Texas enacted a biometric information privacy law way back in 2001, which was amended in 2009. That was a long time ago in the context of the development of privacy laws, and even longer when it comes to biometric information privacy laws. In this rapidly changing area of law, Texas was surely ahead of its
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Privacy Tip #319 – How Facial Recognition Technology Works and Why You Should Care
I have written about the privacy concerns of facial recognition technology many times before [view related posts].
Many individuals are unaware of how facial recognition technology works, who is collecting their facial geometry, and how their biometric information is being used and disclosed.
The Texas Attorney General sued Meta Platforms (fka Facebook) this week,…
Irish DPA Hits WhatsApp with $266M Fine for Alleged GDPR Violations
When GDPR became effective three years ago, companies took notice of the fines and penalties attached to violations of the stringent privacy law—4 percent of global annual sales. The fines have been racking up, including the most recent one by the Irish Data Protection Commission against WhatsApp—$266 million. WhatsApp is owned by Facebook.
The fine…
Privacy Tip #290 – 700 Million LinkedIn Users’ Data for Sale on Hacker Forum
Although a security researcher has confirmed that LinkedIn users’ data, including full names, gender, email addresses, telephone numbers, and industry information is for sale on RaidForums by a hacker self-dubbed “GOD User TomLiner,” LinkedIn has stated that it is not from a data breach of its networks. According to LinkedIn, “[O]ur initial analysis indicates that…
Privacy Tip #159 – Consider Risks When Using Facebook and Other Social Media Platforms
Facebook announced late last week that it had suffered the largest breach in its history with 50 million accounts were compromised, and another 40 million accounts affected. Yes, that equals 90 million accounts. If you use Facebook and were locked out of your account over the weekend, your account was most likely affected. The 50…
Privacy Tip #151 – Can Banks Give or Sell My Information to Facebook or Other Social Media Platforms?
Many readers questioned me about the Wall Street Journal article this week entitled, “Facebook to Banks: Give Us Your Data, We’ll Give you Our Users.”
The questions and comments ranged from “Can they really do this?” to “This is outrageous!”
Without getting into a legal analysis, there are laws that banks have to follow when…
Protect Yourself From Year-End Charitable Giving Scams
December is traditionally a busy month for charitable giving, as many donors are inspired by the holiday season to give generously to those in need, while others look to make year-end gifts that will qualify for a tax deduction in the current tax year.
Unfortunately, because of the increase in charitable giving, there is often an increase in charity scams during the holiday season. Donors should be wary of communications from unfamiliar organizations, including emails, texts, and phone calls, and should not provide personal or financial information without verifying the legitimacy of the request. Scammers often use popular charitable causes to solicit contributions, for example, by claiming that contributions will be used to help veterans, children, or cancer patients. The New York Attorney General recently announced the forced dissolution of one such organization, VietNow National Headquarters, which falsely claimed that contributions would be used to provide services and medical treatment to veterans.
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Vevo Hacked through LinkedIn Message
Vevo announced this week that it experienced an intrusion into its servers by the hacking collective OurMine, self-described as a white hat organization that informs individuals and organizations of potential security vulnerabilities.
When OurMine reached out to Vevo to inform it of a vulnerability, a Vevo employee dismissed the claim and told OurMine that they…
Why Was Facebook Fined by AEPD?
Today, the Spanish data protection agency (AEPD) fined Facebook 1.2 million euros ($1.4 million USD) in connection with how the company collects personal data for advertising purposes. The AEPD said Facebook did not get properly informed consent from users before exploiting this data as well as kept this data longer than it’s useful purpose.
In…
Facebook’s New Software Suggests Passwords May One Day be Obsolete
Facebook says that someday ‘the password’ will be a distant memory. But for now, passwords are certainly necessary. However, Facebook has released a beta version of its Delegated Account Recovery software –a new way for social networks to be the backup security key when online consumers forget their password on different, non-Facebook websites and services. The concept behind this software: When a consumer forgets their password on a website, mobile app or other online service, the website, mobile app or service will instead use Facebook to verify the individual consumer instead of prompting the individual to re-set a password and answer security questions that are often not completely secure methods of password transmission. Delegated Account Recovery will require that the individual consumer prove that they are who they say they are by recognizing friends’ photos in order to log into their account on other websites, mobile apps or online services. Facebook security engineer, Brad Hill, said, “We want to make sure we can let you use identifying information to keep yourself secure, but not have to trade your privacy. Right now, you tell your mother’s maiden name to 500 different places and if anyone of them gets hacked, then you’re vulnerable everywhere.”…
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