online privacy

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Yep, It's Another Privacy Problem for Facebook

Millions of passwords were stored in plain text, a big no-no

(Newser) - Facebook left millions of user passwords readable by its employees for years, the company said Thursday, an acknowledgement it offered after a security researcher posted about the issue online. "Security rule 101 dictates that under no circumstances passwords should be stored in plain text, and at all times must...

Facebook Says It Gave 4 Chinese Companies Access

One of which was Huawei, which has lawmakers unnerved

(Newser) - Days after the New York Times came out with a report alleging that Facebook improperly let other companies have access to users' personal information comes a follow-up from the Times that reports the group included four Chinese companies—one of which US intelligence has identified as a possible national security...

Zuckerberg Says He Was One of the 87M
Zuckerberg Says He
Was One of the 87M
Apr 11, 2018 10:50 AM CDT

Zuckerberg Says He Was One of the 87M

Facebook CEO's own data was scooped up by Cambridge Analytica

(Newser) - Mark Zuckerberg was back on Capitol Hill Wednesday, and he told lawmakers in a House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing that his own Facebook information was compromised in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, with Zuckerberg numbering as one of the 87 million users whose data was shared. Reuters reports he didn'...

Apple's Wozniak Dumps Facebook: 'More Negatives Than Positives'

Apple co-founder has deactivated his account over data commotion

(Newser) - One of the biggest names in tech says he's defecting from one of tech's biggest platforms. Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak told USA Today in an email Sunday he's leaving Facebook due to privacy concerns in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data-mining scandal. "Users provide every...

Next Week, a Congressional Grilling for Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook CEO to testify next Wednesday in front of House committee on his site's use of user data

(Newser) - The leaders of a House oversight committee say Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg will testify before the panel next Wednesday. In an announcement Wednesday, Reps. Greg Walden and Frank Pallone say the hearing will focus on Facebook's "use and protection of user data." Facebook is facing scrutiny over...

Facebook Takes 'First of Many Steps' for Privacy

Privacy tools overhaul is in wake of multiple controversies, and to prep for tighter EU rules

(Newser) - Facebook is giving its privacy tools a makeover as it reels from criticisms over its data practices and faces tighter European regulations in the coming months. The changes won't affect Facebook's privacy policies or the types of data it gathers on users. But the company hopes its 2....

Facebook Made Him Rich. Now He Says Delete the Site

Brian Acton is co-founder of WhatsApp, which Facebook bought for $19B

(Newser) - WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton made a fortune when the messaging app was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion in 2014. Now he says it's time to dump the social media site. "It is time. #deletefacebook ," Acton tweeted Tuesday as the Cambridge Analytica data-mining scandal deepened. Acton remained...

Can Microsoft Defy Feds? Supreme Court to Weigh In

Company won't turn over emails held on server overseas

(Newser) - The Supreme Court is intervening in a digital-age privacy dispute between the Trump administration and Microsoft over emails stored abroad, per the AP . The justices said Monday they'll hear the administration's appeal of a lower court ruling in favor of Microsoft. The court held that the emails sought...

Tinder Users Will Likely Cringe at the Data Kept About Them

Columnist talks about her own 800 pages, and experts weigh in on the ramifications

(Newser) - If you use Tinder, you may be disturbed to find out just how much the dating app knows about you. Judith Duportail recently asked the company for access to the information it has on her, and, as she documents in the Guardian , she soon found out that information amounts to...

Cyberstalking in Congress: 2 Former Staffers Charged

Private photos and videos surfaced last year

(Newser) - Almost exactly a year ago, in July 2016, a "playful" family video and a handful of private nude images shared between husband and wife were posted online by an anonymous user who encouraged people to distribute them widely, per Politico . But the content wasn't about just anybody, it...

Parents Denied Access to Dead Daughter's Facebook

German court overturns prior ruling

(Newser) - When a 15-year-old girl died after being hit by a subway train in Berlin in 2012, her parents tried to access her Facebook account to determine whether it was an act of suicide. In 2015, a German court ruled in their favor, saying the girl's contract with Facebook passed...

Google's Latest Move Has 'Massive' Privacy Implications

Tech giant will start tracking offline purchasing

(Newser) - Google already tracks what you buy online; it's about to start tracking what you buy offline, too, the AP reports. The tech giant announced Tuesday it will start tracking money spent at merchants' brick-and-mortar stores by people who've clicked on those stores' digital ads. Google has access to...

Cards Against Humanity Creator Rails Against Congress

But his plan, and others', to strike back over web privacy may fall flat—at least for now

(Newser) - Congress has decided Americans' web browsing history isn't private , so Americans are now trying to turn the tables on Congress. Per the Washington Post , hundreds of thousands of dollars have been raised via various crowdfunding efforts—including more than $73,000 by Supernatural star Misha Collins and more than...

To VPN or Not to VPN: Protecting Online Privacy
The Tool That Could Keep
ISPs From Spying on You
THE RUNDOWN
Mar 29, 2017 5:09 PM CDT

The Tool That Could Keep ISPs From Spying on You

There are different schools of thought on virtual private networks, or VPNs

(Newser) - The country now waits for President Trump to put his signature on a bill blocking enforcement of FCC rules meant to keep internet service providers from selling and sharing user data. What people aren't waiting to do, however: freak out about the official loss of much of their privacy...

How Private Is Your Web History? Not Very, Decides Congress

Repeal of internet privacy rule now headed for Trump's desk

(Newser) - A measure to repeal online privacy rules brought in under former President Barack Obama before they take effect is on its way to President Trump's desk after the House passed it with a 215-205 vote. The measure—which passed the Senate 50-48 last week—blocks the FCC from enforcing...

ISPs Could Soon Be Able to Sell Your Data Without Permission
Online Privacy Takes
a Hit With Senate Vote
the rundown
Mar 24, 2017 5:14 PM CDT

Online Privacy Takes a Hit With Senate Vote

ISPs could soon be able to sell your data without permission

(Newser) - Soon, internet service providers may be able to share or sell your data without your permission. The Federal Communications Commission approved rules last year banning ISPs from doing just that, but on Thursday, the Senate voted along party lines, 50-48, to bar the FCC from enforcing those rules, even though...

FCC: ISPs Will Have to Ask Before Sharing Data

New broadband privacy rules approved

(Newser) - Federal regulators have approved new broadband privacy rules that make internet service providers like Comcast and Verizon ask customers' permission before using or sharing much of their data, the AP reports. Under the measure, for example, a broadband provider has to ask a customer's permission before it can disclose...

New Hazard of College Life: Roommate Spats Gone Viral

Latest is between 2 freshmen at Penn State

(Newser) - When a college freshman who's just getting to know her roommate starts tweeting things like "two weeks down and I already hate my roommate!" and "my roommate situation is a horror story," the inevitable result is that newest of dorm problems: the roommate feud gone...

Popular App Called 'Privacy Nightmare' for Facebook Users

The most-used-words app might be looking at more than words

(Newser) - In just a few days, more than 16 million people used a new app that creates a word cloud out of their most-used words on Facebook. They really shouldn't have done that, KFOR reports. An article published Sunday on Comparitech calls the app—from Korean startup Vonvon—a "...

Google Has Audio Files of Everything You've Asked It

Want to listen to them?

(Newser) - "It’s all there—my dumb voice asking dumb questions that I thought were lost into the ephemerality of Google’s search servers," Mike Murphy writes on Quartz . Murphy recently learned that not only does Google store records of all your text searches, it also keeps audio recordings...

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