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…
Maine School Will Begin Biometric Scanning, Data Collection for Students
Steve Robinson reports: A public high school in Maine is among the first in the state to adopt biometric scanning technology to track student attendance. Caribou High School in Aroostook County (RSU 39) has contracted with IdentiMetrics to implement a system that scans students’ fingerprints, stores the data, and creates a tracking system so that…