Tag Archives: privacy

Will Companies Be Ready for Europe’s General Data Protection Rule?

22 Jun

In the United States, consumer privacy rules are not as strong as they are in other areas of the world. Recently, the U.S. Congress voted to overturn a pending regulation that would require Internet service providers (ISPs) to obtain people’s permission before selling their data about them. President Trump then signed the rollback.

As reported by NPR.org:

“The reversal is a victory for ISPs, which have argued that the regulation would put them at a disadvantage compared with so-called edge providers, like Google and Facebook. Those firms are regulated by the Federal Trade Commission and face less stringent requirements. ISPs collect huge amounts of data on the Web sites people visit, including medical, financial, and other personal information. The FCC regulation would have required ISPs to ask permission before selling that information to advertisers and others, a so-called opt-in provision.”

In contrast to the U.S. approach to privacy, Europe has a sweeping new regulation that will take effect in May 2018. It will have an impact on companies based anywhere, including the United States.

Brian Wallace, reporting for CMS Wire, describes the General Data Protection Rule (GDPR), thusly. Be sure to read the material highlighted:

“The European Parliament passed the General Data Protection Rule (GDPR) in April 2016. The law is one of the most sweeping privacy laws protecting citizens ever to be put on the books, and is scheduled to take effect on May 25, 2018. One of the most misunderstood things about this law is that it covers EU citizen data, no matter which country the company using it is located. This means that any company in the world that stores EU citizen protected data has less than a year to come into compliance with the GDPR.“

According to the GDPR’s Web site, “The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) replaces the Data Protection Directive 95/46/EC and was designed to harmonize data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens data privacy, and to reshape the way organizations across the region approach data privacy. The GDPR protects personal data and sensitive personal data. This includes: sensitive data: name, location, identification numbers, IP address, cookies, RFID info; and sensitive personal data: health data, genetic data, biometric data, racial or ethnic data, political opinions, and sexual orientation.“

 

Take a look at the following infographic from Digital Guardian to learn more! Click the image for a larger version.


 

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Bose Sued for Privacy Violations

30 May

We’ve posted many times about privacy issues (click here). But there’s a new lawsuit against Bose that could reshape the legal landscape for a number of companies. The video below is a good synopsis of the Bose matter.

Two questions for you: (1) Do you think Bose will modify its policies and negotiate a settlement before the case makes it to court? (2) If the case goes to trial, who do you think will prevail? GIVE US YOUR ANSWERS THROUGH A POST COMMENT.
 

 
 

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Do YOU Trust Companies with Your Personal Data?

20 Apr

We know that there have been incidents of stolen data around the world. These are involuntary hacks of our personal information. So, how do we feel about voluntarily sharing our information with companies? Many of us are rather reluctant to share more personal data due to concerns about identity theft, access to private information, and more.

As reported by eMarketer:

“A Pew Research Center report published in January 2017 found that only 14% of US consumers felt ‘very confident’ about entrusting companies/retailers with their data. Almost the exact same number said they were not at all confident.”

 

 

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Ransomware: A NOT So Humorous Look

15 Feb

As we’ve reported before, the ransomware threat has many negative effects. Ransomware “is malware. The hackers demand payment, often via Bitcoin or prepaid credit card, from victims in order to regain access to an infected device and the data stored on it.” [Ransomware: The Smart Person’s Guide, by James Sanders]

How pervasive is the threat of ransomware in our everyday lives? Check out this rather scary cartoon from Joy of Tech. It was inspired by the recently published Ransomware: Defending Against Digital Extortion by Allan Liska and Timothy Gallo! [Click the image for a larger version of the cartoon.]
 

 

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