Gmail users are being urged to review and disable two key “Smart Features” settings following privacy concerns stemming from reports that these tools may allow Google to access email content to support AI‑driven services and may use users’ data for training. The two features are included in Gmail, Chat and Meet, and Google Workspace Smart
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 #236 – Foreign Government-Backed Phishing Attacks Pose as Fast Food Chains
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Coronavirus, Privacy Tips
Google has warned users in a blog article that nation state-backed hackers are using the COVID-19 crisis to ramp up phishing attempts and, in one example, are posing as American fast food franchises and sending malicious emails with fake offers and coupons to government officials and health care workers.
Google has identified over 12 government-backed…
White House Investigating Data Breach of First Lady’s Passport
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Data Breach
It has been reported that the White House is investigating a hacking of the Gmail account of a contract worker who was working on the First Lady’s advance team responsible for logistics. The hacking included emails from February 2015 through July 2016, and included a scan of First Lady Michelle Obama’s passport, including her picture,…
Google seeks dismissal or stay of email scanning litigation
By Brian Wheelin on
Google has recently asked a California federal court to dismiss a proposed class action alleging that the company’s practice of scanning Gmail users e-mail for marketing data violates federal and state privacy laws, primarily the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA).
The crux of Google’s motion is that users of the company’s highly popular Gmail consent…