Technology security company Okta says organisations must embrace transparency and help customers understand how their data is being used. “Consumers deserve to have control over their data, but at the same time, data is often essential to building new technologies and serving the common good.” The San Francisco-headquartered company, which enables organisations to protect the […]
Privacy
South Africa’s privacy law takes effect
The bulk of South Africa’s Protection of Personal Information Act (2013) became law on 1 July after a seven-year build up. The long lead in was so that proposed innovations in the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) could be considered and to give the South Africa Information Regulator (SAIR) time to develop operational capabilities, […]
Comcast claims internet privacy first
US technology company Comcast says it has become the first internet service provider (ISP) to provide Firefox users with a private and secure encrypted domain name system (DNS). The services will be run through the trusted recursive resolver (TRR) program run by Mozilla, maker of the Firefox browser. “Bringing ISPs into the TRR program helps […]
Privacy Bill approved in New Zealand
New Zealand’s Parliament has passed a Privacy Bill to replace the Privacy Act of 1993. Among new features in the act which enters into force on 1 December, are: any organisation carrying out business in New Zealand, and handling New Zealanders’ personal information, is obliged to comply with the country’s law regardless of where they […]
Cookies and Consent Compliance: How to collect, store and deploy personal data through web trackers.
The ePrivacy Regulation is not yet in place, but cookies and other tracking mechanisms are under scrutiny by Data Protection Authorities (DPAs). It is imperative that organizations understand the implications of cookies and respect consent, paying particular attention to how they collect, store and deploy personal data through their web trackers. As CEO of Didomi, […]
UK Children’s Code is step in the right direction, say privacy experts
Companies which deal with children’s data need to invest properly in protecting it, according to a panel of experts discussing the issue as part of the Last Thursday in Privacy event on 25 June. The panel suggested that in order to protect children, companies must begin to recognise the cost of being compliant in children’s […]
US tech firm fined for breaching children’s privacy law
California-based technology company Super Basic and its parent, Maple Media, have been ordered to pay $100,000 after an investigation by Washington state’s attorney general Bob Ferguson found the companies’ social media platform, ‘We Heart It’, broke the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). The platform allowed children to create accounts, collected their personal information and […]
NAI releases set of privacy-protection guidelines
US advertisers have been urged by their industry body to take extra care with data privacy against the background of the coronavirus pandemic. The Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), the industry’s self-regulatory association, has told members to follow the new guidance if they use data primarily collected for tailored advertising or ad delivery and reporting for […]
EU bodies commit to protect privacy in contact-tracing apps
The European Union’s Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) and European Data Protection Supervisor Wojciech Wiewiórowski have renewed their cooperation agreement to strengthen privacy and data protection across the 27-member trading bloc. The commitment comes as more countries introduce contact-tracing apps in the battle against coronavirus. The FRA and Wiewiórowski argue that respect for fundamental rights, […]
IDAC urges data protection to be part of contact-tracing apps
Contact-tracing app developers must put privacy concerns at the forefront of their work and embed privacy where possible, according to the The International Digital Accountability Council (IDAC). “In particular, we recommend that developers ensure all communications are encrypted, that permissions requested be narrowly tailored, and that developers refrain from including unnecessary third-party SDKs [software development […]