Catherine Thorbecke reports: Attorneys for Taylor Swift are threatening legal action against the Florida college student who tracks the private jets of celebrities and public figures, including Swift. Jack Sweeney confirmed to CNN on Tuesday that he received a cease-and-desist letter threatening legal action from attorneys for Swift about the social media accounts he runs…
Data broker allegedly selling de-anonymized info to face FTC lawsuit after all
Ashley Belanger reports: The Federal Trade Commission has succeeded in keeping alive its first federal court case against a geolocation data broker that’s allegedly unfairly selling large quantities of data in violation of the FTC Act. On Saturday, US District Judge Lynn Winmill denied Kochava’s motion to dismiss an amended FTC complaint, which he said plausibly argued that “Kochava’s data…
Stalkerware apps PhoneSpector and Highster appear shut down after NY settlement
Zack Whittaker reports: The makers of two phone surveillance services appear to have shuttered after the owner agreed to settle state accusations of illegally promoting spyware that his companies developed. PhoneSpector and Highster were consumer-grade phone monitoring apps that facilitated the covert surveillance of a person’s smartphone. Commonly dubbed stalkerware (or spouseware), these apps are typically…
IRS Seizure of Crypto Records Sets Up Privacy Rights Showdown at 1st Circuit
Avalon Zoppo writes: An investor’s challenge to the Internal Revenue Service’s seizure of his cryptocurrency exchange records has teed up a showdown with the government at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit over privacy rights and how the “third-party doctrine” applies in the digital age. The Boston-based appeals court will consider a…