VeriSign added 1.29M domains in the 4th quarter of 2018

VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), a leader in domain names and internet infrastructure, today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and full year 2018. Fourth Quarter GAAP Financial Results VeriSign, Inc. and subsidiaries (“Verisign”) reported revenue of $307 million for the fourth quarter of 2018, up 4.0 percent from the same quarter in 2017. VeriSign …

New UN deal with data mining firm Palantir raises privacy concerns

CIA-linked software firm Palantir will help the UN’s World Food Programme analyse its data in a new partnership worth $45 million, both organisations announced Tuesday, drawing immediate flak from privacy and data protection activists. The California-based contractor, best known for its work in intelligence and immigration enforcement, will provide software and expertise to the UN’s …

ICO probe on GDPR violation claims may land Google a fine worth 4% of its $136.8 billion 2018 global turnover

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is to investigate claims that internet giant Google has violated the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). It follows a series of complaints filed with the ICO over the company’s data collection practices. The company has faced similar complaints and investigations in jurisdictions across the European Union, many of them …

Remember ONAVO VPN? Facebook secretly pays teens to install a “Facebook Research” VPN that spies on them

According to a TechCrunch Report, Facebook has been secretly paying people to install a “Facebook Research” VPN that lets the company suck in all of a user’s phone and web activity, similar to Facebook’s Onavo Protect app that Apple banned in June and that was removed in August. Facebook sidesteps the App Store and rewards …

French Data Watchdog Slaps Google with €50 million Fine for GDPR Violations

The first massive European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) fine has finally been enforced. Google is the recipient of a €50m (approx. $56.8 million USD) fine from the French data protection authority, CNIL. The fine follows complaints from privacy activists in late May last year. Max Schrems and his None Of Your Business (NOYB) …

Facetime glitch Lets iPhone Users Eavesdrop, Apple disables group call feature

Apple has annnounced a patch to fix an embarrasing facetime snafu after news site 9to5Mac reported on a strange glitch in the company’s iPhones. The issue: It turns out that an iPhone user can call another iPhone user and listen in on that person’s conversations through the device’s microphone. Apple appears to have disabled the …

Facebook’s plan to intergrate Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp sparks antitrust anxiety

Facebook is planning to merge the technical infrastructure running its messaging platforms, Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. The New York Times reported on Friday that Facebook plans to combine the technical infrastructure behind WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook Messenger, though the apps will continue to function as separate services. The paper cited four people familiar with the …