Tag Archives: Internet privacy

03Mar/23

Snooping on campaigners

March 3, 2023SecurityAdam Smith, Arshak Makichyan, Articles, Avi Asher-Schapiro, Beijing, Bogota, China, Closed-circuit television, Crime prevention, Diana Baptista, Disha Ravi, Facial recognition system, India, Internet privacy, Kim Harrisberg, Learning, María Quiñones Triana, Metaverse, Mexico, Moscow, National security, Peter Rest, Prevention, Rina Chandran, Security, Surveillance, Tanzania, Thomson Reuters Foundation, TikTok, Triana, United States, Video surveillanceadmin

By Kim Harrisberg | South Africa correspondent

From phishing traps to arrests based on their social media posts alone, activists from Russia to Uganda say they’re increasingly being watched for their online campaigning.
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17Feb/23

Kids’ online safety: A fragile balance

February 17, 2023SecurityBill, Child protection, Digital media, Elizabeth, Frankfurt, Frankfurt Airport, Human behavior, Humans, Iceland, Identity management, India, Internet privacy, Joe Biden, London, New Delhi, Parental controls, Privacy, Privacy law, Samuel Woodhams Digital, SNAPCHAT, Social media, Thomson Reuters Foundation, United Kingdom, United Statesadmin

By Samuel Woodhams | Digital rights researcher and journalist

Last week, Joe Biden sounded the alarm over the lack of child protections online during his State of the Union address. He called for a ban on the collection of kids’ personal data and the prohibition of targeted advertising to children, saying: “We must finally hold social media companies accountable for the experiment they are running on our children for profit.”
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27Jan/23

The spy clause and the end of anonymity

January 27, 2023SecurityAnonymity, Canada, China, Computer networking, Computing, Cryptography, David Kaye, Digital technology, Hamilton, Human rights, Instant messaging, Internet privacy, Iran, Manchester, Mathew Ryder, Phil Bradley-, Rebecca Mackinnon, Russia, Samuel Woodhams Digital, Social networking services, Terms of service, Thomson Reuters Foundation, United Kingdom, Virtual private network, WhatsAppadmin

By Samuel Woodhams | Digital rights researcher and journalist

The long, turbulent history of UK’s Online Safety Bill can be traced back to 2017, with the publication of the Internet Safety Strategy green paper. Since then, the proposed legislation has gone through endless revisions, been delayed and, at times, looked like it might be dropped entirely. Continue reading →

19Jan/23

Digital welfare dystopia

January 19, 2023SecurityAtos, Australia, Brisbane, China, Crime prevention, Data mining, Internet privacy, Law enforcement, Lina Dencik, Machine learning, Manchester, Mass surveillance, Melanie Klieve, Melbourne, National security, Netherlands, Philip Alston, Prevention, Profiling, Qian Ji Data Co, Samuel Woodhams Digital, Security, Skills, Surveillance, Thomson Reuters Foundation, United Kingdomadmin

By Samuel Woodhams | Digital rights researcher and journalist

Algorithms to determine welfare payments and detect fraud are becoming standard practice around the world. From Manchester to Melbourne, peoples’ lives are being shaped by secretive tools that determine who is eligible for what, and how much debt is owed.

Although the technology has been around for some time, the outbreak of COVID-19 renewed enthusiasm for the digital welfare state and, for thousands of cash-strapped public bodies, the promise of increased efficiency and lower costs has proven irresistible.
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13Jan/23

Reclaiming privacy

January 13, 2023SecurityCensorship, Circumvention, Computing, Content-control software, Digital technology, Egypt, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Great Firewall, India, Information and communications technology, Internet censorship, Internet censorship circumvention, Internet privacy, Internet security, Iran, IRanASignalProxy, Mahsa Amini, META, Proxy server, Russia, Samuel Woodhams Digital, Sri Lanka, Tehran, Thomson Reuters Foundation, United Statesadmin

By Samuel Woodhams | Digital rights researcher and journalist

Last week, WhatsApp announced a new proxy support feature that will help people stay connected during internet disruptions. The app is often targeted by government censors because messages on the end-to-end encrypted service can’t be intercepted, enabling people to organise protests and share critical information in private.
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17Nov/22

The ads are watching you

November 17, 2022SecurityADTECH, Advertising, Belfast, Bermuda, Digital marketing, Facial recognition system, France, Glasgow, Internet privacy, Japan, Ji, London, Manchester, Market economics), Marketing, National security, Online advertising, Peter, Samsung Electronics, Samuel Woodhams Digital, Security, Surveillance, Targeted advertising, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Tokyo, United Statesadmin

By Samuel Woodhams | Digital rights researcher and journalist

Targeted online advertisements are impossible to ignore. Ads based on our browsing history, geolocation, and personal information appear constantly on our social media feeds, news articles, and streaming platforms. As the authors of a new report on the advertising surveillance industry put it: “Targeted advertising is unavoidable for anyone who owns a smartphone or goes online.”
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07Oct/22

End-to-end encryption keeps us all safe

October 7, 2022SecurityAcademic disciplines, Articles, Bangladesh, Center for Democracy and Technology, Cryptography, Data security, Disk encryption, Encryption, End-to-end encryption, Global Partners, Human rights and encryption, India, Internet privacy, Mallory Knodel, Ryan Polk, Sheetal Kumar, Strong cryptography, Thomson Reuters Foundation, United Kingdomadmin

Mallory Knodel,Ryan Polk,Sheetal Kumar

Published: October 05, 2022 | Center for Democracy & Technology

Mallory Knodel is Chief Technologist at the Center for Democracy and Technology, Ryan Polk is Director of Internet Policy at Internet Society and Sheetal Kumar is Head of Global Engagement and Advocacy at Global Partners Digital.

At the Human Rights Council in Geneva last month, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) presented the strongest endorsement of encryption yet by the world body in its report on privacy in the digital age, underlining that the technology that leverages cryptography to secure communications, is crucial to the rights to privacy, access to information, and free expression in an online world. Continue reading →

01Oct/22

We’ve had the backlash against Big Tech. Now what?

October 1, 2022Internet.google, Big data, Boston, Cambridge Analytica, Computing, David Carroll, Digital media, Digital rights, Digital technology, Dobbs, Donald Trump, Facebook, Human rights, Internet privacy, Mark Zuckerberg, META, Privacy, Right to privacy, Sacramento, Shopify, SNAP, Terms of service, Thomson Reuters Foundation, United Kingdom, United Statesadmin

David Carroll
Published: September 29, 2022 | Parsons School of Design

David Carroll is an associate professor of media design at Parsons School of Design at The New School in New York.

Thomson Reuters Foundation — On Sept. 13 an employee of Boston’s Northeastern University was injured when a package delivered to a virtual reality research lab exploded in his hands. Like a scene from a futuristic thriller, a note accompanying the bomb accused the lab of secretly working for Facebook and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg in a plot to take over society through virtual reality. Continue reading →

17Sep/22

Yubo to become first major social media platform to age-verify 100% of its users

September 17, 2022SecurityGeneration Z, Internet privacy, Social media, Social networking services, Social search, Software, Yuboadmin

Yubo, a live social discovery platform for Gen Z, is the first major social media app in the world to implement comprehensive age-verification for all its users, a groundbreaking milestone in a key area of concern in online safety today. Continue reading

11Aug/22

Scam loan apps extorting Mexicans thrive in Google Play Store

August 11, 2022Finance.google, Android, Avi Asher-Schapiro, Citizen Council for Justice and Security, Cloud clients, Computing, Dafne Méndez, Diana Baptista, Digital technology, Eduardo, Eduardo Apáez, Garrido He, Google Play, Google Play Store, India, Internet privacy, José Cash, Kenya, Mexico, MEXICO CITY, Mobile app, Mobile software, Online marketplaces, Operating systems, Óscar Rosado, Pedro Figueroa, Philippines, Rosado, Salvador Guerrero, Smartphones, Thomson Reuters, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Tlapacoyanadmin

Menacing messages, threats spiral along with debt
Legal loophole creates Wild West for lending apps
Complaints mount but regulators powerless to act

By Diana Baptista and Avi Asher -Schapiro

MEXICO CITY, Aug 11 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – A week after Pedro Figueroa borrowed 10,000 pesos ($500) from José Cash, a popular Mexican lending app, the barrage of online abuse began.

A slew of WhatsApp messages swamped his phone, threatening harm – to him and his reputation – if he did not pay. Continue reading →

Tag: Internet privacy