Category: personal data

States Risk Massive Security Breaches By Using “Low Cost” Chinese Computer Equipment | Facts Matter

This video is brought to you by Sekur: ept.ms/3yW0Wul We had an opportunity to sit down with Roslyn Layton and discussed the national security and political implications of the United States outsourcing its manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and electronics to China. Layton informed me that state governments are using Chinese-made equipment that is banned for use…


Google Targeted in Fresh EU Consumer Groups’ Privacy Complaints

BRUSSELS—Google has been targeted by a French consumer group and its peers in complaints to privacy watchdogs over its vast trove of users’ personal data harvested via their Google accounts, European consumer organization BEUC said on Thursday. In addition to the French consumer group, others in Greece, the Czech Republic, Norway, and Slovenia have taken…


Privacy Bill Would Set out Rules on Use of Personal Data, Artificial Intelligence

The federal Liberals plan to introduce privacy legislation today to give Canadians more control over their personal data and introduce new rules for the use of artificial intelligence. The bill, to be presented by Innovation Minister François-Philippe Champagne, aims to fulfil his mandate to advance the federal digital charter, strengthen privacy protections for consumers and…


Hong Kong to Implement Passenger Screening System, Concerns Are CCP Will Obtain the Data

The Hong Kong Legislative Council recently held a meeting to discuss implementation of the Advance Notification of Passenger Information system, planned to be operating in the third quarter of 2024. The system will conduct risk assessments, screen people arriving in Hong Kong, and consider national security and other factors. The news caused social controversy. Some…


Find Out and Fix What Big Data Says About You

I thought I knew all about the information that consumer reporting agencies were collecting on me. Then I discovered The Work Number—a database that reports every paycheck I’ve received from my company, with net and gross amounts, going back to my hire date six years ago. Another consumer reporting agency shows the results of a…


German Cartel Office Steps up Examination of Google Products

BERLIN—Germany’s cartel office said it was examining Google’s use of personal data and its Google News Showcase product under its new powers to regulate internet companies, and was also considering cases involving Amazon, Apple, and Facebook owner Meta. The regulator said on Wednesday it had determined that Google’s owner Alphabet met the scale threshold required…


Senators Unveil Bipartisan Bill To Protect Americans’ Personal Data From ‘Harmful Actors’ in China, Elsewhere

A bipartisan pair of senators on Tuesday introduced legislation they say will protect Americans’ sensitive personal data from China and elsewhere. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) unveiled the Protecting Sensitive Personal Data Act of 2021 (pdf) which seeks to expand the oversight authority of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States…


Democrats ‘Reach Agreement’ to Raise $600 Cap on Biden’s Proposal on IRS Reporting and Surveillance

Democrats have said they plan to raise the threshold of President Joe Biden’s radical proposal that all bank transactions of more than $600 be reported to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The initial proposal (pdf)—which Biden says is aimed at curbing tax evasion—would require banks and other financial institutions to report to the IRS any deposits or withdrawals totaling…


Russia Fines Google for Violating Data Storage Law

MOSCOW—A Moscow court ordered Google on Thursday to pay a fine of 3 million rubles (roughly $41,000) for refusing to store the personal data of Russian users on servers in Russia, a move that is part of the government’s longstanding effort to tighten its grip on online activity. The fine is the first one given…


Dutch Group Launches Data Harvesting Claim Against TikTok

THE HAGUE, Netherlands—A Dutch consumer group is launching a 1.5 billion euro ($1.8 billion) claim against TikTok over what it alleges is unlawful harvesting of personal data from users of the popular video sharing platform. The Consumentenbond and a foundation called Take Back Your Privacy demanded Thursday that TikTok pay damages to 1.2 million to…