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Europe's top court has ruled that Meta Platforms must restrict the use of personal data harvested from Facebook for serving targeted ads even when users consent to their information being used for advertising purposes, a move that could have serious consequences for ad-driven companies operating in the region. "An online social network such as Facebook cannot use all of the personal data obtained for the purposes of targeted advertising, without restriction as to time and without distinction as to type of data," the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) said in a ruling on Friday. In other words, social networks, such as Facebook, cannot keep using users' personal data for ad targeting indefinitely, the court said, adding limits must be set in place in order to comply with the bloc's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) data minimization requirements. It's worth noting that Article 5(1)(c) of GDPR necessitates that companies limit the process

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has fined Meta €91 million ($101.56 million) as part of a probe into a security lapse in March 2019, when the company disclosed that it had mistakenly stored users' passwords in plaintext in its systems. The investigation, launched by the DPC the next month, found that the social media giant violated four different articles under the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). To that end, the DPC faulted Meta for failing to promptly notify the DPC of the data breach, document personal data breaches concerning the storage of user passwords in plaintext, and utilize proper technical measures to ensure the confidentiality of users' passwords. Meta originally revealed that the privacy transgression led to the exposure of a subset of users' Facebook passwords in plaintext, although it noted that there was no evidence it was improperly accessed or abused internally. According to Krebs on Security , some of

For years, securing a company's systems was synonymous with securing its "perimeter." There was what was safe "inside" and the unsafe outside world. We built sturdy firewalls and deployed sophisticated detection systems, confident that keeping the barbarians outside the walls kept our data and systems safe. The problem is that we no longer operate within the confines of physical on-prem installations and controlled networks. Data and applications now reside in distributed cloud environments and data centers, accessed by users and devices connecting from anywhere on the planet. The walls have crumbled, and the perimeter has dissolved, opening the door to a new battlefield: identity . Identity is at the center of what the industry has praised as the new gold standard of enterprise security: "zero trust." In this paradigm, explicit trust becomes mandatory for any interactions between systems, and no implicit trust shall subsist. Every access request, regardless of its origin,

Vienna-based privacy non-profit noyb (short for None Of Your Business) has filed a complaint with the Austrian data protection authority (DPA) against Firefox maker Mozilla for enabling a new feature called Privacy-Preserving Attribution (PPA) without explicitly seeking users' consent. "Contrary to its reassuring name, this technology allows Firefox to track user behavior on websites," noyb said . "In essence, the browser is now controlling the tracking, rather than individual websites." Noyb also called out Mozilla for allegedly taking a leaf out of Google's playbook by "secretly" enabling the feature by default without informing users. PPA, which is currently enabled in Firefox version 128 as an experimental feature, has its parallels in Google's Privacy Sandbox project in Chrome. The initiative, now abandoned by Google , sought to replace third-party tracking cookies with a set of APIs baked into the web browser that advertisers can t

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) has announced that it has commenced a "Cross-Border statutory inquiry" into Google's foundational artificial intelligence (AI) model to determine whether the tech giant has adhered to data protection regulations in the region when processing the personal data of European users. "The statutory inquiry concerns the question of whether Google has complied with any obligations that it may have had to undertake an assessment, pursuant to Article 35[2] of the General Data Protection Regulation (Data Protection Impact Assessment), prior to engaging in the processing of the personal data of E.U./E.E.A. data subjects associated with the development of its foundational AI model, Pathways Language Model 2 (PaLM 2)," the DPC said . PaLM 2 is Google's state-of-the-art language model with improved multilingual, reasoning, and coding capabilities. It was unveiled by the company in May 2023. With Google's European headqu

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (Dutch DPA) has imposed a fine of €30.5 million ($33.7 million) against facial recognition firm Clearview AI for violating the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in the European Union (E.U.) by building an "illegal database with billions of photos of faces," including those of Dutch citizens. "Facial recognition is a highly intrusive technology that you cannot simply unleash on anyone in the world," Dutch DPA chairman Aleid Wolfsen said in a press statement. "If there is a photo of you on the Internet – and doesn't that apply to all of us? – then you can end up in the database of Clearview and be tracked. This is not a doom scenario from a scary film. Nor is it something that could only be done in China." Clearview AI has been in regulatory hot water across several countries, such as the U.K., Australia, France, and Italy, over its practice of scraping publicly available information on the internet to

The Dutch Data Protection Authority (DPA) has fined Uber a record €290 million ($324 million) for allegedly failing to comply with European Union (E.U.) data protection standards when sending sensitive driver data to the U.S. "The Dutch DPA found that Uber transferred personal data of European taxi drivers to the United States (U.S.) and failed to appropriately safeguard the data with regard to these transfers," the agency said . The data protection watchdog said the move constitutes a "serious" violation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). In response, the ride-hailing, courier, and food delivery service has ended the practice. Uber is believed to have collected drivers' sensitive information and retained it on U.S.-based servers for over two years. This included account details and taxi licenses, location data, photos, payment details, and identity documents. In some cases, it also contained criminal and medical data of drivers. The DPA accu

Meta's decision to offer an ad-free subscription in the European Union (E.U.) has faced a new setback after regulators accused the social media behemoth of breaching the bloc's competition rules by forcing users to choose between seeing ads or paying to avoid them. The European Commission said the company's "pay or consent" advertising model is in contravention of the Digital Markets Act ( DMA ). "This binary choice forces users to consent to the combination of their personal data and fails to provide them a less personalized but equivalent version of Meta's social networks," the Commission said . It also noted that companies in gatekeeper roles must seek users' permission to combine their personal data between designated core platform services and other services (e.g., advertising), and that users who refuse to opt in should have access to a less personalized but equivalent alternative. On top of that, Meta's approach does not allow us

Meta on Friday said it's delaying its efforts to train the company's large language models ( LLMs ) using public content shared by adult users on Facebook and Instagram in the European Union following a request from the Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC). The company expressed disappointment at having to put its AI plans on pause, stating it had taken into account feedback from regulators and data protection authorities in the region. At issue is Meta's plan to use personal data to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models without seeking users' explicit consent, instead relying on the legal basis of ' Legitimate Interests ' for processing first and third-party data in the region. These changes were expected to come into effect on June 26, before when the company said users could opt out of having their data used by submitting a request "if they wish." Meta is already utilizing user-generated content to train its AI in other markets such

Google's plans to deprecate third-party tracking cookies in its Chrome web browser with Privacy Sandbox has run into fresh trouble after Austrian privacy non-profit noyb (none of your business) said the feature can still be used to track users. "While the so-called 'Privacy Sandbox' is advertised as an improvement over extremely invasive third-party tracking, the tracking is now simply done within the browser by Google itself," noyb said . "To do this, the company theoretically needs the same informed consent from users. Instead, Google is tricking people by pretending to 'Turn on an ad privacy feature.'" In other words, by making users agree to enable a privacy feature, they are still being tracked by consenting to Google's first-party ad tracking, the Vienna-based non-profit founded by activist Max Schrems alleged in a complaint filed with the Austrian data protection authority. Privacy Sandbox is a set of proposals put forth by the i

Google is urging third-party Android app developers to incorporate generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) features in a responsible manner. The new guidance from the search and advertising giant is an effort to combat problematic content, including sexual content and hate speech, created through such tools. To that end, apps that generate content using AI must ensure they don't create Restricted Content , have a mechanism for users to report or flag offensive information , and market them in a manner that accurately represents the app's capabilities. App developers are also being recommended to rigorously test their AI models to ensure they respect user safety and privacy. "Be sure to test your apps across various user scenarios and safeguard them against prompts that could manipulate your generative AI feature to create harmful or offensive content," Prabhat Sharma, director of trust and safety for Google Play, Android, and Chrome, said . The development com

How safe is your comments section? Discover how a seemingly innocent 'thank you' comment on a product page concealed a malicious vulnerability, underscoring the necessity of robust security measures. Read the full real-life case study  here .  When is a 'Thank you' not a 'Thank you'? When it's a sneaky bit of code that's been hidden inside a 'Thank You' image that somebody posted in the comments section of a product page! The guilty secret hidden inside this particular piece of code was designed to let hackers bypass security controls and steal the personal identifying information of online shoppers, which could have meant big trouble for them and the company. The page in question belongs to a global retailer. User communities are often a great source of unbiased advice from fellow enthusiasts, which was why a Nikon camera owner was posting there. They were looking for the ideal 50mm lens and asked for a recommendation. They offered thanks in advance to whoever might take th

In today's digital era, data privacy isn't just a concern; it's a consumer demand. Businesses are grappling with the dual challenge of leveraging customer data for personalized experiences while navigating a maze of privacy regulations. The answer? A privacy-compliant Customer Data Platform (CDP). Join us for a transformative webinar where we unveil Twilio Segment's state-of-the-art CDP. Discover how it champions compliant and consented data use, empowering you to craft a holistic customer view and revolutionize engagement strategies. What Will You Learn? Strategies for ethically democratizing data across your organization. The power of first-party data in unlocking profound customer insights. The pivotal role of a CDP in fostering compliant and consented data utilization. Proven customer engagement methodologies from industry leaders. Why Should You Attend? Twilio Segment's State of Personalization Report reveals a compelling truth: 63% of consumers wel

Italy's data protection authority (DPA) has notified ChatGPT-maker OpenAI of supposedly violating privacy laws in the region. "The available evidence pointed to the existence of breaches of the provisions contained in the E.U. GDPR [General Data Protection Regulation]," the Garante per la protezione dei dati personali (aka the Garante)  said  in a statement on Monday. It also said it will "take account of the work in progress within the ad-hoc  task force  set up by the European Data Protection Framework (EDPB) in its final determination on the case." The development comes nearly 10 months after the watchdog imposed a  temporary ban  on ChatGPT in the country, weeks after which OpenAI  announced  a number of privacy controls, including an  opt-out form  to remove one's personal data from being processed by the large language model (LLM). Access to the tool was subsequently reinstated in late April 2023. The Italian DPA said the latest findings, which h

Explore how an advanced exposure management solution saved a major retail industry client from ending up on the naughty step due to a misconfiguration in its cookie management policy. This wasn't anything malicious, but with modern web environments being so complex, mistakes can happen, and non-compliance fines can be just an oversight away. Download the full case study here . As a child, did you ever get caught with your hand in the cookie jar and earn yourself a telling-off? Well, even if you can still remember being outed as a cookie monster, the punishments for today's thieving beasts are worse. Millions of dollars worse. Cookies are an essential part of modern web analytics. A cookie is a small piece of text data that records website visitor preferences along with their behaviors, and its job is to help personalize their browsing experience. Just as you needed parental consent to access the cookie jar all those years ago, your business now needs to obtain user consent before i

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) slapped TikTok with a €345 million (about $368 million) fine for violating the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in relation to its handling of children's data. The investigation, initiated in September 2021,  examined  how the popular short-form video platform processed personal data relating to child users (those between the ages of 13 and 17) between July 31 and December 31, 2020. Some of the major findings include - The content posted by child users was set to public by default, thereby allowing any individual (with or without TikTok) to view the material and exposing them to additional risks A failure to provide transparency information to child users The implementation of dark patterns to steer users towards opting for privacy-intrusive options during the registration process, and when posting videos A weakness in the Family Sharing setting that allowed any non-child user (someone who could not be

Instagram Threads, the upcoming Twitter competitor from Meta, will not be launched in the European Union due to privacy concerns, according to Ireland's Data Protection Commission (DPC). The development was  reported  by the Irish Independent, which said the watchdog has been in contact with the social media giant about the new product and confirmed the release won't extend to the E.U. "at this point." Threads  is Meta's answer to Twitter that's set for launch on July 6, 2023. It's billed as a "text-based conversation app" that allows Instagram users to "discuss everything from the topics you care about today to what'll be trending tomorrow." It also enables users to follow the same accounts they already follow on Instagram. A listing for the app has already appeared in the  Apple App Store  and  Google Play Store , although it's yet to be available for download. The " App Privacy " section on the App Store indic

Facebook's parent company Meta has been fined a record $1.3 billion by European Union data protection regulators for transferring the personal data of users in the region to the U.S. In a binding decision taken by the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), the social media giant has been ordered to bring its data transfers into compliance with the GDPR and delete unlawfully stored and processed data within six months. Additionally, Meta has been given five months to suspend any future transfer of Facebook users' data to the U.S. Instagram and WhatsApp, which are also owned by the company, are not subject to the order. "The EDPB found that Meta IE's infringement is very serious since it concerns transfers that are systematic, repetitive, and continuous," Andrea Jelinek, EDPB Chair,  said  in a statement. "Facebook has millions of users in Europe, so the volume of personal data transferred is massive. The unprecedented fine is a strong signal to organizati