FOSS Chat

[SilkScarf]

BIG N NEWS:

Privacy

Google:
https://old.reddit.com/r/worldnews/comments/a4av1v/f_you_leakers_a_former_senior_google_employee/
^ https://www.businessinsider.com.au/jack-poulson-ex-google-says-management-obsessed-with-stopping-leaks-2018-12
^ https://www.breitbart.com/tech/2018/09/12/leaked-video-google-leaderships-dismayed-reaction-to-trump-election/
Android work profiles (foundation for Island and Shelter apps) - https://support.google.com/work/android/answer/6191949?hl=en

https://slate.com/technology/2018/10/google-is-losing-users-trust.html
https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2019/01/21/google-confirms-it-uses-dummy-phone-numbers-to-record-calls-with-local-services.html
https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/27/google-and-iab-ad-category-lists-show-massive-leakage-of-highly-intimate-data-gdpr-complaint-claims/
https://theintercept.com/2019/01/28/google-alphabet-sidewalk-labs-replica-cellphone-data/

New study: Google manipulates users into constant tracking - https://www.forbrukerradet.no/side/google-manipulates-users-into-constant-tracking

https://www.propublica.org/article/google-has-quietly-dropped-ban-on-personally-identifiable-web-tracking
https://www.androidauthority.com/nest-secure-google-assistant-mic-950134/

http://fortune.com/2019/02/21/privacy-group-to-ftc-divest-google-of-nest-over-hidden-mic/
^ https://www.businessinsider.com/senator-warner-criticizes-googles-failure-to-disclose-nest-mic-2019-2

Google admits it tracked user location data even when the setting was turned off - https://www.theverge.com/2017/11/21/16684818/google-location-tracking-cell-tower-data-android-os-firebase-privacy
^ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/aug/13/google-location-tracking-android-iphone-mobile
^ https://pjmedia.com/trending/google-tracks-you-even-when-location-is-turned-off-google-exec-finally-admits-to-congress/


Apple:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2018/02/26/government-can-access-any-apple-iphone-cellebrite/

Apple CEO Tim Cook: It's time for action on data privacy - https://time.com/collection/davos-2019/5502591/tim-cook-data-privacy/
Major iPhone FaceTime bug lets you hear the audio of the person you are calling … before they pick up - https://9to5mac.com/2019/01/28/facetime-bug-hear-audio/
^ https://www.cnbc.com/2019/01/28/apple-facetime-bug-lets-you-listen-even-if-someone-doesnt-answer.html

Facebook:
https://old.reddit.com/r/privacy/comments/a3sp3c/facebook_employees_are_so_paranoid_theyre_using/
^ https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/charliewarzel/facebooks-tensions-zuckerberg-sandberg
Three quarters of US Facebook users unaware their online behavior gets tracked - https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/01/17/facebook_users_mostly_unaware/
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/23/technology/personaltech/facebook-online-privacy.html
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/facebook-account-rental-ad-laundering-scam
(Whatsapp related) - https://gizmodo.com/paul-manafort-learns-that-encrypting-messages-doesnt-ma-1826561511
https://www.propublica.org/article/facebook-blocks-ad-transparency-tools
https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2019/01/30/facebook-has-just-been-caught-spying-on-users-private-messages-and-data-again/
^ https://techcrunch.com/2019/01/29/facebook-project-atlas/
^ https://www.recode.net/2019/1/30/18203231/apple-banning-facebook-research-app
Facebook uses its apps to track users it thinks could threaten employees and offices - https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/14/facebooks-security-team-tracks-posts-location-for-bolo-threat-list.html

The bar can be pretty low. While some users end up on the list after repeated appearances on company property or long email threats, others might find themselves on the BOLO list for saying something as simple as "F--- you, Mark," "F--- Facebook" or "I'm gonna go kick your a--," according to a former employee who worked with the executive protection team. A different former employee who was on the company's security team said there were no clearly communicated standards to determine what kinds of actions could land somebody on the list, and that decisions were often made on a case-by-case basis.

https://www.businessinsider.com/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-portal-2019-2

Facebook admits it stored ‘hundreds of millions’ of account passwords in plaintext - https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/21/facebook-plaintext-passwords/
^ https://www.cnbc.com/2019/03/21/facebook-employees-had-access-to-millions-of-user-passwords.html

Researchers find 540 million Facebook user records on exposed servers - https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/03/facebook-records-exposed-server/
^ https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-privacy/facebook-removes-exposed-user-records-stored-on-amazons-servers-idUSKCN1RF2C0

Facebook Caught Asking Email Account Passwords From Some Users - https://news.zillowtech.com/facebook-caught-asking-email-account-passwords-from-some-users/
^ https://i.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2019/04/03/facebook-caught-asking-users-passwords-email-accounts/
^ https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-asks-new-users-email-passwords-2019-4



Amazon:
Alexa DOWN – Amazon helper stopped working, ‘ignored users’ and wouldn’t turn off - https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/8205649/alexa-down-not-working-amazon/
Amazon explains how Alexa recorded a private conversation and sent it to another user - https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/24/17391898/amazon-alexa-private-conversation-recording-explanation
^ https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/25/business/amazon-alexa-conversation-shared-echo.html
Amazon sent 1,700 Alexa voice recordings to the wrong user following data request  - https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/20/18150531/amazon-alexa-voice-recordings-wrong-user-gdpr-privacy-ai

Microsoft
https://www.hipaaone.com/windows-10-and-hipaa/
https://www.neowin.net/news/microsoft-president-says-its-cruel-to-not-give-governments-facial-recognition-tech

Twitter:
Twitter warns that private tweets were public for years - https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-46918859
https://www.theverge.com/2019/2/15/18226785/twitter-deleted-dms-stored-years

---

Unconfirmed/Speculation:
Facebook:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolemartin1/2019/01/17/was-the-facebook-10-year-challenge-a-way-to-mine-data-for-facial-recognition-ai/
https://slate.com/technology/2019/01/facebook-messenger-instagram-whatsapp-encryption.html
^ https://threader.app/thread/1088914192847917056
https://www.computerweekly.com/news/252458229/Facebook-asked-George-Osborne-to-influence-EU-data-protection-law
^ https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2019/mar/02/facebook-global-lobbying-campaign-against-data-privacy-laws-investment

(Hypocrisy) Years of Mark Zuckerberg's old Facebook posts have vanished. The company says it 'mistakenly deleted' them. - https://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-old-posts-mark-zuckerberg-disappeared-2019-3

Google:
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2019/01/22/google_chrome_browser_ad_content_block_change/
Google Helps Government Conduct Warrantless Searches, Alleges EPIC - https://www.tomshardware.com/news/google-government-warrantless-searches-epic,38955.html




Non-privacy stuff:
Facebook:
https://www.revealnews.org/article/facebook-knowingly-duped-game-playing-kids-and-their-parents-out-of-money/
Facebook moderators are in revolt over 'Big Brother'-style working conditions - https://outline.com/BLbFuD

Facebook is partnering with a big UK newspaper to publish sponsored articles downplaying 'technofears' and praising the company (FB)
- https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/facebook-daily-telegraph-positive-sponsored-news-stories-2019-4-1028084228

Less controversial stuff:

Apple:
https://www.theverge.com/2018/12/7/18131220/apple-beddit-3-5-sleep-monitor

Facebook:
https://www.revealnews.org/blog/a-judge-unsealed-a-trove-of-internal-facebook-documents-following-our-legal-action/
^ https://www.pcmag.com/news/366067/unsealed-docs-will-detail-how-facebook-made-money-off-childr