CDP Institute

Google will roll out a new Chrome feature that will enhance privacy by masking user IP addresses. IP addresses allow websites and online services to track activities across websites, but unlike with third-party cookies, users don’t have a direct way to avoid that tracking. The new Google Chrome feature, which will be rolled out in stages, will route third-party traffic from specific domains through proxies, rendering user IP addresses invisible to the domains.

For three years, Apple claimed it was protecting the unique MAC Wi-Fi addresses of iPhones and iPads when those joined a network, but it’s just been revealed that this feature doesn’t actually work. In fact, while this unique address was supposed to have been hidden and replaced with a private one, Apple devices have continued to display the real one. This means individuals can be tracked from network to network because the permanent MAC still broadcasted to all other connected devices, but just in a different field.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been drafting an AI ethics and governance guide that skews far more business-friendly than the EU had hoped, according to an exclusive report from Reuters, which gained access to confidential draft of the guidance. The draft, which is currently being circulated to tech companies for feedback, by the 10-member ASEAN group of countries, is expected to release this winter.

Clearly something’s wrong when patients are apprehensive about sharing their data with their healthcare providers. However, according to the Prescribing Privacy Healthcare Report, new from consent management company, Cassie, 72% of US consumers are concerned about potential misuse, and 50% of the 800 consumers surveyed say they trust tech companies more than medical providers to care for their data.

While we don’t agree on much, there is laudable consensus behind a massive Meta lawsuit, which declares addicting kids to social platforms and causing a youth mental health crisis is deceitful and must be stopped. The lawsuit has been filed in California by 33 states and supported by 9 attorneys general and the District of Columbia. It claims that to maximize profit, Meta also misled the public about how dangerous its Instagram and Facebook platforms are and that it concealed how it manipulates children and teens.

In response to EU’s strict regulations, Meta announced this week it will halt ad displays for teens and instead use a subscription-based model for social platforms. However, while Meta plans to start this November 6th, it also said it will be temporary as the company assesses implications of new EU regulations and there will be further updates forthcoming.

This includes a role for the federal government and provides oversight over safety tests companies use to evaluate conversation bots, such as Chat GPT and will introduce industry standards for identifying AI driven products.

If you’re still looking for a Halloween costume, maybe a creepy privacy theme is the way to go. Lots of choices, whether you want to go as a spying car, a furtive robot, or a globally connected refrigerator, you can scare friends and neighbors who may not realize just how thoroughly and rapidly their privacy is being taken away. Mozilla, which has been tracking corporate privacy for fifteen years, is now setting benchmarks and will identify trends.

Way back in 2015, the discovery of Cambridge Analytica’s data breach that exposed the data of ~87 million Facebook users was shocking and was a story we didn’t know would be the harbinger of many to come. But while Meta may have hoped to have exorcised this Facebook ghost, a shareholder’s class action accusing the company of misuse of user data while it knew that Cambridge Analytica violated its privacy policies has just been revived by a U.S. appeals court.

It’s official in Germany, beginning May 2025, citizens who want official ID documents (and really, who doesn’t?), must submit a biometric standards-approved photo to obtain their ID. While in the past this was met with some resistance, government assurances are that this should lower risks of fraud and document use and provide added convenience.

A Pew Research survey on How Americans View Data Privacy found Republican concerns up (77% from 63%), Democrats’ concerns down slightly (65% from 66%) compared with 2019 and both sides saying they’d support more legislation on how consumer data is used. The survey also looked at age, education and race and evolving views on AI.