Newsom Touts Regulating Tech While Vetoing Bills Actually Regulating It
Newsom vetoed several tech bills.
Privacy
Consumer Watchdog investigations and advocacy on data privacy, surveillance, AI, and your right to control your personal information.
Newsom’s Veto of Bill Allowing Consumers to Globally Opt Out of Data Use is Bad for Everyone Except Tech Companies Like Google
Governor Newsom didn't sign a bill that his own agency itself sponsored to give Californians easy control over their data.
Report Shows That Less Than 1% of Californians Exercise Privacy Rights with Data Brokers
Data Brokers Collect Your Location, Share It With Companies and Law Enforcement.
Data Stalkers
Consumer Watchdog broke down the opt out numbers of some of the biggest data brokers in the world: Experian, Acxiom and LiveRamp. Per the CCPA, data brokers operating in California must now annually report the number of requests1 to delete, correct, access, limit and…
Consumer Alert: National Data Breach
Data Brokers Collect Your Location, Share It With Companies and Law Enforcement. Opting Out Isn't Easy But Here's How That's Changing
Will Newsom Sign These Tech Bills?
Despite amendments that were lobbied by tech companies such as Anthropic, it didn’t seem to convert the bill’s naysayers.
How to Opt Out from the Biggest Data Brokers
How to Opt Out from the Biggest Data Brokers One of the largest data brokers recently experienced a theft that revealed the social security number...
CA AI Bills Get Watered Down As They Move to Senate Floor
Senate Bill 1047, the high-profile bill aimed at regulating future AI systems, was amended following suggestions from the AI company Anthropic. Another bill concerning discriminatory algorithms, AB 2930, was also defanged, and a bill mandating the DMV disclose more autonomous vehicle data also moved forward.
Software Used By a Meditation App and DoorDash is Being Sued For Sending Personal Data to Unknown Third Parties Without Consent
Calm is a popular guided meditation app that seeks to help you "stress less," "sleep more," and "live mindfully." It also tells lots of unknown third parties that you're depressed without your consent. People order food through DoorDash and swipe on the dating app Tagged, but it's collecting their geolocation.
Google The Monopolist
When we started the Inside Google Project in 2008, we envisioned the day when a judge would rule that Google was a monopoly. Yesterday Judge Amit P. Mehta...
No Opt Out
If I want to put a stop to this data sharing, I must navigate a confusing, seemingly endless labyrinth of privacy options obscured in legalese. I must choose separate1 "Facebook fuels broad privacy debate by tracking non-users," David Ingram, Reuters, April 15, 2018..
Consumer Alert: Data Parasites
Did you know Facebook tracks what you do even when you’ve deactivated your account, or even if you don’t have an account? It knows about thousands of businesses that you visit online.