Privacy

Tim Berners-Lee: Surveillance Threatens the Future of Democracy

The NSA revelations and general feeling of threat that comes from the knowledge our communications are being watched is worrying Tim Berners-Lee, so much so that he’s calling for “bold steps” to be taken to ensure our privacy and right to freedom of expression make it through this era of intense monitoring and paranoia. Sir…

Vint Cerf: “Privacy May Actually Be an Anomaly”

Vint Cerf, Google’s chief internet evangelist, is famous for having some, um, strong views. He’s just unleashed a cracker, though: he thinks that “privacy may actually be an anomaly.” https://gizmodo.com/vint-cerf-dreams-of-an-internet-that-connects-humans-to-5987788 Speaking at an FTC event, Cerf was attempting to explain that privacy is a fairly new—and perhaps unsustainable—development. “In a town of 3,000 people there…

LG’s TVs Could Be Collecting Your Data Even When You Tell Them Not To

If you consider your TV a private safe haven, it might be time to think again. A UK blogger has discovered that LG’s smart TVs seem to collect personal data even when such functionality is explicitly forbidden by its user. Doctor Beet noticed that his LG set was sending his private data, regardless of whether…

Which Companies Are Encrypting Your Data Properly?

We’ve asked the companies in our Who Has Your Back Program what they are doing to bolster encryption in light of the NSA’s unlawful surveillance of your communications. We’re pleased to see that four companies—Dropbox, Google, SpiderOak and Sonic.net—are implementing five out of five of our best practices for encryption. In addition, we appreciate that…

Hundreds of Firms Are Selling NSA-Level Spy Tech and That’s Not Okay

While Americans shuddered over revelations about NSA surveillance earlier this year, hundreds of private companies have been marketing technology that lets anybody be a spy. We’re not talking about a few nanny cams here and there, either. We’re talking about military-grade tools for whomever has the cash. The anti-surveillance group Privacy International just published a…

Yahoo is (finally) going to encrypt all the information that moves between you and its products by the end of the first quarter of 2014.

Google only has to pay $17 million for tracking people without their knowledge. The search giant just agreed to the sum to settle allegations from 37 states (and DC) that it added cookies to users’ computers without consent. Google stopped short of admitting to wrong-doing, though.

The CIA Has a Vast Database of International Money Transfers

The Central Intelligence Agency has been busy aggregating a huge database of international money transfers, according to the Wall Street Journal—and it includes millions of Americans’ financial and personal data. The initiative apparently collects data from US money-transfer companies like Western Union, and is able to run because of the Patriot Act—the same act that…

Why DRM in Cars Is Going to Drive Everyone Mad

Forget extra cup holders or power windows: the new Renault Zoe comes with a “feature” that absolutely nobody wants. Instead of selling consumers a complete car that they can use, repair, and upgrade as they see fit, Renault has opted to lock purchasers into a rental contract with a battery manufacturer and enforce that contract…

How to Tell Google Not to Use Your Face in Ads

Google’s rolling out its new your-face ads today, so here’s a timely reminder on how to tell them to knock it off. https://gizmodo.com/your-face-and-name-will-appear-in-google-ads-starting-t-1462317340 https://gizmodo.com/how-to-opt-out-of-googles-shared-endorsements-1447646627

Your Face and Name Will Appear in Google Ads Starting Today

It’s party time, ladies and gentlemen. Exactly one month after announcing the move, Google has updated its terms of service, allowing the company to use your profile information in ads. That means your face, name and personal details will start popping up all over your network. Yay! Well, that might not be a reaction you…

China installed more than 60 security cameras on one street light

Paranoid much, China? Cause it sure as hell looks like it when you have more than sixty security cameras strapped onto a single street light. This photograph, taken at an intersection in Shanghai by NetEase, hilariously captures the personal privacy be damned, big brother monster attitude that everyone imagines China to have. It’s perfect, really.…

Who Thinks Letting Cops Use Facial Recognition Devices Is a Bad Idea?

In the past couple years, companies like Google and Facebook have struggled to find the right balance between useful and creepy with the development of facial recognition technology. Some law enforcement agencies, however, are not holding back their enthusiasm—and nobody’s going for it quite like the cops in San Diego. The Center for Investigative Reporting…

The FAA’s Roadmap For Domestic Drones Somehow Sidesteps Privacy

Like it or not, drones are coming to America’s skies—lots of them. By 2025, the government expects tens of thousands of drones to take flight, and it’s scrambling to get the proper regulations in place. It’s not off to a great start. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) got the ball rolling on Thursday by publishing…

Report: The CIA Pays AT&T Over $10 Million a Year to Spy on Phone Calls

Check it out, guys. It’s a creepy revelation about the government spying on your phone calls that didn’t come from Edward Snowden’s NSA leak. Nope, just your standard sketchy CIA arrangements with a telecommunications company—AT&T to be exact. Turns out the spy agency’s reportedly been paying AT&T over $10 million a year to spy on…

Apple Wishes It Could Tell You More About US Government Info Requests

Like everybody and their sister in Silicon Valley, Apple is now publishing transparency reports. The Cupertino company’s first ever disclosure on the number of government information requests just hit the web, and like everybody else, the number of requests from the U.S. government is super high. https://gizmodo.com/facebook-half-of-government-requests-for-user-data-com-1207647585 We’re talking super high here. While the United…

Tesco to Use Face Scanners at Gas Pumps for Better Ad Targeting

Pumping gas at Tesco is about to get a lot more personal, thanks to new ad-targeting software that the grocery chain is installing at 450 stations in the United Kingdom. The new system will scan consumers’ faces and then feed them customized ads based on their age and gender. No permission necessary! This is obviously…

Hackers Grab VIP and Celebrity Details from Online Limo Service

A hacker’s broken into the databases of an online limousine service, grabbing details of more than 850,000 customers—including Fortune 500 CEOs, lawmakers, and A-list celebrities. The hackers nabbed the details from CorporateCarOnline, based in Kirkwood, Missouri, which bills itself as “the leading provider of on-demand software management solutions for the limousine and ground transportation industry.”…

You Don’t Have To Use Google’s Search Encryption If You Don’t Want To

It’s pretty much agreed that Google’s Secure Socket Layer (SSL) encryption is a good thing. Why not get a little free protection given that our search queries are often a good way of piecing together exactly what’s going on in our lives? https://gizmodo.com/google-searches-just-got-a-bit-safer-5851530 But if there’s one thing all the leaked NSA revelations and international…

The Scariest Part of the Latest NSA Revelation Is This Goofy Post-It

The Washington Post reports that, according to new documents leaked by PRISM whistleblower Edward Snowden, the NSA has been secretly tapping into the main communication links connecting both Yahoo’s and Google’s data servers. And you can see it all scribbled—smiley-face included—right here. https://gizmodo.com/the-nsas-been-trying-to-hack-into-tors-anonymous-inte-1441153819 The project (which the agency operated in addition to PRISM, not as…