Privacy Digest 20/25
Europe’s cookie law messed up the internet. Brussels wants to fix it.
The European Commission wants to take a bite out of privacy rules that force websites to run cookie banners.
politico.eu
Should 'surveillance pricing' be banned?
When you walk into a store, you're probably used to seeing price tags on things, saying what they cost. But when you shop online, there is no price tag. There's just the price you see on screen. What if companies use your online data, like your location and browsing history, to charge you more than somebody else … or maybe less?
npr.org
‘Biometric Exit’ Quietly Expands Across U.S. Airports, Unnerving Some
Biometric exit is set to expand across all U.S. airports, seaports, and land crossings after a proposed rule received approval. The system photographs departing passengers and uses facial recognition to verify their identities. Privacy experts are alarmed by the lack of clear regulations and the technology’s accuracy issues, which often produce false positives for women and people of color. Jeramie Scott of the Electronic Privacy Information Center also cautioned that collected photos could eventually be used for purposes beyond border control.
nytimes.com
Tile Tracking Tags Can Be Exploited by Tech-Savvy Stalkers, Researchers Say
Researchers from Georgia Tech discovered major security flaws in Tile tracking tags, used by over 88 million people. Because Tile broadcasts unencrypted MAC addresses and unique IDs, stalkers or other actors could track users’ movements, conduct mass surveillance, or even frame someone by replaying broadcasts. Unlike Apple or Google, Tile doesn’t encrypt location data, leaving it exposed on servers. Tile’s anti-stalking protections are also weak and can be bypassed through its anti-theft mode. Despite being alerted months ago, parent company Life360 has not addressed the issues clearly.
wired.com