The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a report that examines the data collection and use practices of major social media and video streaming services, finding that the companies engaged in vast surveillance of consumers in order to monetize their personal information while failing to adequately protect users online, especially children and teens.
The report, called A Look Behind the Scenes: Examining the Data Practices of Social Media and Video Streaming Services, is based on responses from nine companies to questions about how the companies collect, track, and use personal and demographic information, how they determine which ads and other content are shown to consumers.
Read more…
Source: Malwarebytes Labs
Related:
- China identifies the culprits behind cyberattack on Wuhan Earthquake Monitoring Center
August 14, 2023
New progress has been made on an investigation into a cyberattack incident targeting the Wuhan Earthquake Monitoring Center affiliated to the city’s Emergency Management Bureau, after a joint investigation team formed by the National Computer Virus Emergency Response Center (CVERC) and Chinese cybersecurity company 360 discovered malicious backdoor software that exhibits characteristics of US intelligence ...
- Estonian state continuing to collect personal telecoms data
August 4, 2023
Obtaining data from telecoms firms in the course of criminal investigations in Estonia still goes on, despite stricter limits put in place by the European Union from last year. In April 2022, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) found that the wholesale storage of personal data, even in the interests of fighting crime, runs counter to ...
- FBI was using advanced hacking software despite White House ban
August 2, 2023
Since November of 2021, US-based companies have been barred from doing business with the NSO Group, an Israeli research firm behind some of the most advanced hacking tools the tech world has ever seen. Come to find out, a New York Times investigation from this past April revealed that a US government agency was actively using ...
- UK spy agencies want to relax ‘burdensome’ laws on AI data use
August 1, 2023
The UK intelligence agencies are lobbying the government to weaken surveillance laws they argue place a “burdensome” limit on their ability to train artificial intelligence models with large amounts of personal data. The proposals would make it easier for GCHQ, MI6 and MI5 to use certain types of data, by relaxing safeguards designed to protect people’s ...
- Apple slams UK surveillance-bill proposals
July 20, 2023
Apple says it will remove services such as FaceTime and iMessage from the UK rather than weaken security if new proposals are made law and acted upon. The government is seeking to update the Investigatory Powers Act (IPA) 2016. It wants messaging services to clear security features with the Home Office before releasing them to customers. ...
- Intellexa and Cytrox are latest spyware firms to face U.S. wrath
July 19, 2023
The Biden administration struck its latest blow against foreign spyware makers on Tuesday, placing two Europe-based companies on its list that restricts U.S. companies’ business dealings with them. Greece-based Intellexa and the Hungarian company Cytrox are now on the Commerce Department’s “Entity List,” alongside related entities in Ireland and Macedonia, respectively. The organizations join Israeli spyware makers ...

