The Data Drop News for Friday, June 17, 2022
The long-awaited U.S. data-privacy bill appears to be on track, again. FTC Chair Khan plans key work on kids' data privacy online. French data protection watchdog: Tweaking Google Analytics won’t make it legal. Plus the latest in PrivTech news!
Pro tip: listen to The Data Drop at the gym, car, or while walking the dog by subscribing to our podcast. Data pros can also join the Data Collaboration Community to access, query and bookmark our global dataset of stories from our Privacy Newsfeed tool.
The long-awaited U.S. data-privacy bill appears to be on track, again
A US national privacy bill, which is an essential legislative building block that has proved elusive for years, appears to suddenly be on a fast track in Congress despite years of gridlock for tech regulation.
The draft legislation for a national privacy law includes an agreement that would preempt most state laws, with some exceptions, as well as a limited private right of action that lets individuals seek legal damages for privacy violations.
According to Senator Roger Wicker of Mississipi, a ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committe; “This bipartisan and bicameral effort to produce a comprehensive data-privacy framework has been years in the making, and the release of this discussion draft represents a critical milestone"
FTC Chair Khan plans key work on kids' data privacy online
The head of the US Federal Trade Commission says the agency is pushing a robust agenda of actions and policies to help safeguard children's privacy online.
The ongoing work will include toughened enforcement of a long-standing law governing kids’ online privacy and eyeing the algorithms used by social media platforms targeting young people.
According to FTC Chair Lina Khan, who has led the consumer-protection agency for a year; “Children’s privacy is enormously important and we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to vigorously protect children’s privacy and protect them from data abuses”
French data protection watchdog: Tweaking Google Analytics won’t make it legal
The French data watchdog, CNIL, has clarified on its website that Google Analytics’ use is not legal without a new deal to replace the disgraced Privacy Shield EU-US data processing agreement.
The move has dashed hopes that the tool could be reconfigured to allow data transfers to the US. The CNIL also addressed the encryption solutions proposed by Google, saying they were ineffective due to Google offering and conserving encryption keys, allowing it to access personal data if it so wishes. Companies wishing to keep using the tool need explicit consent from the individuals concerned.
Tim Hortons app collected vast amounts of sensitive data: privacy watchdogs
The Tim Hortons mobile ordering app violated the law by collecting vast amounts of location information from customers, an investigation by federal and provincial privacy watchdogs has found.
In a report released Wednesday, privacy commissioners said people who downloaded the Tim Hortons app had their movements tracked and recorded every few minutes, even when the app was not open on their phones.
The investigation came after National Post reporter James McLeod obtained data showing the Tim Hortons app on his phone had tracked his location more than 2,700 times in less than five months.
UK Citizens need ‘education’ on NHS data sharing as Palantir eyes health service contracts
UK citizens need to be “educated” on how and when the NHS shares their data with third parties, ministers said this week.
The comments from two members of the government came hours before it was revealed controversial big data company Palantir is planning to expand its reach into the health service in Britain. Privacy experts say the onus should be on NHS England, not patients themselves, to ensure data is protected.
TikTok’s Latest Ad Targeting Provisions Reflect Increasing Revenue Pressure on the App
TikTok has started showing users in Europe, the UK and Switzerland new, in-app notifications informing them of changes to its data collection policies.
Essentially, TikTok’s saying that if you have not consented to personalized ads in the past, which TikTok has to allow as part of the EU’s data privacy provisions, you’ll soon get a form of personalized ads anyway, based on your in-app activity.
TikTok appears to be looking to use a technicality to maximize the performance of its ads, even among users who have opted out of personalized targeting.
Increased regulatory scrutiny has wiped $100 billion dollars from the value of TikTok parent company ByteDance, forcing the company to consider sell-offs and staff cuts as it works to right the ship.
DuckDuckGo caught giving Microsoft permission for trackers despite strong privacy reputation
DuckDuckGo is known for its privacy-first commitment to users on iOS, Android, browsers, and soon with its own Mac app. Now, a report puts in check the company’s privacy focus due to a search agreement with Microsoft that let the Redmond company continue tracking users on the browser.
Canadian PM selects chief legal officer at House of Commons to be next privacy commissioner
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has nominated accomplished lawyer Philippe Dufresne to be the next federal privacy commissioner.
Dufresne is the chief legal officer of the House of Commons and has previously worked as senior general counsel of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.
'murena one’ protects users' privacy from google and surveillance
Smartphone brand has launched Murena One, an Android smartphone that safeguards the privacy of its users and gives people freedom of choice with products and services that help people escape from digital surveillance.
Peekaboo! Here's a system to guarantee smart home privacy
Researchers at Human-Computer Interaction Institute have developed a new privacy-sensitive architecture for developers to build smart home apps, which the team refers to as "Peekaboo." The system takes requests from developers to share certain pieces of data and ensures only pieces that are essential to fulfill their request are shared with them.
The Data Drop is a production of the Data Collaboration Alliance, a nonprofit advancing meaningful data ownership and inclusive innovation through open research and free skills training. To learn more about our partnerships or the Data Collaboration Community, please visit datacollaboration.org.