Tootfinder

from my link log —
Most people do not expect Google to track their activities so pervasively.
https://www.niemanlab.org/2019/04/does-google-meet-its-users-expectations-around-consumer-privacy-this-ne…

Does Google meet its users’ expectations around consumer privacy? This news industry research says no
A significant majority of consumers do not expect Google to track their activities across their lives, their locations, on other sites, and on other platforms.

FPF Releases Updated Report on the State Comprehensive Privacy Law Landscape
https://fpf.org/blog/fpf-releases-updated-report-on-the-state-comprehensive-privacy-law-landscape/
@…

Texas is making a list of transgender Texans using DMV data | KUT Radio, Austin's NPR Station https://www.kut.org/politics/2025-12-15/texas-trans-transgender-drivers-license-id-list-privacy

Texas is making a list of transgender Texans. It’s using driver's licenses to help.
A year after the state blocked transgender Texans from updating their state IDs, it has collected information on more than 100 people who have tried. Officials won’t say what they’re using the list for.

Each week, Metacurity is proud to offer our free and premium subscribers a digest of the best long-form (and longish) infosec-related pieces we couldn't properly fit into our daily news crush.
This week's selection covers
--Thai citizens are trafficked to unlock bank accounts with facial ID,
--Texas police deploy AI surveillance with little transparency,
--Bot swarms threaten democracy,
--Digital age checks erode privacy, security, and free speech,
-…

Best infosec-related long reads for the week of 2/7/26
Thai citizens are trafficked to unlock bank accounts with facial ID, Texas police deploy AI surveillance with little transparency, Bot swarms threaten democracy, Digital age checks erode privacy, security, and free speech, Promptware attacks could pose Stuxnet-scale cyber threats.

Wow, what a wonderful day at @… ! They put on a great conference and I was honored to have been part of it. I held a privacy workshop and gave a #fedvierse talk. I just posted the worksheets from the workshop and the presentation from the talk over on the …

Figured out a cheap trick to blur a smartphone's camera:
1. Cut a piece of transparent adhesive tape.
2. Sandpaper it.
3. Attach on top of the camera.
Wanted to blur instead of covering the camera, because the phone interprets full cover as darkness and dims the screen.
#privacy #diy

Google agrees to pay $8.25M to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging its AdMob SDK illegally collected data from children under age 13 (Suzanne Smalley/The Record)
https://therecord.media/google-youtube-lawsuit-settle

Google to pay $8.25 million to settle lawsuit alleging children’s privacy violations
Google has agreed to pay $8.25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit centered on claims that it habitually and illegally collected data from devices belonging to children under age 13.

pgp_strong: PGP web of trust (2009)
Strongly connected component of the Pretty-Good-Privacy (PGP) web of trust among users, circa November 2009.
This network has 39796 nodes and 301498 edges.
Tags: Social, Online, Unweighted
https://networks.skewed.de/net/pgp_strong

To maintain Apple’s privacy pledge, the Gemini-based AI will run directly on Apple devices or its private cloud system, which is powered by Apple’s own server chips, rather than running on Google’s servers. Google put significant engineering effort into getting a version of Gemini working on Apple’s servers, according to a person familiar with the partnership talks.

Meta aims to introduce
facial recognition to its
smart glasses
while its biggest critics are distracted,
according to a report from The New York Times.
In an internal document reviewed by The Times, Meta says it will
💥launch the feature “during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.”
The document is from last May and reportedly describes …

Meta reportedly wants to add face recognition to smart glasses while privacy advocates are distracted
Meta is planning to add facial recognition technology to its smart glasses while critics are distracted by political events, according to a report from The New York Times.

the best thing about our ring camera is the battery is dead 95% of the time.
#privacy
https://mastodon.social/@eff/115697276823039413

You know what? This switching.software website is great. Very down to earth, non-techie approach, exactly the thing needed for most people.
https://switching.software/

RE: https://mastodon.social/@cheeaun/116052332060770274
Now that the poll is done, thinking if something like this make sense?

California privacy agency appoints surveillance expert to board https://therecord.media/ccpa-appoints-new-board-member

Nesta poll on public attitudes to AI in the public sector: 'Top concerns centre on AI inaccuracy, over-reliance and privacy risks'
https://www.nesta.org.uk/blog/five-essential-insights-for-public-sector-managers-on-a…

Five essential insights for public sector managers on AI and public trust
Our findings highlight five critical areas of concern and support that should inform how public sector organisations approach AI adoption

Google agrees to pay $8.25M to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging its AdMob SDK illegally collected data from children under age 13 (Suzanne Smalley/The Record)
https://therecord.media/google-youtube-lawsuit-settle

Google to pay $8.25 million to settle lawsuit alleging children’s privacy violations
Google has agreed to pay $8.25 million to settle a class-action lawsuit centered on claims that it habitually and illegally collected data from devices belonging to children under age 13.

You may have come across the I-have-nothing-to-hide argument as a response to concerns about digital mass surveillance. It's a red herring; the real argument is about who gets to choose what to share.
https://theprivacydad.com/i-have-nothing-but-red-herring-to-hide/

De EU schiet wel echt heen en weer tussen goede bescherming van de burgers en dan weer spioneren
EU Revives Plan for Year-Long Online Data Retention
https://reclaimthenet.org/eu-revives-plan-for-year-long-data-retention

If you’re wondering how good the “give up all your privacy and we’ll give you really super relevant ads” industry is going, Instagram keeps showing me ads from Henry Winston Jewelers. Hashtag nope.

“Of course we care about people, that’s why we promote privacy for … governments [and the police, military, etc.]” is one helluva take.
Let me break it down for those of you whose salaries depend on conflating people with corporations and governments because it isn’t hard:
Privacy is a human right.
Not a corporate right. Not a governmental right. Not a law enforcement right. Not a military right. A *human* right.
Corporations, governments, police departments, militari…

Selling Privacy in Blockchain Transactions
Georgios Chionas, Olga Gorelkina, Piotr Krysta, Rida Laraki
https://arxiv.org/abs/2512.08096 https://arxiv.org/pdf/2512.08096 https://arxiv.org/html/2512.08096
arXiv:2512.08096v1 Announce Type: new
Abstract: We study methods to enhance privacy in blockchain transactions from an economic angle. We consider mechanisms for privacy-aware users whose utility depends not only on the outcome of the mechanism but also negatively on the exposure of their economic preferences. Specifically, we study two auction-theoretic settings with privacy-aware users. First, we analyze an order flow auction, where a user auctions off to specialized agents, called searchers, the right to execute her transaction while maintaining a degree of privacy. We examine how the degree of privacy affects the revenue of the auction and, broadly, the net utility of the privacy-aware user. In this new setting, we describe the optimal auction, which is a sealed-bid auction. Subsequently, we analyze a variant of a Dutch auction in which the user gradually decreases the price and the degree of privacy until the transaction is sold. We compare the revenue of this auction to that of the optimal one as a function of the number of communication rounds. Then, we introduce a two-sided market - a privacy marketplace - with multiple users selling their transactions under their privacy preferences to multiple searchers. We propose a posted-price mechanism for the two-sided market that guarantees constant approximation of the optimal social welfare while maintaining incentive compatibility (from both sides of the market) and budget balance. This work builds on the emerging line of research that attempts to improve the performance of economic mechanisms by appending cryptographic primitives to them.
toXiv_bot_toot

Wow. Our neighbors really want to learn about Internet privacy.
My local neighborhood group invited me to make a presentation on privacy at their monthly meeting. I was a little hesitant at first. I have done a lot of classes and seminars in corporate conference settings over the years. But these were my friends and neighbors and most of them are not technical in matters of security and privacy. I was not sure I could give a talk that wasn’t totally nerdy and boring. But I could see an…

Saying that you don't need #privacy if you have nothing to hide is like saying you shouldn't run when you have done nothing wrong and an armed thug starts chasing you.

Confronting the Challenges of Sensitive #OpenData
When governments collect sensitive data about private individuals, personal #privacy and governmental #transparency come into conflict. How…

Confronting the Challenges of Sensitive Open Data
When governments collect sensitive data about private individuals, personal privacy and governmental transparency come into conflict. How should we resolve this tension?

Google launches Gemini Personal Intelligence, linking to Gmail, Google Photos, Search, and YouTube history to provide context-aware responses, for paid users (Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNET)
https://www.zdnet.com/article/google-gemini-personal-intelligence/

Gemini's new Personal Intelligence will look through your emails and photos - if you let it
Can the feature do what Apple Intelligence promised? Here's what it will and won't have access to, and how it'll impact privacy.

Justice Department sues 4 more states for access to detailed voter data (Rebecca Boone/Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-voter-registration-states-lawsuit-privacy-6d8a6712b463c7d505cb4f30611a239f
http://www.memeorandum.com/251212/p117#a251212p117

🇦🇹 Austria: In Vienna, the police is trialing an automated software to predict crime. Every day, the system outputs hotspots to patrol [Kurier, 3 Dec 🔒, in German]. via Algorithm Watch
#ai #privacy

Future of Privacy Forum Appoints Matthew Reisman as Vice President of U.S. Policy
https://fpf.org/press-releases/future-of-privacy-forum-appoints-matthew-reisman-as-vice-president-of-u-s-policy/

The New York Times reported that
Meta is considering adding face recognition technology to its smart glasses.
According to an internal Meta document,
the company may launch the product
“during a dynamic political environment
where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us
would have their resources focused on other concerns.”
This is a bad idea that Meta should abandon.
If adopted and released to the public,
it would …

Seven Billion Reasons for Facebook to Abandon its Face Recognition Plans
Meta’s analysis that it can avoid scrutiny by releasing a privacy invasive product during a time of political crisis is craven and morally bankrupt. It is also dead wrong.

Google to pay $8.25 million to settle lawsuit alleging children’s privacy violations https://therecord.media/google-youtube-lawsuit-settle

5 Linux servers that let you ditch the public cloud and reclaim your privacy - for free
European Union countries are moving away from American tech giants to run their own clouds and servers to control their digital destiny. You can do this, too. Here's how.
💻 https://www.z…

5 Linux servers that let you ditch the public cloud and reclaim your privacy - for free
European Union countries are moving away from American tech giants to run their own clouds and servers to control their digital destiny. You can do this, too. Here's how.

So sad to loose James Van Der Beek so young who I really loved on Apt 23. The ability to parody yourself that hard takes real skill.
https://www.instagram.com/p/DUoR_x4EkTm/

Wouldn’t be surprised if we start seeing 3d-printed generic heads used as a privacy-focused workaround for identity or age verification done via intrusive smartphone or webcam face scan.
Just thinking about that, for no reason https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c1d67vdlk1ko

I am so, so tired of having to vet every one of my choices around a technology. Which platform? Which settings? What's a privacy risk? What has downstream negative social consequences? How do I compensate for the functionality I lose when I make a conscious choice to limit or refuse?
1/n
#rant

Galaxy S26 Ultra: Samsung bestätigt neues Privacy-Feature
Samsung hat ein erstes Highlight-Feature für das Galaxy S26 gezeigt. Es soll den Bildschirminhalt vor fremden Blicken schützen.
https://www.

Circle launches USDCx, a privacy-focused version of its USDC stablecoin on the Aleo blockchain, to give users "banking-level privacy" with a "compliance record" (Ben Weiss/Fortune)
https://fortune.com/2025/12/09/circle-privacy-stablecoin-aleo-uds…

Exclusive: Circle stablecoin for ‘banking-level privacy’ to launch on Aleo blockchain
Blockchains make data public, but Aleo founder Howard Wu hopes to lure big banks and institutions to crypto through semi-private stablecoins.

Meta is putting a "Name Tag" feature in Ray-Bans
- facial recognition through the glasses' camera.
You look at someone, AI tells you who they are.
In an internal document, the company wrote that the timing is good
because civil society groups are busy with politics
and won't cause problems.

Lukasz Olejnik (@lukaszolejnik.bsky.social)
First they'll give it to blind people, because who's going to attack technology for the blind, or people with hearing problems (like me)? I admit that! Privacy risk review procedures have been loosened. 15, 10, 5 years ago this would have been a major controversy. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/technology/meta-facial-recognition-smart-glasses.html

Immich is a great software to replace online photo services to keep your privacy and not become the product.
https://youtu.be/rSL3qjCQje8?si=LAY_pDXmPPmV0zod

#Privacy (or lack thereof): #Lyft has added a setting in the app that allows them to monetise your data for targeted ads. It is *on* by default and has to be turned off manually.

California fines Disney $2.75 million for data privacy violations https://therecord.media/california-fines-disney-data-privacy

Facial Recognition Tech Used To Hunt Migrants Was Deployed Without Required Privacy Paperwork | Techdirt
https://www.techdirt.com/2026/02/06/facial-recognition-tech-used-to-hunt-migrants-was-deployed-without-required-privacy-paperwork/

😐 Sure @…, sure! 💔
#Freedom #Privacy #Security

My company’s Cybersecurity Awareness training is ON-POINT: (For everything except #mastodon ) #cybersecurity

I only know of this site because #Flock is trying to take it down (and @… reporting). Go-go-gadget streisand effect!
https://

Have I Been Flocked? - License Plate Privacy Check - Search Flock Safety Audit Logs
Have police looked up your travel history? Search Flock Safety audit logs for your license plate

If you are using #DuckDuckGo and hate the AI bollocks, there is https://noai.duckduckgo.com (AI Images are not always filtered out, but you can report it as AI)

DuckDuckGo - Protection. Privacy. Peace of mind.
The Internet privacy company that empowers you to seamlessly take control of your personal information online, without any tradeoffs.

Because #accessibility is out of scope for Baseline, devs may not know how poorly supported a feature is and miss an opportunity to vote for things that are barriers to users and risks to orgs.
“Vote for the web features you want to see”
https://

As mentioned yesterday, I think I changed now all startscreens and default searches to qwant.com
I used Bing for a long time (and it was ways better than I often heard) and changed to Ecosia last year. Which was also absolutely fine.
Now I try a (European) company that doesn't only focus on privacy but also builds on an own index (I know they still mix in bing and need bing for monetization). One step at a time...

Privatsphäre: Apple will bei Mietpaket Creator Studio mehr Daten
Apple verlangt von Entwicklern sogenannte Privacy Nutrion Labels, damit Nutzer Datensammeleien verstehen. Beim Creator Studio offenbaren sie Auffälliges.

https://sanjosespotlight.com/santa-clara-county-may-ditch-camera-vendor-amid-privacy-issues/

Santa Clara County may ditch camera vendor amid privacy issues - San José Spotlight
Cities across Silicon Valley may be on the cusp of cutting ties with a surveillance company linked to local police departments' cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

FPF Retrospective: U.S. Privacy Enforcement in 2025
https://fpf.org/blog/fpf-retrospective-u-s-privacy-enforcement-in-2025/
@…

Or one could use LibreOffice or Apache OpenOffice and not be dependent on some distant service provider.
Online office suites confuse me. It’s unclear what *modern* problem they address. Sharing files is a solved problem. Common data formats exist. https://mastodon.social/@DevOpsPink/11

Tatiana Mikhaleva (@DevOpsPink@mastodon.social)
Attached: 1 image Proton rolled out Proton Sheets - a spreadsheet Google can’t peek into. Gemini: “Show me your data?” You: “No.” Sheets: also no, but in Swiss.🇨🇭🔐 End-to-end encryption, zero-knowledge, even file names get the Swiss-bank treatment. You open a spreadsheet - Big Tech immediately cries. Somewhere in California, an AI whispers: “But… my training data…” Privacy 1 : 0 AI https://proton.me/blog/sheets-proton-drive #Proton #Privacy #Encryption #CyberSe…

Canada’s privacy regulator to probe billboards equipped with facial scanning tech https://therecord.media/canada-privacy-regulator-to-probe-face-scanning-billboards

Lightning round privacy guide
https://microblog.jackiejude.me/posts/202602021855/

I don't know who needs to hear this but if you're in the market for a desktop camera with 1080p video, mic & Windows Hello facial recognition authentication, check this out.
(Also has an automatic shutter which physically blocks the lens when you're not using it. $55.)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJDVKJB9

Breathless headline: "97% of buildings on Earth now 3D-mapped!"
Well, 0% of my or my three nearest neighbors' 14 houses/sheds are there in any way, and the "buildings" that *are* present near us don't actually exist, so either we're the 3%, or that number is utter bullshit.
...which is a good thing, tbh, because this is a massive invasion of privacy. Bad enough to have Google taking pictures of me from the sky; now I have to let the council do dr…

While the desktop experience has some room for improvement, the Ente Photos app on mobile is totally competitive with privacy-invasive alternatives.
https://theprivacydad.com/ente-photos-a-privacy-first-photo-app/
@…

RE: https://mastodon.social/@ErikJonker/115693178301989314
Sophia Cope, a senior staff attorney for the Electronic Frontier Foundation: “..
It has not proven effective at finding terrorists and other bad guys,” she added. “But it has chilled the free speech and invaded the privacy of innocent travelers, along with that of their American family, friends and colleagues.”
(From link ⬇️)

Today is the first day Californians can use a legislatively mandated platform to request that online platforms delete their data.
https://privacy.ca.gov/drop/about-drop-and-the-delete-act/

About DROP and the Delete Act
Learn more about DROP. This includes the California Consumer Privacy Act and the Delete Act.

[M]any consumers might not realize the privacy risks just by glancing at the flyer sent to them, according to Florian Schaub, associate professor at the University of Michigan School of Information.
"The privacy policy is very specific that we're going to track everything, including what you do in Incognito Windows. Previously anonymous data may now be identifiable. All those risks are not disclosed here," Schaub said, after reviewing a copy of the flyer.

Gottfrid Svartholm one of the co-founders of the pirate bay website, at his work station.
#Piracy #Privacy #Security

Amazon agreed to pay a $25 million civil penalty
as part of a settlement with the Justice Department and the FTC
to resolve allegations the ecommerce giant’s Alexa voice assistant
violated a U.S. children’s privacy law, the DOJ announced.
Under the terms of the settlement, Amazon also is required to change its practices relating to the alleged violations and inform consumers of its practices.
According to a complaint filed in May by the DOJ on behalf of the FTC,…

Amazon to Pay $25M Fine to Settle Allegations Alexa Violated COPPA
Amazon agreed to pay a $25 million fine to settle Justice Department and FTC allegations that Alexa violated a U.S. children's privacy law.

I don’t know if this is a sick burn (by a FOSDEM organiser spilling the truth about FOSDEM) or an own goal.
🤷‍♂️ https://pleroma.debian.social/objects/f49df30a-d65e-4195-833d-29b7481b3aba

In written evidence to the Prince Harry privacy trial, ex-Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre says allegations of phone hacking are "grave and sometimes preposterous" (Dominic Ponsford/Press Gazette)
https://pressgazette.co.uk/news/paul-d

Paul Dacre says hacking and tapping claims 'grave, preposterous, deeply upsetting'
Ex-Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre has described the allegations of phone hacking against his former team as “grave and sometimes preposterous”.

Q: How do you convince people to use privacy respecting technologies for communication?
I am looking for real life use-cases to include into my #FOSDEM talk and beyond.
If you have encouraged someone to switch to say Signal, or Sessions, or XMPP or some other tool/protocol, please share here or via DM.
Anonymity is guaranteed. You can use also my Sessions messenger session: 0531634…

Future of Privacy Forum to Honor Top Scholarship at Annual Privacy Papers for Policymakers Event
https://fpf.org/press-releases/future-of-privacy-forum-to-honor-top-scholarship-at-annual-privacy-papers-for-policy…

Opaque, which offers enterprise tools for data privacy in AI workflows, raised a $24M Series B at a $300M valuation, bringing its total raised to $55.5M (Duncan Riley/SiliconANGLE)
https://siliconangle.com/2026/02/12/opaque-raises-24m-300m-valua…

Opaque raises $24M at $300M valuation for 'confidential AI' platform - SiliconANGLE
Opaque raises $24M at $300M valuation for 'confidential AI' platform - SiliconANGLE

While a child can appreciate the privacy-first goals of an app like Ente, features like customer service by mail and collaborative albums are less of a priority.
https://theprivacydad.com/my-teenagers-review-of-entes-privacy-photo-app/

Ring ends partnership plans with Flock days after privacy blowback from Super Bowl ad https://therecord.media/ring-ends-partnership-with-flock-superbowl-ad

The Dutch Data Protection Authority, the national privacy watchdog, told Het Financieele Dagblad that it has counted dozens of such AI-related data breach reports so far this year.
https://nltimes.nl/2025/12/30/dutch-privacy-watchdog-warns-rising-ai-ch…

Dutch privacy watchdog warns of rising AI chatbot data leaks
The number of reported data breaches linked to workplace use of AI chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude and Gemini is rising sharply in the Netherlands, according to the Dutch Data Protection Authority, following a recent leak involving the municipality of Eindhoven.

In case you had any illusions that Zuckerberg and his Facebook/Meta/Instagram/Threads/WhatsApp empire wasn’t evil, this should take care of it.
“The New York Times reported that Meta is considering adding face recognition technology to its smart glasses. According to an internal Meta document, the company may launch the product “during a dynamic political environment where many civil society groups that we would expect to attack us would have their resources focused on other concerns.””
#eff #facebook #meta #privacy
https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2026/02/seven-billion-reasons-facebook-abandon-its-face-recognition-plans

FPF releases Issue Brief on Brazil’s Digital ECA: new paradigm of safety & privacy for minors online
https://fpf.org/blog/fpf-releases-issue-brief-on-brazils-digital-eca-new-paradigm-of-safety-privacy-for-minors-online…

#keepandroidopen #privacy

Samsung says it will introduce a display feature for the Galaxy S26 series that improves "privacy at a pixel level" to protect users from "shoulder surfing" (Abhijeet Mishra/SamMobile)
https://www.sammobile.com/news/samsung-teases-gala…

Samsung confirms Galaxy S26’s insane ‘pixel level’ privacy feature
Samsung has confirmed that the Galaxy S26 series will introduce a new display feature designed to improve privacy when using your phone in public. The company stopped short of directly calling it a “privacy display,” but its wording leaves little room for doubt. In a new press release, Samsung talks about “privacy at a pixel

Lawmaker calls facial recognition on doorbell cameras a ‘privacy nightmare’ https://therecord.media/lawmaker-calls-facial-recognition-doorbell-cameras-privacy-nightmare

FPF Holiday Gift Guide for AI-Enabled, Privacy-Forward AgeTech
https://fpf.org/blog/fpf-holiday-gift-guide-for-ai-enabled-privacy-forward-agetech/
@…

Privacy-focused MVNO Cape, which has raised $61M from a16z and others, launches across the US following a March 2025 beta, offering a $99 monthly plan (Steven Melendez/Fast Company)
https://www.fastcompany.com/91481000/this-

This new privacy-focused phone service is designed to keep your phone from getting hacked
Cape, which offers a range of enhanced privacy and security measures, is now offering service across the United States. 

Teach Your Kids To Pirate. Now.
#Piracy #Privacy

6 Privacy Tips for the Generative AI Era
https://fpf.org/blog/6-privacy-tips-for-the-generative-ai-era/
@…
Data Privacy Day, or Data…

Privacy stalwart Nicholas Merrill spent a decade fighting an FBI surveillance order.
Now he wants to sell you phone service
—without knowing almost anything about you.
https://www.wired.com/story/new-anonymous-phone-carrier-sign-up-wit…

A New Anonymous Phone Carrier Lets You Sign Up With Nothing but a Zip Code
Privacy stalwart Nicholas Merrill spent a decade fighting an FBI surveillance order. Now he wants to sell you phone service—without knowing almost anything about you.

China releases draft guidelines for governing online personal data collection, open for public consultation amid privacy concerns and companies' data misuse (Bloomberg)
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-10/c…

https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-new-privacy-policy/

TikTok Is Now Collecting Even More Data About Its Users. Here Are the 3 Biggest Changes
According to its new privacy policy, TikTok now collects more data on its users, including their precise location, after majority ownership officially switched to a group based in the US.

Perché la maggior parte dei siti web non ha effettivamente bisogno dei banner di consenso ai #cookie
La maggior parte dei siti web delle piccole imprese non ha effettivamente bisogno di quei fastidiosi banner di consenso ai cookie che interrompono l'esperienza dell'utente. Il vero colpevole non sono le leggi sulla privacy, ma gli strumenti di tracciamento pesantemente sorvegliati…

ICE has used the "Mobile Fortify" facial recognition app to identify immigrants and citizens alike
💥over 100,000 times, by one estimate.
❌It wasn't built to work like that
—and only got approved after DHS abandoned its own privacy rules.
https://www.…

ICE and CBP’s Face-Recognition App Can’t Actually Verify Who People Are
ICE has used Mobile Fortify to identify immigrants and citizens alike over 100,000 times, by one estimate. It wasn't built to work like that—and only got approved after DHS abandoned its own privacy rules.

A look at Phreeli, a privacy-focused phone carrier that lets users sign up with only a ZIP code and uses an encryption system based on "zero-knowledge proofs" (Andy Greenberg/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/new-anonymous-phone-carrier…

A New Anonymous Phone Carrier Lets You Sign Up With Nothing but a Zip Code
Privacy stalwart Nicholas Merrill spent a decade fighting an FBI surveillance order. Now he wants to sell you phone service—without knowing almost anything about you.

GPA 2025: AI development and human oversight of decisions involving AI systems were this year’s focus for Global Privacy regulators
https://fpf.org/blog/gpa-2025-ai-development-and-human-ov…

Apple wins dismissal of parts of a class action alleging it violated CA privacy law by collecting user data from its apps despite users believing they opted out (Isaiah Poritz/Bloomberg Law)
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/tech-and

Apple Beats California Privacy Law Claims in Data Tracking Suit
Apple Inc. defeated claims that it violated California privacy law when it allegedly collected user data from its in-house apps, such as the App Store or Apple Music, despite users believing they opted out of collection.

Privacy Telecom ‘Cape’ Introduces ‘Disappearing Call Logs’ That Delete Every 24 Hours https://www.404media.co/privacy-telecom-cape-introduces-disappearing-call-logs-that-delete-every-24-hours/

Send & Receive alerts about ICE raids and activity in your area.
Stop ICE Alerts Network works with technology already built into your phone without the need to download an app
https://stopice.net/

Stop ICE Secure Line
Setup a secure hotline number designed for user anonymity and user privacy.

2026: A Year at the Crossroads for Global Data Protection and Privacy
https://fpf.org/blog/2026-a-year-at-the-crossroads-for-global-data-protection-and-privacy/
@…

TikTok users in the US were presented with a new privacy policy; the changes were part of the app's ownership transition and now allow precise location tracking (Reece Rogers/Wired)
https://www.wired.com/story/tiktok-new-privacy-policy/

TikTok Is Now Collecting Even More Data About Its Users. Here Are the 3 Biggest Changes
According to its new privacy policy, TikTok now collects more data on its users, including their precise location, after majority ownership officially switched to a group based in the US.

❌Mobile Fortify,
the new app used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to use face recognition technology (FRT) to identify people during street encounters,
is an affront to the rights and dignity of migrants and U.S. citizens alike.
That's why a coalition of privacy, civil liberties and civil rights organizations are
🔥demanding the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
shut down the use of Mobile Fortify,
release the agency's privacy anal…

Rights Organizations Demand Halt to Mobile Fortify, ICE's Handheld Face Recognition Program
Mobile Fortify, the new app used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to use face recognition technology (FRT) to identify people during street encounters, is an affront to the rights and dignity of migrants and U.S. citizens alike. That's why a coalition of privacy, civil liberties and...

Paradigm Shift in the Palmetto State: A New Approach to Online Protection-by-Design
https://fpf.org/blog/paradigm-shift-in-the-palmetto-state-a-new-approach-to-online-protection-by-design/
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Youth Privacy in Australia: Insights from National Policy Dialogues
https://fpf.org/blog/youth-privacy-in-australia-insights-from-national-policy-dialogues/
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California reaches a $50M settlement with Meta to resolve claims that Facebook users were misled about their ability to limit who could see personal details (The San Francisco Standard)
https://sfstandard.com/2025/12/19/facebook-users-dec…

Meta, California agree to settle Facebook privacy case
Third parties harvested personal data even though the company claimed to offer privacy, a lawsuit says.

Innovation and Data Privacy Are Not Natural Enemies: Insights from Korea’s Experience 
https://fpf.org/blog/innovation-and-data-privacy-are-not-natural-enemies-insights-from-koreas-experience/

A look at US tech laws rolling out in 2026, including California's SB 53 AI transparency law and Virginia's new social media limits for minors, effective today (Adi Robertson/The Verge)
https://www.theverge.com/policy/851664/new-tech-internet-l…

Meet the new tech laws of 2026
Texas, California, and many other states have laws coming into force about AI, social media, and more.

An interview with Chris Gilliard on his new book Luxury Surveillance, how smart wearables could normalize pervasive surveillance, X's political shift, and more (Anika Collier Navaroli/The Tech Policy Press Podcast)
https://techpolicy.press/through-to-th

Through to Thriving: Protecting Our Privacy with Chris Gilliard | TechPolicy.Press
Tech Policy Press fellow Anika Collier Navaroli in conversation with Critical Internet Studies Institute privacy researcher and advocate Chris Gilliard.

Five Big Questions (and Zero Predictions) for the U.S. Privacy and AI Landscape in 2026
https://fpf.org/blog/five-big-questions-and-zero-predictions-for-the-u-s-privacy-and-ai-landscape-in-2026/

Police in Edmonton, Canada partner with Axon to test body cameras with AI facial recognition, and say the results will be verified by human officers (Associated Press)
https://apnews.com/article/ai-facial-recognition-axon-edmonton-21f319ce806a0…

AI-equipped police body cameras in Canada's Edmonton spark ethical concerns
Police in Edmonton, Canada, have started a pilot project using AI-equipped body cameras to detect faces on a "high risk" watch list. The move by Axon Enterprise, Inc. has raised ethical concerns, especially since the company previously paused facial recognition due to privacy issues. The pilot aims to enhance officer and public safety by identifying individuals flagged for a history of serious offenses. However, critics worry about societal risks and the lack of public debate. Axon CEO Rick Smi…

What’s New in COPPA 2.0? A Summary of the Proposed Changes
https://fpf.org/blog/whats-new-in-coppa-2-0-a-summary-of-the-proposed-changes/
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