for digital apps, said the loophole could limit the effectiveness of the ban on TikTok from government devices.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Consumer advocates reject media calls to preserve exemptions to Australian privacy law

Posted on by

Centre for Responsible Technology ‘supportive’ of proposed reforms, calling them the ‘first significant upgrade of privacy laws in four decades’

Consumer digital rights advocates have rejected media companies’ call to preserve their exemption to privacy law, warning that commercial models should not be put ahead of public interest.

Peter Lewis, the director of the Australia Institute’s Centre for Responsible Technology, said it was “disappointing” that the Right to Know coalition “set up with the laudable goal of protecting journalists and whistleblowers is now being deployed to prosecute Big Media’s business interests at the expense of the public they purport to serve”.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Almost 40% of domestic tasks could be done by robots ‘within decade’

Posted on by

Chores such as shopping likely to have most automation, while caring for young or old least likely to be affected, says report

A revolution in artificial intelligence could slash the amount of time people spend on household chores and caring, with robots able to perform about 39% of domestic tasks within a decade, according to experts.

Tasks such as shopping for groceries were likely to have the most automation, while caring for the young or old was the least likely to be affected by AI, according to a large survey of 65 artificial intelligence (AI) experts in the UK and Japan, who were asked to predict the impact of robots on household chores.

Continue reading...

Woolworths expands self-checkout AI that critics say treats ‘every customer as a suspect’

Posted on by

Supermarket says cameras used to detect accidental wrong scans while experts say the technology is ‘punitive’ and call for reforms to protect privacy

Woolworths has expanded the use of technology that films customers scanning items at self-checkouts to 110 stores in three states, as critics say the functionality could make people feel they are under constant surveillance.

For the past year, Woolworths has trialled new self-checkouts with cameras installed overhead to observe customers scanning items. The company said artificial intelligence is used to detect when items are not scanned correctly, with footage of the scan recorded and played back to the customer instructing them to re-scan.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Bodies of missing men found – as it happened

Posted on by

This blog is now closed. Follow our next Australia news live blog here when it launches

Where the parties stand

So the Greens are pushing hard against new coal and gas but have not indicated they are willing to kill off the legislation.

We’re willing to negotiate on everything that we consider will be in keeping with our government’s approach and our election mandate. Nothing more, nothing less. We went to the people seeking a mandate. That’s what we will implement.

Continue reading...

Australians able to opt out of targeted ads and erase their data under proposed privacy reforms

Posted on by

Individual rights could be modelled on the EU’s general data protection regulation or GDPR, a review by the attorney general’s department says

Australians would gain greater control of their personal information, including the ability to opt out of targeted ads, erase their data and sue for serious breaches of privacy, under a proposal to the Albanese government.

On Thursday the attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, will release a review conducted by his department into modernisation of the Privacy Act which calls to expand its remit to small businesses and add new safeguards for use of data by political parties.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

An improved My Health Record will be at centre of push to modernise primary healthcare

Posted on by

Better digital systems are to be discussed at national cabinet, while the AMA will call for stronger safeguards to protect patient data

The under-utilised and much-maligned My Health Record will be at the centre of a push to modernise primary healthcare, with better digital systems to be discussed at national cabinet.

The Strengthening Medicare Taskforce has agreed to improve and expand the use of the platform, with a broader range of health professionals able to access and add to digital health records a key recommendation of its report to drive improvements in primary care.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

Continue reading...

Dating app background and ID checks being considered in bid to fight abuse

Posted on by

National roundtable mulls safety strategies as communications minister says ‘no one law is going to fix this issue’

Background checks and ID verification systems in dating apps are among the measures being considered as governments around the country grapple with how to keep people safe while they are looking for love online.

The strategies were discussed by ministers, victim-survivors, authorities and technology companies as part of national dating app roundtable talks in Sydney on Wednesday.

Sign up for Guardian Australia’s free morning and afternoon email newsletters for your daily news roundup

In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is on 13 11 14 and the national family violence counselling service is on 1800 737 732. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on freephone 116 123 and the domestic abuse helpline is 0808 2000 247. In the US, the suicide prevention lifeline is 1-800-273-8255 and the domestic violence hotline is 1-800-799-SAFE (7233). Other international helplines can be found via www.befrienders.org

Continue reading...

Meta dealt blow by EU ruling that could result in data use ‘opt-in’

Posted on by

Irish regulator fines Facebook owner €390m after EU rejects argument for use of data to drive personalised ads

The business model of Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta empire has been dealt a blow following a ruling that its legal justification for targeting users with personalised ads broke EU data laws.

Campaigners said the move could force the Facebook and Instagram owner to ask users to “opt in” to having their data used for targeted ads.

Continue reading...

Leo Varadkar nightclub footage triggers privacy debate in Ireland

Posted on by

Leaked clip of deputy leader also fuels moves to tighten social media regulation

A video of Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s tánaiste, socialising in a nightclub has triggered a debate about the right to privacy and regulation of social media.

The brief clip of the deputy prime minister was clandestinely recorded in a Dublin nightclub earlier this month and has racked up millions of views on multiple platforms.

Continue reading...