Data Privacy

If you've ever been tagged in a photo online, you might have some cash coming your way — and soon. Earlier this month, more than 1.4 million long- and short-term residents of Illinois started receiving checks for up to $397, as compensation for a $650 million class action lawsuit settled against Facebook. According to plaintiffs, the social media platform illegally used facial recognition data — gathered without consent — to prompt users to tag their friends in photos.

Democratic lawmakers urged Google CEO Sundar Pichai to stop collecting and keeping unnecessary or non-aggregated location data that could be used to identify people seeking abortions. The letter comes after a Supreme Court draft decision that would reverse Roe v. Wade was published by Politico. It follows a separate Democratic...

Twitter will pay $150 million to settle a privacy lawsuit with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and Federal Trade Commission (FTC). The settlement, announced today, covers a complaint that Twitter deceptively used members’ email addresses and phone numbers for targeted advertising. On top of the fine, Twitter must also accept audits of its data privacy program among other restrictions.

A California law requires companies to disclose if more than 500 state residents have been affected by a data breach. GM filed such a notification with the California Office of Attorney General on May 16, revealing that it discovered malicious activity on GM user accounts between April 11 and 29. IT Guru first reported the mandated disclosure. The law doesn't force companies to reveal how many people were affected, though, so all we know at the moment is that the figure exceeds 500.

Google said it got 11,554 requests in 2020 to share geographical data with law enforcement. It did not say how many requests it complied with.

Federal regulators on Wednesday slapped Twitter with a $150 million fine for allegedly misleading users about how the social media company used their personal data. From May 2013 to September 2019, Twitter collected users' email addresses and phone numbers, saying it needed the information to secure their accounts, according to the Federal Trade Commission. But the blogging service was also providing that data to advertisers so they could target individuals — something it did not disclose, the agency said. Advertisers could match up users' phone numbers or emails with information they already had, or bought from data brokers, to target specific individuals.

Twitter reached a $150 million settlement with the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission over alleged misrepresentations of its data privacy practices. The government accused Twitter of misrepresenting the extent of its security and privacy protections of users' nonpublic contact information between at least May 2013 to September 2019.

In late 2019, Utah state senator Kirk Cullimore got a phone call from one of his constituents, a lawyer who represented technology companies in California. “He said, ‘I think the businesses I represent would like to have some bright lines about what they can do in Utah,’ ” Cullimore told The Markup.

Federal regulators accuse the company of violating a 2011 agreement over the treatment of users' personal data, including phone numbers and email addresses.

Twitter has been going through a lot of internal changes recently, but this is only part of the company’s crisis. The US government on Wednesday filed a lawsuit against Twitter as it claims that the company misled and failed to tell its users how their data was used for advertising.

Twitter will pay $150 million to resolve a joint lawsuit from the Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission accusing it of illegally giving advertisers access to users’ contact information for targeted advertising. “From at least May 2013 until at least September 2019, Twitter misrepresented to users of its online communication service the extent to which it maintained and protected the security and privacy of their nonpublic contact information,” reads the complaint. “Specifically, while Twitter represented to users that it collected their telephone numbers and email addresses to secure their accounts, Twitter failed to disclose that it also used user contact...

General Motors has confirmed it has suffered a data breach as a result of a cyberattack that occurred in April. The company said the breach was detected following suspicious activity on GM online accounts, reports cybernews. The motive behind the attack is unclear, however, the incident has led to the unauthorized redemption of reward points for gift cards.

Millions of users of Meta products, including Facebook and Instagram, are to receive notifications of the firm's updated privacy policies. Meta says the changes are designed to make it easier to understand how customers' information is used. The company has previously been criticised by regulators and campaigners over its use...

The Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department said Twitter will pay a $150 million fine to settle allegations the social media giant “deceptively” used data from users for targeted advertising, according to The Washington Post. Driving the news: Twitter is also banned from profiting off this data,...

Data privacy has become absolutely crucial for businesses. And some businesses go to great lengths to protect their data, files, and communications. But consumers and smaller businesses seem to think that adding extra security isn't worth the extra work required. The problem with this take is anyone who refuses to take the extra steps might find themselves on the wrong end of a data breach.

Pride Month emerged as a reaction against attempts to shame and intimidate LGBTQ+ people in New York City. On June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn. The Greenwich Village bar was a popular spot — a social space where LGBTQ+ people who felt like they couldn't go anywhere else could gather.

Some of us remember the world before eCommerce became an always-open virtual megastore with everything. As much as people love physical stores, eCommerce has major advantages. And consumers keep diving in, with PYMNTS finding that 46% of those we surveyed bought retail goods and 31% purchased groceries via online channels in the prior month.