January 2022 DDP Data News Roundup

If you care about what's happening in the world of data privacy and data rights, you're in the right place.

Here's your monthly news roundup to keep you in-the-know with the latest data privacy news. We'll compile a list of top stories for you every month and send you news bytes that are easy to find in one place.

Here's what has happened so far in 2022...

How to get up to $25 from the ZOOM $85M Data Privacy Class Action Settlement

We previously reported that October 2021 saw $235 million in data privacy settlements. Now, DDP urges you to claim your fair share.

How to Submit a Claim to ZOOM’s $85M Data Privacy Class Action Settlement
We previously reported that October 2021 saw $235 million in data privacysettlements [/october-2021-sees-235-million-in-data-privacy-settlements/]. Now,DDP urges you to claim your fair share. Below are step-by-step instructions on how to claim your $15 (if you were a freeZOOM user) or your $25 (…

Do you (or did you) use Google Incognito Mode? Here's an update on the Class-Action Lawsuit

Let's just say that things aren't looking so great for Google. Read our latest blog post with all the details.

Incognito Mode Case Update: Court denies Google’s motion to dismiss (again) and orders deposition of Google’s CEO and CMO
In October 2020, DDP reported on a potential $5 billion class action lawsuit brought against Google for tracking users across the Internet even though users were using “Incognito Mode”.

Morgan Stanley to Pay $60 Million to Settle Data-Breach Suit

Morgan Stanley agreed to pay $60 million to settle a class action suit by consumers claiming the firm failed to safeguard their personal information.
Morgan Stanley to Pay $60 Million to Settle Data-Breach Suit

Can the IRS Be Trusted With Your Data?

"Until the IRS takes steps to improve its security program... taxpayer data could be vulnerable to inappropriate and undetected use, modification, or disclosure." Who else would like so see the IRS get on that?
Can the IRS Be Trusted With Your Data?
Can the IRS Be Trusted With Your Data?

Banks Tiptoe Toward Their Cloud-Based Future

“I was both annoyed and pleased that the credit card company caught that someone was booking unusual flights,” - Mr. Lucas’s fraud alerts were made possible by an invisible force tiptoeing into Wall Street: cloud computing."

Everybody Into the Metaverse! Virtual Reality Beckons Big Tech.

“We were giving away hardware but making money on data,” he said. “For every dollar of hardware, we were making three dollars on software and data sales.”

Now Is The Time To Talk About Ethics And Privacy In The Metaverse

If you thought you didn't have privacy BEFORE the #Metaverse - wait until you get your brainwaves tapped into and tracked. Which of the points in this article has you thinking twice about putting those goggles on?
Now Is The Time To Talk About Ethics And Privacy In The Metaverse
The time to develop best practices to guide ethical decision making in the metaverse is now, not later on.

Hackers Are Exploiting a Flaw Microsoft Fixed 9 Years Ago

ATTN: Microsoft users, ATTN: your #dataprivacy is at risk unless you've taken the time to actually install their patch solution.
Hackers Are Exploiting a Flaw Microsoft Fixed 9 Years Ago
Unless you go out of your way to install the patch, your system could be exposed.

Google And Facebook Hit With $238 Million Fines In France Over Privacy Violations

Makes you wonder why the US doesn't do the exact same thing.
Google And Facebook Hit With $238 Million Fines In France Over Privacy Violations
According to the regulator, Google and Facebook made it easy for users to accept cookies on their browsers but didn’t offer a similar simple method to refuse them easily.

Advertising Platform OpenX Will Pay $2 Million for Collecting Personal Information from Children in Violation of Children’s Privacy Law

This seems like a very small slap on the wrist for violating children's privacy. Do you think a $2M fine incentivizes companies do stop?
Advertising Platform OpenX Will Pay $2 Million for Collecting Personal Information from Children in Violation of Children’s Privacy Law
California-based online advertising platform OpenX Technologies, Inc.

Federal Bank Regulators Approve New Cybersecurity Incident Notification Rule

We're curious, before this regulation was in place...how long were banks waiting to inform their customer's that their data had been breached?
Federal Bank Regulators Approve New Cybersecurity Incident Notification Rule
On Nov. 18, 2021, federal bank regulatory agencies approved a final rule requiring banking organizations to notify regulators of “any significant computer-security incident” as soon as possible and no...

Mozilla Is Going to Track Facebook Tracking You

Curious to find out what data Facebook is tracking of yours (whether you authorized them to or not) - check out this upcoming @mozilla study.

Mozilla Is Going to Track Facebook Tracking You
Mozilla’s “Facebook Pixel Hunt” study will run until mid-July—and the company wants your help.

Canada's public health agency admits it tracked 33 million mobile devices during lockdown

In short - a telecom company sold Canadian's data to the government. Here are additional questions we should be asking about our data: Did I ever give informed consent? Where is my option to opt out? and most importantly, who else has access to my data?
Canada’s public health agency admits it tracked 33 million mobile devices during lockdown
The Public Health Agency of Canada accessed data such as cell-tower location to monitor people’s activity during lockdown, it said

IRS Will Require Facial Recognition Scans to Access Your Taxes Online

Does outsourcing credentialing to a third part company like this make our data more secure, or is it now in a single location to attack?
IRS Will Require Facial Recognition Scans to Access Your Taxes Online
You will have to submit sensitive government documents, your Social Security number, credit history, and a face scan to ID.me, a third-party company.

Democrats unveil bill to ban online ‘surveillance advertising’

“This pernicious practice allows online platforms to chase user engagement at great cost to our society...The surveillance advertising business model is broken.”
Democrats unveil bill to ban online ‘surveillance advertising’
Most targeted advertising would be banned

Facebook loses bid to dismiss users’ data-privacy antitrust claims

The court's opinion came just days after a Washington, D.C., federal judge on Jan. 11 declined Facebook's push to dismiss an antitrust case that the Federal Trade Commission filed last year.
Facebook loses bid to dismiss users’ data-privacy antitrust claims
A California federal judge has handed a partial win to consumers suing Facebook, in a ruling that denied the company’s bid to dismiss claims that it exploited user data to thwart industry competitors.

Four Attorneys General Claim Google Secretly Tracked People

“Google falsely led consumers to believe that changing their account and device settings would allow customers to protect their privacy. The truth is that...[Google] continues to systematically surveil customers and profit from customer data.”

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