Google’s proposed DNS-over-HTTPS internet protocol attracts antitrust investigations

Google’s plans to use a new internet protocol has raised concerns among congressional antitrust investigators who worry it could give the company an unfair competitive advantage, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday. Investigators want to know whether Google will use any data collected through the new protocol for commercial purposes. The new standard, called DNS-over-HTTPS, …

Tech CEO’s from Amazon, AT&T, IBM, Salesforce among 51 companies pushing congress for data privacy law

The chief executive officers (CEOs) of 51 tech companies including Amazon, AT&T, Dell, IBM, Qualcomm, SAP, Salesforce, Visa, Mastercard, JP Morgan Chase, State Farm, and Walmart have signed and sent an open letter to Congress leaders today, asking for a federal law on user data privacy to supersede the rising number of privacy laws that …

Facebook privacy lapse leaks 400m phone numbers in USA, Britain and Vietnam

Phone numbers linked to more than 400 million Facebook accounts were listed online in the latest privacy lapse for the social media giant, US media reported Wednesday. An exposed server stored 419 million records on users across several databases — including 133 million US accounts, more than 50 million in Vietnam, and 18 million in …

Sundar Pichai says Google is now thinking privacy first

In a series of sweeping announcements on Tuesday, Google announced it’s unveiling new privacy tools that would, if they lived up to the hype, let users restrict how companies track their online activities and compile and sell their personal data. Speaking at an annual conference for developers on Tuesday, Sundar Pichai, Google’s chief executive, delivered …

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 …

Google announces Play Store policy to prevent intrusive Android apps accessing user call log and SMS data on devices

According to Google, only an app that has been selected as the phone’s default app for making calls or sending text messages will be able to access call logs and SMS data via the SMS and Call Log permissions. The new policy entered into effect yesterday. Android app developers have 90 days to update their …

Oath, the owner of AOL and Yahoo to pay $5 million to settle charges for violating children’s privacy law.

Oath, the owner of AOL and Yahoo, has agreed to pay about $5 million to settle charges from the New York attorney general that the media company’s online advertising business was violating a federal children’s privacy law. AOL, through its ad exchange, helped place targeted display ads on hundreds of websites that it knew were …