No. 34: Bringing you the news that matters in video privacy and security

A note from our Editor

Hi all,

Whilst we are seeing data protection legislation spreading across the globe it's been the wholesale change in public attitudes and action that has been forcing change in many areas. Citizen power and push-back has resulted in bans of specific technologies and reversal of decisions to implement facial recognition in US public services. The global tapestry of new data laws and regulation alongside the heightened public consciousness and mistrust for new biometric technologies is changing the game for private and public organisations.

Data privacy and security considerations are vital to a company's forward thinking strategy: for their ability to operate responsibly in the market and maintain trust with employees, customers and the general public.

In EU news, The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) has called for a ban of the controversial surveillance tool Pegasus, after public criticism has highlighted privacy concerns around allegations that it has been abused by foreign governments to spy on certain groups.

In the US, the Internal Revenue Service has abandoned their plans to use Facial Recognition to verify taxpayers' identities, after severe public criticism over how their privacy would be affected. Even though facial recognition can have its benefits, when used ethically and lawfully, it seems there is growing fear around how privacy and fairness can be properly managed, highlighting a need for further wider public and public services education and engagement.

On the global landscape: Meta, finally settles the decade-old privacy lawsuit which claimed that they tracked user's internet activity, even after users have logged out of their Facebook account. From media reports, it seems that this was the easier way to move past the issue.

As always, please let me know if you have any feedback on this newsletter or want to see any other topics covered.

Emma

News

EU data watchdog calls for a ban of widely-used surveillance software

The EU's data protection regulator, EDPS, has called for a ban of the surveillance tool Pegasus, suggesting an 'unprecedented legal of intrusiveness'. Developed by the controversial Israeli-based company, NSO Group, the EU is under pressure outlaw Pegasus, after allegations of it being abused by foreign governments to spy on human rights activists, journalists and politicians.

The Guardian: EU data watchdog calls for Pegasus spyware ban

Reuters: EU watchdog calls for ban on surveillance tool Pegasus

Facebook settles decade-old privacy lawsuit with $90million

Parent company of Facebook, Meta, finally settles the privacy lawsuit that accuses them of tracking user activity even after they've logged out of the social media site. They'll pay $90million to US Facebook users who between April 22, 2010 and Sept. 26, 2011 visited non-Facebook websites that displayed Facebook's "like" button.

The Verge: Meta’s Facebook to pay $90 million to settle decade-old privacy lawsuit

Reuters: Meta's Facebook to pay $90 million to settle privacy lawsuit over user tracking

IRS abandons Facial Recognition plans amid privacy uproar

The Internal Revenue Service has ruled out their plans to use Facial Recognition to verify taxpayers' identities, after the announcement to pair with FR company ID.me faced intense public criticism about how their privacy would be affected.

WIRED: The IRS Drops Facial Recognition Verification After Uproar

The Verge: IRS will end use of facial recognition after widespread privacy concerns

UK Foreign Office suffers huge cyber security breach

The UK's Foreign Office has been hit by a serious data incident - but the details remain unknown about the scale of it. All that has been released is that the cybersecurity contractor BAE Applied Intelligence has been called in. It comes days after a significant security lapse affecting the British Council was discovered.

Sky News: Foreign Office was targeted by 'serious cyber security incident'

Tech Crunch: UK Foreign Office calls in ‘urgent support’ after cyber incident

France follows Austria: declares Google Analytics is unlawful under GDPR

Google Analytics has once again been declared as unfit to comply with the GDPR, after French data watchdog: CNIL said that it breaches article 44, which covers cross-border data transfers. This step up from European regulators follows the Schrems II CJEU decision, where cross-border data transfers with third parties in countries that do not have adequate data protection measures in place (such as the US), was considered illegal.

Politico: French privacy regulator rules against use of Google Analytics

Tech Crunch: France’s privacy watchdog latest to find Google Analytics breaches GDPR

AI Snippet of the Week

How AI is shaping legal strategy

"Augmentation, rather than automation, is key to the role AI and machine learning can play in shaping legal strategy". AI has helped improve legal functions such as drafting a will; but with specific regulation on AI somewhat lacking, how can AI bias in legal matters be improved? 

Thompson Reuters: How AI and machine learning is shaping legal strategy

Policy Updates

Google's Privacy Sandbox gets approval from UK watchdog

The UK’s competition regulator, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recently approved Google's "Privacy Sandbox" strategy. However, this comes with plans to supervise Google's development so as to benefit customers - including publishing test results and proposals transparently, and not unfairly sharing data internally to gain a competitive advantage.

The Verge: Google’s Privacy Sandbox ad-tracking overhaul clears major regulatory hurdle

Forbes: UK Competition Watchdog Gives Cautious Approval To Google's Privacy Sandbox

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