Consumer Watchdog

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Consumer Watchdog

Privacy

Consumer Watchdog investigations and advocacy on data privacy, surveillance, AI, and your right to control your personal information.
Consumer Advocates Ask Uber For More Transparency

Consumer Advocates Ask Uber For More Transparency

<p>California-based advocacy group Consumer Watchdog publicly asked Uber to release test data surrounding its autonomous vehicle program and called on the mobility giant to go on-record regarding its plans to address several challenges currently faced by driverless technology.<br /> <br />
Uber Self-Driving Cars: When Will It Happen? California Lawmaker Comes Up With Penalties For Permitless Testing Of New Technology

Uber Self-Driving Cars: When Will It Happen? California Lawmaker Comes Up With Penalties For Permitless Testing Of New Technology

<div class="article-body" itemprop="articleBody"> <p>A California lawmaker doesn’t want operators of self-driving vehicles sneaking their cars on the road without permission.</p> <p>Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting of San Francisco Thursday proposed fines as high as $25,000 per vehicle per day for any company testing self-driving vehicles on public roads without first obtaining a two-year, $150 permit from the Department of Motor Vehicles.</p>
Spousal Snoops Find Ally In Shared Devices

Spousal Snoops Find Ally In Shared Devices

<p><strong>Convenient stored passwords imperil privacy; Passwords on shared devices can be snooping spouses' best ally</strong></p> <p> </p> <p>James Phills uncovered details about his estranged wife's romance with his boss through private Facebook messages he wasn't meant to see.</p>
Witness Says Self-Driving Uber Ran Red Light On Its Own, Disputing Uber’s Claims

Witness Says Self-Driving Uber Ran Red Light On Its Own, Disputing Uber’s Claims

<p><strong>Company insists traffic violations in San Francisco are the result of ‘human error’ by drivers who can take control if needed, but witness account contradicts this</strong></p> <p>An autonomous Uber malfunctioned while in “self-driving mode” and caused a near collision in <a class="u-underline" data-component="auto-linked-tag" data-link-name="auto-linked-tag" href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/san-francisco">San Francisco</a>, according to a business owner whose account raises new safety concerns about the unregulated technology launch.</p>
Uber Halts San Francisco Driverless Cars As DMV Revokes Test Fleet Registration

Uber Halts San Francisco Driverless Cars As DMV Revokes Test Fleet Registration

<p>Uber’s puzzling defiance of a California requirement that it get a $150 permit to operate self-driving cars in San Francisco came to an end with the ride-hailing company announcing it was suspending the program. Uber had little choice: California's Department of Motor Vehicles revoked registrations for its 16-vehicle test fleet earlier in the day.</p>
Uber Pulls Self-Driving Cars From California Roads

Uber Pulls Self-Driving Cars From California Roads

<p class="paragraph" data-pnum="1">The California Department of Motor Vehicles on Wednesday revoked the registration for Uber’s 16 self-driving cars over a permit fracas, effectively ending the company’s pilot program in San Francisco.</p>
Uber Self-Driving Car Registrations Revoked In San Francisco

Uber Self-Driving Car Registrations Revoked In San Francisco

<p><strong>Blow to transport company after permit battle over its 16 autonomous vehicles</strong></p> <p>Uber has been forced to halt its controversial pilot of self-driving cars in San Francisco after local highways regulators revoked its vehicles’ registrations, ending a legal stand-off over California’s rules on testing autonomous vehicles.</p>
Privacy Groups Complain To FTC Over Google’s ‘Deceptive’ Policy Change

Privacy Groups Complain To FTC Over Google’s ‘Deceptive’ Policy Change

<p><b>The complaint alleges that Google changed its policy in June to combine personal and browsing data</b></p> <p style="">Privacy groups have complained to the Federal Trade Commission that Google is encroaching on user privacy through a policy change in June that allows it to combine personally identifiable information with browsing data collected by its DoubleClick digital advertising service.</p>