On Tuesday, January 17, 2023, the University of Texas at Austin announced that it has blocked TikTok access across the university’s networks. According to the announcement to its users, “You are no longer able to access TikTok on any device if you are connected to the university via its wired or WIFI networks.” The measure
Nineteen States Have Banned TikTok on Government-Issued Devices
Governors of numerous states have issued Executive Orders in the past several weeks banning TikTok from government-issued devices and many have already implemented a ban, with others considering similar measures. There is also bi-partisan support of a ban in the Senate, which unanimously approved a bill last week that would ban the app from devices…
Texas Sues Google for Gathering Biometric Data
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against Google for alleged “blatant defiance” of Texas’s biometric privacy law, which prohibits capturing biometric identifiers without prior consumer consent. The complaint alleges that several Google products, including Google Home, Nest, and Google Photos, collect and catalog biometric identifiers such as facial structure and voice print.
Texas…
FTC Sues Data Broker for Selling Data from Reproductive Clinics and Places of Worship
In a complaint filed this week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleges that a data broker sold geolocation data from individuals showing their movements to and from sensitive locations, including reproductive health clinics, places of worship, and substance use disorder clinics. Kochava, the broker in question, allegedly collects and sells GPS location data from consumers…
Insurance Technologies Corp. to Pay $11 Million in Data Breach Class Action
Insurance Technologies Corp. faces a class action in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas for a 2021 data breach. Plaintiffs alleged that Insurance Technologies failed to adequately protect and secure customer information, which resulted in unauthorized access to names, addresses, telephone numbers, driver’s license numbers, Social Security numbers, dates of birth,…
Texas AG Sues Meta, Alleging Massive Collection of Face Geometries Without Consent
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…
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,…
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year… for a Drone Light Show
Every year, technology is used in new and inventive ways, and drone holiday light shows seem to be making their way into some cities’ and towns’ holiday traditions.
In Grapevine, Texas, millions of lights, gigantic decorations, and animated holiday characters fill the town this holiday season. Grapevine has been officially trademarked as being the “Christmas…
Colonial Pipeline Up and Running After Five Days of Grappling with Ransomware Attack
It is being reported late on May 12, 2021, that Colonial Pipeline is returning to full operations following a devastating ransomware attack that was discovered on May 7, 2021. Colonial took its systems offline that day following the attack, which caused supply chain issues particularly in the Southeast.
Colonial Pipeline, the largest gasoline pipeline in…
School Nutrition Vendor Sued for Compromise of 867,209 K-12 Student Records
PCS Revenue Control Systems, Inc. (PCS) was hit with a proposed class action lawsuit last week alleging that it discovered a data breach from a hacking attack in December 2019 but failed to notify the affected students until March of 2021.
According to the lawsuit, student information was collected by PCS’s predecessor, Advanced Business Technologies…