Aaron Holmes reports that a new privacy study found that “many major browsers allow the companies that own them to track users’ location and identity while leaking details of users’ browsing history to those companies.” The study was authored by Douglas Leith of Trinity College Dublin and tracked the information-sharing practices of commonly-used browsers Google Chrome,…
Category: Online
UK Government Publishes Initial Consultation Response on the Online Harms White Paper
Marty Hansen, Paul Maynard and Jack Boeglin of Covington and Burling write: On February 12, 2020, the UK Home Office and Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport published the Government’s Initial Consultation Response (“Response”) to feedback received through a public consultation on its Online Harms White Paper (“OHWP”). The OHWP, published in April 2019, proposed a comprehensive regulatory…
Health apps can change their terms of service without users’ knowledge
Nicole Wetsman reports: When someone downloads a new application, one of the first steps is usually agreeing to the terms of service of that app. That (usually mindless) sign-off creates a contract between the app company and the user. Usually, contracts happen when two parties sit down and agree on terms. But for consumer products…
Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation publishes final report on “online targeting”
Dan Cooper, Paul Maynard and Jonathan Benjamin of Covington & Burling write: On February 4, 2020, the United Kingdom’s Centre for Data Ethics and Innovation (“DEI”) published its final report on “online targeting” (the “Report”), examining practices used to monitor a person’s online behaviour and subsequently customize their experience. In October 2018, the UK government appointed…