Privacy & Surveillance
Privacy concerns, surveillance programs, and tracking
49 articles
AI and your bank account: A demo sparks real-world privacy fears
A demo by financial data firm Plaid, not a new OpenAI feature, sparked a critical debate on the immense privacy risks of linking AI to bank accounts.
GM's $12.75M settlement reveals the high cost of selling driver data
GM's $12.75M settlement with California over its OnStar program highlights the risks of vehicle telematics and the growing power of consumer privacy l
Europe's proposed social media age gate: a privacy minefield for teens
The European Commission's push for a social media age limit of 16 raises serious data privacy and security concerns over how to verify age at scale.
DOJ memo outlines legal theory for nationwide voter data collection, sparking cybersecurity and privacy alarms
A DOJ legal memo argues for federal power to collect nationwide voter data, sparking alarms over the creation of a massive cybersecurity target and th
The hidden cost of your commute: GM's record $12 million privacy fine explained
General Motors will pay a record $12.1M in a California privacy settlement over its OnStar program sharing driver data with brokers without clear cons
A congressional inquiry questions the US government's double standard on commercial spyware
A new congressional inquiry is challenging the U.S. government's use of commercial spyware, questioning a double standard that sanctions foreign firms
German surveillance law proposals ignite privacy firestorm
German officials are pushing controversial laws to expand police surveillance with facial recognition and AI, sparking a firestorm among privacy advoc
Congress kicks the can on FISA renewal, leaving surveillance powers in limbo
Congress passed a short-term extension for the controversial FISA Section 702 surveillance law, punting a major privacy and security debate to June.
Congress kicks the can down the road on surveillance law (again)
A one-year extension of FISA Section 702 papers over deep divisions on privacy and surveillance, failing to resolve the core issue of warrantless sear
House renews controversial spy program, but the fight for privacy is far from over
The U.S. House has reauthorized the controversial FISA Section 702 surveillance program, but a failure to add a warrant requirement leaves privacy con
Norway's proposed social media ban for teens puts age verification tech to the test
Norway's proposed social media ban for users under 13 puts the tech industry's age verification capabilities under intense scrutiny.
Geofence warrants on trial: The Supreme Court weighs privacy against policing
The Supreme Court is considering Chatrie v. United States, a case that will decide if geofence warrants—digital dragnets of location data—are constitu
FISA Section 702 renewed for two years after contentious congressional battle
A contentious legislative battle ends with a two-year renewal of the controversial FISA Section 702 surveillance program, side-stepping major privacy
Google's war on bad ads escalates as Android 17 promises major privacy overhaul
Google's latest report reveals a massive crackdown, blocking 8.3 billion malicious ads in 2025, while preparing a major privacy overhaul for Android 1
The surveillance law Congress can’t quit — and can’t explain
Despite a 2024 overhaul with 56 amendments, Section 702 of FISA remains deeply controversial as supporters and critics cannot even agree on its scope.
Congress renews controversial FISA Section 702 surveillance law after years of debate
Congress renewed the controversial FISA Section 702 spying law for two years, preserving a key intelligence tool despite fierce opposition over privac
Audit: Big Tech often ignores California privacy law opt-out requests
An audit by the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse found that Google, Meta, and Microsoft fail to honor consumer 'Do Not Sell or Share' requests about half
The battle over FISA's Section 702: A temporary truce in the war between national security and American privacy
A contentious U.S. surveillance law, Section 702 of FISA, was renewed for two years, continuing the debate over national security versus American priv
Big tech fails to opt-out users requesting not to be tracked much of the time, new research says
A new audit from privacy organization webXray reveals 194 online ad services are ignoring the legally binding Global Privacy Control opt-out signal.
Claims of LinkedIn browser 'spying' clash with security research findings
Sensational claims of corporate espionage by LinkedIn's browser extension were largely refuted by researchers, who found its data collection served fe
Majority of Australian youth still use social media despite school ban, researchers find
New research reveals that a statewide social media ban in NSW schools is largely ineffective, with two-thirds of students easily bypassing restriction
Citizen Lab: How law enforcement used ad data to track millions of devices
A Citizen Lab report reveals how a surveillance tool called Webloc uses real-time bidding ad data to enable global location tracking by law enforcemen
Big tech continues CSAM scanning in Europe's legal vacuum, igniting privacy firestorm
Major tech firms continue scanning for CSAM in the EU without a legal mandate, sparking a fierce debate over child safety, privacy, and mass surveilla
LinkedIn secretly scans for over 6,000 Chrome extensions, collects data
A new "BrowserGate" report reveals LinkedIn's hidden script that scans for 6,000+ Chrome extensions, raising major privacy and user profiling concerns