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“The argument we make about why you should switch to DuckDuckGo is you’re not getting tracked, you’re getting all the results you expect, the instant answers and you’re also getting a less cluttered, fun design,” Weinberg says.

When Gabriel Weinberg, founder of the privacy-focused search engine DuckDuckGo, first started working on the concept for it almost a decade ago now, he didn’t set out at first to build a company around it – or even a serious product that millions of people would eventually use.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2015/07/15/duckduckgo-founder-on-privacy-and-why-doesnt-track-users-like-google/
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

Any company processing data of a European citizen in the European Union is subject to EU law and any transfer of data outside the EU must meet certain adequacy standards. 

Brussels moves like striking cobra, looks to achieve October agreement.

The second round of negotiations on the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) saw real movement on Tuesday, according to negotiators.
Sources familiar with the discussions told El Reg that a tentative political agreement has been reached already on Chapter 5 and Article 3. These two elements focus specifically on territorial scope and international data transfers.
Read more: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2015/07/15/negotiators_go_for_early_wins_in_new_eu_data_protection_law/
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

Now it’s just staged its own disappearing act!

FOR THOSE SEEKING stealth and anonymity online, a radio device known as ProxyHam was a highly anticipated new tool set to debut at the DefCon hacker conference next month. Now it’s just staged its own disappearing act.
Read more: http://www.wired.com/2015/07/online-anonymity-project-proxyham-mysteriously-vanishes/
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

They should call it ‘Surveillance Barbie’.
Kids talking to Hello Barbie aren’t just talking to a doll, they’re talking to Mattel!

Using technology to make kids’ toys super cool – seems like a happy enough situation, no? Sadly things are not that simple for Mattel’s new WiFi Barbie doll, which critics fear could be used to spy on children, invade their privacy and use them as marketing tools.
The “Hello Barbie”, due to be released later this year, will use WiFi to chat to children, play interactive games, make jokes and tell stories using a concealed microphone activated by a button on her belt. However, the technology that processes what the child says is not contained within the doll itself. Instead recordings are transmitted over the Internet to cloud servers, where Mattel’s technology partner ToyTalk processes the audio with voice-recognition software.
Read more: http://www.redorbit.com/news/technology/1113355735/interactive-hello-barbie-could-invade-child-privacy-critics-say-031915/
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

One in 14 Americans may have just lost tons of their personal information!

One in 14 Americans may have just lost tons of their personal information — everything from their Social Security Number and birthdates to notes on their finances, relationships and even sexual proclivities — to hackers in a massive cyber breach, a federal agency said Thursday.
Hackers have made off with confidential data belonging to 22 million people who work, formerly worked or have applied to work for the federal government…
Read more: http://mashable.com/2015/07/11/government-hack-explainer/
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

We all need to protect our private data. Rather than wait to care about your privacy later, it’s better to get started on the right foot!

When you first get a new Windows computer (or set up an old one), you might be focused on downloading your favourite apps and transferring your files. This is also a good time to configure your machine to protect your privacy.
Read more: http://www.lifehacker.co.uk/2015/07/08/configure-windows-10-protect-privacy
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

Are you really paranoid? Like, Snowden-level frightened of the Feds? If so, then owning a phone is really not for you! With governments looking to wrap their hands tighter around your personal data, getting a phone that can keep your information safe is paramount. Here are our top picks for super-private devices.
Read more: http://gizmodo.com/the-best-phones-for-the-privacy-obsessed-1715856498
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

Critics of the bill believe it would lead to the government gaining backdoor access to communication providers’ services in the name of preventing terrorism!

In a comment that could be a sign of things to come, U.K. Prime Minister David Cameron implied the privacy policies of companies such as Google, Facebook, and Twitter are unsustainable, reports Politics.
Talking to Tory Minister of Parliament Henry Bellingham yesterday, Cameron said the U.K. is not a place that will not go into people’s emails and invade their privacy. By that same token, he believes security services should have access to online communications if the U.K. wants to ward off terrorism.
Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/uk-prime-minister-david-cameron-privacy
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

In effect, there’s a race to the bottom as companies make representations that are weak and provide little actual privacy protection to consumers!

The privacy policy for Hulu, a video-streaming service with about 9 million subscribers, opens with a declaration that the company “respects your privacy.”
That respect could lapse, however, if the company is ever sold or goes bankrupt. At that point, according to a clause several screens deep in the policy, the host of details Hulu can gather about subscribers — names, birth dates, email addresses, videos watched, device locations and more — could be transferred to “one or more third parties as part of the transaction.” The policy does not promise to contact users if their data changes hands.
Read more: http://www.seattletimes.com/business/top-websites-put-escape-hatches-into-privacy-policies/
Posted by Dont Mine on Me

Aliesha Staples operates a drone business and says the possibilities are endless, but can be “scary”!

Industry experts are calling for drone operators to be licensed and want tight restrictions implemented to monitor the growing popularity of unmanned aircraft.
Aliesha Staples operates a drone business and says the possibilities are endless, but can be “scary”.
“The most interesting request we had was a surveillance request. And the scariest request was when someone wanted a fully sold out concert filmed and the drone was going to be flying above people. And we turned that one down quickly,” she said.
Read more: http://tvnz.co.nz/national-news/scary-privacy-concerns-warrant-tougher-restrictions-drone-use-say-industry-experts-6348487
Posted by Dont Mine on Me