Online privacy

40 Million Customer Records Affected in T-Mobile Data Breach

T-Mobile said the attack that breached its computer network pulled Social Security numbers and other personal information of more than 40 million current and prospective customers. The cellphone carrier said the stolen data included first and last names, birth dates, Social Security numbers and driver’s license information from a subset of current and potential customers.

T-Mobile Investigates Customer Data Breach

T-Mobile is investigating a forum post claiming to be selling a mountain of personal data. The forum post itself doesn't mention T-Mobile, but the seller told Vice they have obtained data related to over 100 million people, and that the data came from T-Mobile servers. On the underground forum the seller is asking for 6 bitcoin, around $270,000, for a subset of the data containing 30 million social security numbers and drivers licenses.

Sponsor: 

Federal Trade Commission

Date: 
Tue, 07/27/2021 - 09:00 to 17:00

The event will feature remarks by Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter and FTC Chief Technologist Erie Meyer, as well as presentations and discussions on a variety of privacy and data security research.

The event will be tweeted live from the FTC’s Twitter page (@FTC) using the hashtag #PrivacyCon21.



Sen Kennedy introduces legislation to deny immunity to social media companies

Sen John Kennedy (R-LA) introduced the Don’t Push My Buttons Act (S.2335) in response to social media platforms that track personal data to polarize and provoke online users. The bill would deny legal immunity under the Communications Act of 1934 to platforms that leverage user data to promote divisive content without permission from those users. Many social media platforms collect data to identify their users’ “hot buttons”—divisive issues that create strong emotional responses or reactions.

Make digital rights part of digital infrastructure

The bipartisan infrastructure bill is still far from a done deal, but after the political wrangling over what is and isn’t “infrastructure,” at least one area of firm bipartisan agreement has emerged: broadband digital access is infrastructure, but if the US lags behind our economy will not remain competitive. The broad agreement on broadband for all is a positive, overdue development. But by itself, without better digital norms and governance, universal broadband access in the US won’t do much to secure Americans’ digital rights, equitably distributed economic growth, or stronger competiti

Mobile marketing booms, but consumer privacy concerns remain

The Mobile Marketing Association and WARC's new joint "State of the Industry" report found that while mobile marketing budgets boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, connsumer privacy concerns remain a significant barrier to growth. The top-line finding of the report is that two out of three marketers boosted their mobile marketing budgets over the past year, at least partly due to the acceleration of ecommerce following the pandemic. And while marketers appear to be more optimistic about almost every potential barrier to further mobile marketing budget growth, consumers' concern over their p

Does Data Privacy Need its Own Agency?

If Congress passes comprehensive privacy legislation, it will need to delegate a federal agency to enforce the law and conduct rulemaking. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has used its general consumer protection authority to bring enforcement actions against companies violating user privacy, and has therefore been considered the de facto privacy agency. However, three bills have challenged this assumption and would create a new agency to enforce privacy law rather than relying on the FTC. This report compares the new agencies in three legislative proposals to one another and to the FTC.

The Ease of Tracking Mobile Phones of US Soldiers in Hot Spots

The US government has built robust programs to track terrorists and criminals through warrantless access to commercial data. Many vendors now provide global location information from mobile phones to intelligence, military and law-enforcement organizations.

A Global Tipping Point for Reining In Tech Has Arrived

Around the world, governments are moving simultaneously to limit the power of tech companies with an urgency and breadth that no single industry had experienced before. Their motivation varies.

Senators Question Online Ad Exchanges on Sharing of Americans’ Data with Foreign Companies

In a series of letters, six US senators questioned eight digital advertising exchanges about the possible sale of Americans’ personal information to foreign-owned companies. The senators are seeking information about the sharing of Americans’ data through “real time bidding” – the auction process used to place many targeted digital advertisements.

How your mobile carrier makes money off some of your most sensitive data

T-Mobile says it will use its customers’ web browsing and app usage data to sell targeted ads unless those customers opt out.

Rep DelBene Introduces National Consumer Data Privacy Legislation

Rep Suzan DelBene (D-WA) introduced the Information Transparency and Personal Data Control Act, legislation that would create a national data privacy standard to protect our most personal information and bring our laws into the 21st Century. The bill protects personal information including data relating to financial, health, genetic, biometric, geolocation, sexual orientation, citizenship and immigration status, Social Security Numbers, and religious beliefs. It also keeps information about children under 13 years of age safe.

FCC Seeks Comment on Privacy Issues Concerning Consumer Challenge Process

The Federal Communications Commission proposes to add a new system of records, FCC/WCB–4, Consumer Challenge Process, to its inventory of records systems subject to the Privacy Act of 1974. The Consumer Challenge Process system of records contains personally identifiable information (PII) submitted by individuals, or third parties on behalf of individuals, needed to establish eligibility to challenge the accuracy of Participants’ submissions, provide sufficient information for Participants to respond to a challenge, and create accurate maps of Participant coverage or eligible locations.

Notice of re-establishment of four matching programs for FCC's Lifeline program

A Federal Communications Commission notice published in the Federal Register announced the reestablishment of four computer matching programs the FCC and Universal Service Administrative Company will conduct with Missouri’s Department of Social Services, North Carolina’s Department of Health and Human Services, Pennsylvania’s Department of Human Services, and Tennessee’s Department of Human Services.  The purpose of these particular matching programs is to verify Lifeline eligibility by establishing that applicants or subscribers in Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee are

A Foreign Policy for the American People

We’ve set the foreign policy priorities for the Biden administration by asking a few simple questions: What will our foreign policy mean for American workers and their families? What do we need to do around the world to make us stronger here at home? And what do we need to do at home to make us stronger in the world?

Google to Stop Selling Ads Based on Your Specific Web Browsing

Google plans to stop selling ads based on individuals’ browsing across multiple websites, a change that could hasten upheaval in the digital advertising industry. In 2022 Google plans to stop using or investing in tracking technologies that uniquely identify web users as they move from site to site across the internet. The decision, coming from the world’s biggest digital-advertising company, could help push the industry away from the use of such individualized tracking, which has come under increasing criticism from privacy advocates and faces scrutiny from regulators.

Virginia governor signs nation’s second state consumer privacy bill

Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) signed data privacy legislation into law, making Virginia the second state in the nation to adopt its own data protection rules. The law, known as the Consumer Data Protection Act, had broad support from the tech industry, including Amazon, which is building an Arlington (VA) headquarters. The legislation will allow residents of the commonwealth to opt out of having their data collected and sold, similar to a California law that went into effect in 2020.

House Antitrust Subcommittee's three big ideas to take on tech power

On paper, Feb 25’s House Antitrust Subcommittee hearing was about analyzing how big tech platforms act as gatekeepers and create barriers to entry — but really it was about testing out three new avenues for keeping tech companies in line and seeing which ones might gain support from tech-skeptical Republican representatives. But at the hearing, the subcommittee moved beyond calling out bad behavior and laid out three big areas where Congress could actually take action:

Notice of a new system of records for Emergency Broadband Benefit Program

The Federal Communications Commission is establishing a new system of records, FCC/WCB–3, Emergency Broadband Benefit Program, subject to the Privacy Act of 1974. This system of records is maintained for use in determining whether a member of a household meets the eligibility criteria to qualify for a discount on the cost of internet service and a subsidy for low-cost devices such as computers and tablets; ensuring benefits are not duplicated; dispute resolution regarding eligibility for the Emergency Broadband Benefit Program; customer surveys; audit; verification of a provider’s represent

The Need for Internet Interstate Infrastructure

Sustainability when looking at a digital infrastructure plan needs to take cybersecurity and data privacy into account. In the modern world, data is a currency. From the dark web to marketing analytics, data has a financial value. The government needs to address these issues as part of establishing a nationwide internet infrastructure. Relying solely on internet service providers to build the infrastructure and secure it will fail. Regulations do not secure information or cloud services; they serve as deterrents. The federal government needs to take action to fill in security holes.

States Push Internet Privacy Rules in Lieu of Federal Standards

A growing mosaic of state-level internet privacy proposals in lieu of a nationwide framework could provide new protections for consumers and additional question marks for businesses. Lawmakers in Virginia are nearing passage of data protection legislation in a rapid-fire legislative session slated to conclude in Feb. Washington state officials are considering compromises over enforcement of a potential privacy law for the third time. States including NY, MN, OK, and FL are pushing ahead with similar proposals of their own.

The Biden presidency: What it means for tech

President Joe Biden's presence in the Oval Office over the next four years will have a major influence on the tech sector, including infrastructure policy on broadband deployment and national security issues involving Chinese tech companies. The president and his team will also play a role in how to handle the growth and influence of social media giants.

World wide web inventor Tim Berners-Lee takes on Google, Facebook, Amazon to fix the internet

Sir Tim Berners-Lee and his business partner, John Bruce, have launched Inrupt, a company that allows consumers, rather than companies, to control their own data, to store it in pods, and to move it wherever they please. That means Facebook, Google or any other Big Tech company will no longer be able to extract an individual's photos, comments or purchase history without asking.

Facebook and Apple Are Beefing Over the Future of the Internet

Apple CEO Tim Cook gave a speech explaining his company’s upcoming privacy changes, which will ban apps from sharing iPhone user behavior with third parties unless users give explicit consent. And he made plain that these new policies were designed at least in part with Facebook in mind.