CDP Institute

An employee class action brought against McDonald’s and its franchisees in Illinois was settled with a commitment by the company to pay between $40-$50 million. The suit alleged that the company violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA) by collecting data without express written, informed consent.

The UK Digital Minister announced the country’s Online Safety Bill has been strengthened to ensure users of pornography sites are 18 years or older. Companies that don’t apply stringent checks to ensure age verification can be subject to fines from the Office of Communications (Ofcom), which can include up to 10% of their annual worldwide turnover and/or being blocked from accessibility in the UK.

CNET compared Android VPNs to determine which only require critical permissions,and which others put privacy at risk by making unnecessary requests. CNET editors considered Surfshark, ExpressVPN, NorvidVPN, and IPVanish best in class, and identified a number of others as dangerous to privacy. Further, CNET editors warn that Five Eyes (US, UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand)-based VPNs can come with backdoor access to data.

A report published by eSafety shows a significant divide between risks parents think teens are exposed to online, including about suicide and violent sexual material, and what their kids actually see. Interestingly, while nearly 70% of teens told parents about negative experiences they’d had, only 51% of parents recalled them doing so.

Meta’s new virtual-reality app, Horizon Worlds is just for adults 18-up. But kids are finding their way in and, if history is any guide, child predators are likely to follow, according to Thorn, a tech nonprofit that works to protect kids from online abuse. Instagram, Minecraft, Fortniite and other social apps and games saw this happen, so it should come as no surprise to Meta – and should not be left untended.

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Concern is that collection was done via executive order for a prolonged period of time, outside oversight of Congress, the judiciary or Executive Branch.

They will also advise the industry on global privacy regulations.

Meta, in its annual report, has threatened to pull Facebook and Instagram out of Europe over data transfer rules. While it is viewed as unlikely the company would actually do so, it shows just how far the company is willing to go to flex its muscle against laws constraining its access to our data.

California’s Attorney General reminded companies that offer consumers financial incentives, like loyalty programs, that they must disclose terms before collecting their data. Those notified have 30 days to comply with CCPA mandates.

Indiana’s Senate has served up an Ad Targeting bill that, if passed by the state House, would give people the right to opt out of ad targeting. The law would also allow consumers to learn what information is held about them, and to delete and opt-out of select use of that data.

While still a concept, Mark Zuckerberg intends for the Metaverse to be a game changer and the successor to the mobile internet, as he explained in a 2021 concept video. Still, 55% of Americans don’t know what it is according to a NordVPN survey. And, 87% of those who do, worry about how it may affect their privacy, especially given Facebook’s long history of mass data breaches.