I served on the Board, and am a big fan of Foster Forward, an amazing organization located in Rhode Island that provides services to foster children and youth and supports the child welfare system as a whole. During my many years of service on the Board, I learned about the challenges of foster children
Privacy Tips
Privacy Tip #459 –Beware of Malicious Facebook Ads
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips, Social Media
For those of you who are on Facebook, beware of a new malvertising ad campaign identified by Bitdefender analysis. The campaign “coerces unsuspecting users into installing a fake ‘Meta Verified’ browser extension” that includes video tutorials designed to “harvest sensitive user data, including session cookies, access tokens and IP addresses.” If victims follow the tutorial…
Privacy Tip #458 – FTC Alleges Robot Toy Maker Allows Third Party in China to Collect Children’s Geolocation Data
By Linn Foster Freedman on
On September 3, 2025, the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit against Apitor Technology, which makes robotic toys, alleging that Apitor’s app “enabled a third party in China to collect geolocation information from children without parental consent.”
The DOJ filed suit following a referral from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) that Apitor did not comply…
Privacy Tip #457 – Whistleblower Alleges DOGE Copied Social Security Data of 548 Million Americans to Cloud Server
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
We have previously raised concerns about the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) access to highly sensitive data, including data at the Social Security Administration, without appropriate security clearances, access controls, and security measures to protect it.
On August 26, 2025, Charles Borges, the chief data officer at the Social Security Administration, filed a whistleblower disclosure…
Privacy Tip #456 – Bipartisan Coalition Urges Instagram to Change New Precise Location-Sharing Feature
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
On August 15, 2025, a bipartisan coalition of 37 state Attorneys General, led by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr and New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, sent a letter to Instagram requesting that it make “immediate changes to its newly implemented location-sharing feature, which allows a user’s precise location to be displayed on a…
Privacy Tip #455 – Match Group Settles with FTC Over Deceptive Advertising
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
If you are a Match.com user, you will want to be aware that the FTC recently announced that “Match Group, Inc., and Match Group, LLC (Match), the owners and operators of online dating services Match.com, OkCupid, PlentyOfFish, The League, and other dating sites, have agreed to pay $14 million, permanently stop misrepresenting guarantees and locking…
Privacy Tip #454 – Students Sue Kansas School District Over AI Surveillance Tool
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
Current and former students at Lawrence High School and Free State High School, located in Lawrence, Kansas, have sued the school district, alleging that its use of an AI surveillance tool violates their privacy.
The allegations revolve around the school district’s use of Gaggle, which is an AI tool that mines the district’s Google…
Privacy Tip #453 – Proton Launches Encrypted AI Assistant
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
Proton AG, a Swiss company that “decided to build a better internet where privacy is the default,” and desires to “build an internet that puts people before profits, create a world where everyone is in control of their digital lives, and make digital freedom a reality,” has launched an AI tool “where every conversation is…
Privacy Tip #452 – Temu + TikTok—Assess Risk Before Downloading
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
We have repeatedly warned our readers about the risks associated with TikTok. We are reminding our readers that the popular Temu app raises the same concerns.
The risks have prompted almost two dozen attorneys general to file lawsuits against Temu, alleging that it is “dangerous malware” that secretly monetizes user data in an unauthorized manner.…
Privacy Tip #451 – Disaster Victims Fall Prey to FEMA Impersonators
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
In the wake of the recent July 4th flooding tragedy in Texas, scammers and criminals are reaching out to victims to take advantage of their vulnerability. Unfortunately, this is not the first-time criminals have used natural disasters to prey on victims.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently issued a scam alert to warn consumers about…