The next frontier in facial-recognition tech: Not stealing dead people’s pics, ideally

A face-search engine scraping obit photos shows off the lawless land of post-mortem privacy.

Ben Berkley • March 13, 2023

A controversial way to solve violent crimes

Public genealogy databases can help solve violent crimes, but they alarm privacy advocates.

Juliet Bennett Rylah • January 4, 2023

What you should know about geofencing

Geofence and keyboard warrants are useful for law enforcement, but they’re highly controversial.

Juliet Bennett Rylah • June 28, 2022

A new bill could protect Americans’ health and location data

A new bill would prevent the sale or sharing of Americans’ health and location data.

Juliet Bennett Rylah • June 17, 2022

A new bill would limit employer spying

States are considering bills that would limit how employers can use tech to monitor their workers.

Juliet Bennett Rylah • April 26, 2022

Oh great, spam is on the rise

The spam business is booming, with texts and calls up 58% and 32% last year.

Jacob Cohen • April 18, 2022

The IRS and facial recognition, explained

The IRS reversed course on its plans to use facial recognition software after backlash from activists who cite all sorts of problems with the tech.

Juliet Bennett Rylah • March 10, 2022

Terms and conditions suck. The TLDR Act might help

The TLDR Act would force tech companies to break legal jargon into understandable language, and be more transparent about data collection.

Rob Litterst • January 17, 2022

In digital advertising, the cookie is crumbling

Apple and Google shifted away from cookies. Now consumers are taking privacy more seriously.

Rob Litterst • January 7, 2022

Apple’s conundrum: Protect children and maintain privacy

Apple will scan iPhones for child porn. Will this new initiative put its privacy promise at risk?

Trung T. Phan • August 11, 2021

Apple is shaking up the $400B digital ad market with a new privacy policy

An Apple software update will ask users if they want to be tracked. The expectation that many will say no is forcing Facebook, Google, and other tech cos to adapt.

Trung T. Phan • March 30, 2021

Neeva — led by Google vets — raises $40m to build an ad-free search engine

Neeva is trying to build a privacy-first search engine from scratch. It’s got the right team for the job.

Jacob Cohen • March 11, 2021

Google will stop tracking you for ads… but there’s a catch

Google says it will stop selling ads based on individual browsing history.

The Hustle • March 9, 2021

There’s a Big Tech battle going down in North Dakota

A North Dakota bill is trying to rein in Apple and Google’s app-store dominance. It’s one of many state-level Big Tech battles.

Trung T. Phan • February 17, 2021

Apple’s privacy features are triggering Zuck

Facebook calls Apple one of its “biggest competitors” and hits back at its privacy features, which are somewhat confusing.

Jacob Cohen • January 29, 2021

Why are Apple and Facebook beefing?

Facebook’s complaint over Apple’s new privacy update is the latest round in a yearslong beef of 2 tech giants with very different biz models.

Trung T. Phan • December 21, 2020

The massive SolarWinds hack may force widespread regulatory change

The SolarWinds hack has affected ~18k customers, including America’s largest companies and government institutions. What’s next?

Trung T. Phan • December 18, 2020

The future of online security and privacy is being decided right now

A case concerning the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (CFAA) could give Big Tech even more power.

Trung T. Phan • December 2, 2020

How much data do podcasts have on you?

They might be hurtling toward a micro-targeted future.

Michael Waters • October 9, 2020

Can you fund a social media company like a video game?

The startup Yubo runs on in-app purchases.

Michael Waters • September 30, 2020

Now you can find out which websites are tracking you

A new tool called Blacklight airs all the dirty ad-tech laundry.

Michael Waters • September 25, 2020

The Weather Channel is going all in on shopping

Weather apps are changing up how they track you. Get ready for a ton of weather-based ads.

Michael Waters • September 18, 2020

What are therapy apps doing with your data?

Talkspace, Crisis Text Line, and Better Help don’t keep things quite as private as you might think.

Michael Waters • August 19, 2020

More than a bad batch: Why everyone is ditching browser cookies

The pro-cookie argument has always been: It’s more profitable. But new evidence is challenging that.

Michael Waters • August 6, 2020

Garmin is the latest big name taken out by ransomware

Ransomware attacks are on the rise, and Garmin is the latest big name to take a hit.

Caroline Dohack • July 27, 2020

Can deepfakes be good?

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves: The tech is still overwhelmingly used to harass.

Michael Waters • July 1, 2020

A messaging app won a cat-and-mouse game with the Russian government

The government wanted in, but Telegram’s founder said nyet.

Nick DeSantis • June 29, 2020

On mute no more: Zoom gets a taste of international politics

The company blocked Tiananmen Square commemorations. US lawmakers got wind of it.

Michael Waters • June 15, 2020

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