The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner released its 2021-22 annual report, noting a 3% increase in privacy complaints and the completion of “a number of significant privacy Commissioner-initiated investigations” focusing on biometric data collection and facial recognition technology use. In 2021, the office received 2,544 privacy complaints, finalizing 2,203 and handled 10,931 privacy inquires, a 6% reduction compared to 2020-21.
In an op-ed for The Atlantic, Social Science Research Council Just Tech Fellow Chris Gilliard calls wearable technologies users pay for to track, monitor and quantify certain features “luxury surveillance.” He writes, “Consumers may believe that they have nothing to fear (or hide) from these luxury-surveillance devices, or that adopting this technology could only benefit them. But these very devices are now leveraged against people by their employers, the government, their neighbors, stalkers, and domestic abusers.
Through Uber’s newly rolled out mobility media division, advertisements will be available across the application to help marketers target riders based on their recent travel history and geographic destination, The Wall Street Journal reports. “Journey ads” will also enable single brands to sponsor a riders’ entire trip, showing different ads while the user is waiting for the car, traveling and upon reaching their destination.
The Wall Street Journal reports marketers are turning to new technology called “clean rooms” where companies pool consumer data while complying with privacy laws. Using the software process, companies cannot view the entire pool of data or any consumers’ personal information. The software searches through multiple data sets of consumers’ online history to find areas of overlap.
The Czech Presidency of the Council of the European Union offered its latest compromise text for the proposed Artificial Intelligence Act, Euractiv reports. The fourth compromise features updates around requirements for law enforcement's use of AI, additional transparency obligations, an implementing act from the European Commission and additional penalty calculation factors. The text will be discussed by the council's Working Party on Telecommunications and Information Society Oct.
The European Commission published its Work Programme 2023, which highlights planned initiatives around digital enforcement and improved data use. The commission will propose amendments to consumer protection cooperation rules, including updates that encourage a more harmonized approach by data protection authorities enforcing the EU General Data Protection Regulation.
Bloomberg reports U.S. national security officials and other foreign intelligence professionals expect potential risks around TikTok users' data being leaked to China to remain despite any data security agreement drafted by the U.S. Department of Justice. In 2020, the platform was set to be restricted in the U.S.
With privacy awareness peaking among consumers, it is fair to wonder what consumers value most to secure their trust in a given organization. Cisco's 2022 Consumer Privacy Survey, which draws on 2,600 anonymous responses across 12 countries, reveals transparency to be the key to consumer trust. Cisco Systems Director Robert Waitman, CIPP/US, CIPT, offers a deeper analysis of the survey results and recommendations for how organizations can respond to consumer trends and desires.Full Story
U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Jen Easterly called on organizations to push their users to adopt multifactor authentication, GovInfoSecurity reports.