As gadgets and services get smarter, they need more data, and face the hard problem of keeping it safe. Data privacy has become a huge problem for Google, Facebook, Amazon, and any company using artificial intelligence to power its services — and a major sticking point for lawmakers looking to regulate. Here’s all the news on data privacy and how it’s changing tech.
It will also block “most video ads” outside YouTube, according to a blog post. DuckDuckGo’s browser will switch on the feature by default across Windows, Mac, and iOS devices, while users on Android will have to enable it manually from the Settings menu.
The AI wearable surveillance state hinges on good intentions masking legitimate privacy concerns.
Precatuions for America250 and other major events are building up the surveillance state.
ICE has denied it maintains such a database, but Mother Jones lays out some shifty wording that suggests Trump administration officials are dodging the question — including a spontaneous mention of the known Terrorist Screening Dataset. Given that 15 Minnesota activists are facing federal charges, it sure sounds like DHS may be tracking protesters after all.
Swedish-language site Flamman reported that Daniel Berntsson gave 5 million Swedish kronor to the Örebro Party. The VPN company responded to the news on X, and Mullvad’s co-CEO Fredrik Strömberg told TechRadar “I don’t like that he made this donation,” but that “we will continue to protect the universal right to privacy.”
In a 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court determined that people have a reasonable right to privacy on their devices. The government had argued “geofence warrants” don’t constitute searches — but the court disagreed.
Elena Kagan, writing for the majority, said:
“An individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy in records about his cell phone’s location, and police intrude on that constitutionally protected interest when they demand the information—even though for only a limited time, and from a third-party tech company.”
A report from 404 Media shows how more than a dozen cases around the US have shown police using Flock to illegally stalk victims. Flock acknowledged it’s aware of 15 incidents, claiming“each surfaced because of the transparency and accountability features deliberately built into our platform.”
But that doesn’t reflect how some victims only found out by using the HaveIBeenFlocked.com website that Flock has tried to have taken down, or the many years of similar reports with other surveillance tech, a problem the NSA tagged “LOVEINT.”
Kids aged 13 to 15 will only be able to create, save, and post Spotlight videos and Stories “on a dedicated profile that is visible only to their mutually accepted friends,” Snap announced on Wednesday. These more private profiles also won’t show metrics like favorite counts.
Brave Origin comes with the same privacy-focused features as the free version, but it will allow you to fully switch off certain features — not just hide them — including Leo AI, Brave rewards, the browser’s built-in wallet, and more. The standard version of Brave “will remain free and fully supported.”
Former Verge editor Joanna Stern found listings in 30 states offering to remove the recording indicator LED on Meta smart glasses. She met one of the people offering this service, who drilled the light out of her glasses and filled it in, allowing her to stealthily record with the glasses.
404 Media sued ICE to get documents related to its $2 million contract with the spyware company Paragon. In response, ICE sent back heavily redacted documents that provide little insight into the surveillance tool, which can be used to remotely hack people’s phones without their knowledge — and can even break into their encrypted messaging apps.
ICE has publicly hinted that they need the software to combat international drug cartels. But as with all border security tools, there’s always a chance it’ll be turned inward.
Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit against Chrome Holding Co. — formerly 23AndMe — claiming that the company failed to protect user information, leading to the massive 2023 breach that included data belonging to 6.9 million users. In 2024, 23andMe agreed to pay $30 million to settle a class action lawsuit related to the breach.
[California Office of the Attorney General]
This year’s Border Security Expo was a victory lap for Trump’s immigration policies. But with border crossings at record lows, what were vendors hawking next?
Months after reporting on men who approach women in public while wearing Ray-Ban Meta AI glasses or other similar devices, then post their covert recordings to get paid, the BBC has this update highlighted by Gizmodo. “Alice” was in a video viewed over 40,000 times on social media, and when she contacted the operator, they said they would remove it as a “paid service,” bringing back an old strategy with a new, and worse, wearable twist.
For times when you don’t need a website to know exactly where you are (like when checking the weather versus finding the closest ATM) Google is introducing the option to only share your approximate location. It will launch for Chrome on Android first, but expand to the desktop browser in the coming months.
The never-ending fight to end warrantless surveillance under Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act continues, with the House voting 235–191 for a bill that, once again, did not add warrant requirements. The bill now goes to the Senate, which has until tomorrow before the current law expires. Congress already voted in a 10 day extension on April 20.
In a blog post, Proton CEO Andy Yen calls out the privacy and security concerns about the rapid expansion of age verification, but says “the scope of places where age verification is required must be strictly confined to areas like pornography and social media:”
If as a society we conclude that a narrowly drawn age-verification system is both necessary and inevitable, it must be done right. Checks must be conducted entirely client-side, on the user’s device. They should rely on facial scans, not uploaded IDs, that are instantly discarded once processed. The answer to the binary question of whether the user is “of age” must be fully anonymized.
Earlier this month, 404 Media reported that the FBI obtained deleted Signal messages saved inside an iPhone’s notification database. It looks like the iOS 26.4.2 security update addresses this, as Apple says it has fixed an issue where “notifications marked for deletion could be unexpectedly retained on the device.”
[Apple Support]
According to journalist Ken Klippenstein, ICE may be working on developing smart glasses capable of facial and biometric recognition. Klippenstein claims the agency wouldn’t just be using this tech on illegal aliens, but all Americans, especially protesters. College students proved this tech is already doable, but thanks, I hate it.
[https://www.kenklippenstein.com]
Over the weekend, Congress voted to extend Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act — for 10 days. President Trump has demanded a clean renewal of the controversial wiretapping authority, but he’s been stymied by Republicans who want to include reforms, including closing a loophole that lets the government spy on Americans without a warrant.
The new deadline is April 30th.
The House was supposed to have a procedural vote on renewing Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act today, ahead of the program’s April 20th expiration. Speaker Mike Johnson delayed the debate — again. There’s still a chance the House may vote later today, but it’s unlikely.
