Privacy watch and updates

 

Privacy watch

News and updates about online privacy

• Google, Apple, and Meta shared data from more than 3.5 million user accounts with US authorities over the past decade through routine requests alone, a 770% increase since reporting began. When FISA disclosures are included, the total rises to roughly 6.7 million. See the details of the investigation.
• Another Proton study found that nearly one in four small and medium businesses suffered a cyberattack in the past 12 months. Cyber risk is shaped by human error, inconsistent use of security tools, and giving more data to cloud and AI platforms. See our recommendations for businesses.
• Apple’s latest iPhone update in the UK introduces age verification at the operating-system level, requiring some people to prove they are over 18 with a credit card or government-issued ID. The move comes after pressure from regulators under the Online Safety Act to do more to protect children online. What it means beyond the UK.
• The Trump administration is poised to renew a surveillance law known as Section 702 that gives the government the power to spy on people without a warrant. The law is especially controversial in the US because it can be used to target American citizens, who would normally be protected from warrantless surveillance by the Constitution.
• Instagram is dropping end-to-end encryption for chats, despite years of Meta presenting it as the future of private messaging. Uncertainty remains around what happens to currently encrypted chats.
• Google has settled a $68 million lawsuit alleging that Google Assistant improperly recorded private conversations after false activations and used that data for targeted ads. It is one more entry in the long line of privacy cases Google has chosen to settle rather than fight in court and risk admitting wrongdoing.