Data Privacy and Cybersecurity

Chicago Skyline

Groups Call For Chicago PD To Stop Using Facial Recognition Technology

More than 70 groups signed a letter to Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot urging her to end the practice, citing racial bias and privacy concerns.

 | Meg Hilling

A man on a cell phone

FCC: Wireless Carriers Violated Federal Law By Selling Location Data

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced the agency's findings in a letter to lawmakers in the House of Representatives.

 | Briana Koeneman

Amazon's Ring doorbell is seen on a house in Silver Spring, Maryland on August 28, 2019.

How Your Holiday Tech Gift Could Compromise Other People's Privacy

Consumer privacy advocacy groups and other tech companies want to inform shoppers on how gadget gifts may compromise user security.

 | Tyler Adkisson

Facebook logo

California Attorney General Seeks Court Order For Facebook Documents

The California Attorney General's Office says Facebook has failed to hand over subpoenaed documents in an ongoing investigation.

 | Meg Hilling

Surveillance camera monitors.

ACLU Sues Government For Records On Its Use Of Facial Recognition

The ACLU filed a freedom of information lawsuit against three government agencies for access to records on the use of facial recognition technology.

 | Stephanie Liebergen

Facebook and WhatsApp icons

Facebook Sues Israeli Surveillance Firm After WhatsApp Hack

WhatsApp says close to 1,400 users were affected by the security breach, and many were reportedly journalists and human rights activists.

 | Antoinette Miller

Facebook logo

Facebook Is Getting Rid Of Its Tag Suggestions Feature

Facebook calls the new setting "an easy on or off switch" for facial recognition in all its uses.

 | Antoinette Miller

YouTube logo

YouTube Removes Over 100K Videos Under New Hate Speech Rules

YouTube recently revised its policies to explicitly ban videos promoting extremist ideologies or certain conspiracy theories.

 | Gage Jackson

Facebook.com open on a computer screen

Facebook Unveils New Data Privacy Tool

The Off-Facebook Activity tool will allow users to view and clear personal information Facebook has received from other websites and platforms.

 | Caitlin Baldwin

Woman uses a cellphone

NYC Bill Would Ban Companies From Selling Cellphone Location Data

A New York City bill would ban the sale of any cellphone location data collected within the five boroughs.

 | Stephanie Liebergen

Photo editor Faceapp features its aging effect

Sen. Schumer Wants FaceApp Investigated Over Russian Ties

The Russian-based app transforms users from young to old to another gender. It's an internet craze, but Sen. Chuck Schumer may just cancel it.

 | Lauren Magarino

Facial recognition surveillance camera

San Francisco Votes To Ban City Depts. From Using Facial Recognition

City officials voted 8-1 in favor of legislation that would ban facial recognition tools from being used by local government.

 | Cristina Mutchler

23andMe testing kit

What You Need To Know About DNA Testing Kits

Some companies may be using your DNA for research. Consumer Reports health reporter Kevin Loria explains.

 | Lauren Magarino

FEMA employees sitting in front of computer monitors

Report: FEMA Wrongly Shared Natural Disaster Victims' Personal Data

A government watchdog found FEMA had given the personal information of about 2.3 million ​people who survived several natural disasters.

 | Ahmed Jawadi

Social networking site Facebook is displayed on a laptop screen

Facebook Faces Criminal Investigation Over Data Privacy

Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed documents from at least two smart phone companies in a criminal investigation into Facebook.

 | LeeAnne Lowry

Congress May Soon Unveil Major Data Privacy Legislation

US tech companies will likely face the prospect of regulation after several user privacy scandals and Russian meddling into the 2016 election.

 | Willie James Inman

Person on laptop

Marriott, Equifax CEOs To Testify Before Senate On Data Breaches

A Senate panel is set to hear testimony Thursday on recent private sector data breaches.

 | Cristina Mutchler

Person holding iPhone

Lawmakers Are Getting The Ball Rolling On A National Privacy Law

The Senate Commerce Committee heard from big tech representatives on a potential federal privacy law during a hearing Wednesday.

 | Cristina Mutchler

Google's Nest Guard

Google Didn't Notify Users Its Nest Alarm System Has A Microphone

It was only after Google announced a voice-assistant update to the Nest Guard that users learned of a built-in microphone.

 | Ahmed Jawadi

Browser windows on a computer

Government Watchdog Recommends A Federal Internet Privacy Law

A Government Accountability Office report suggests Congress look at implementing a comprehensive internet privacy law.

 | Cristina Mutchler

Laptop computer

Almost 447 Million Personal Records Compromised By Hackers In 2018

According to a report from the Identity Theft Resource Center, a record number of sensitive personal information was stolen by hackers last year.

 | Cristina Mutchler

IPhone

FaceTime Bug Allows People To Listen In Before They Answer

New York's governor issued a consumer alert Monday, advising FaceTime users to temporarily disable the app.

 | Stephanie Sandoval

Protestors demonstrate outside of Facebook's Menlo Park location in April 2018

Critics Say FTC's Privacy Fines Need To Get More Serious

The FTC issues relatively weak penalties to tech companies that break data privacy rules. A new record-breaking fine may be a chance to change that.

 | Tyler Adkisson

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg

Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg Addresses The Company's Recent Downfalls

Speaking at a conference in Germany on Sunday, Sandberg went over five steps that Facebook's taking as it learns from past mistakes.

 | Cristina Mutchler

A person uses a laptop

More Than 770 Million Emails And Passwords Exposed In Data Breach

A web security expert is calling this the largest collection of data ever loaded into his breach-checking website.

 | Stephanie Sandoval

A person uses Facebook on multiple devices

Facebook Bug Gave App Developers Access to Some Users' Photos

The apps had access to some users' photos for a 12 day span in September.

 | Caitlin Baldwin

Google CEO Sundar Pichai

Google CEO Defends Company's Privacy Practices Before House Lawmakers

In a House committee hearing, Sundar Pichai was asked about how Google tracks location data and if it's biased against conservative voices.

 | Cristina Mutchler

Apps on iPhone home screen

Australia Passes Encryption Bill That's Sparking Privacy Concerns

The new law will require tech companies to let security agencies access encrypted private messaging services, like iMessage and WhatsApp.

 | Cristina Mutchler

Sign in front of Marriott hotel

Marriott To Pay For New Passports If Fraud Is Found After Data Breach

The hotel chain told media outlets it will cover passport replacement costs for guests affected by fraud as a result of its recent data breach.

 | Cristina Mutchler

Marriott announces data breach

Marriott Announces Massive Data Breach Affecting 500 Million Guests

Marriott said hackers accessed personal information in its Starwood reservations database.

 | Andrea Gonzales