edward snowden Edward Snowden Details His Path to Leaking in New Memoir Former NSA contractor Edward Snowden shares his personal journey from a patriotic government employee to a notorious whistleblower in his new book, Permanent Record. The memoir explains the moral awakening that leads him to expose massive government surveillance programs.
mozilla Firefox 70 Launches With Social Tracker Blocking and Privacy Reports Mozilla releases Firefox 70 across all major platforms, bringing default social tracking protection and a new Privacy Protections report. The update gives users greater visibility into the billions of tracking requests the browser automatically blocks.
google Bipartisan Coalition of 50 Attorneys General Launches Google Antitrust Investigation A coalition of 50 state and territorial attorneys general opens a major bipartisan antitrust probe into Google's business practices. The investigation focuses on the tech giant's dominance in the online advertising market and its use of consumer data.
apple Apple Disputes Google's Claims Over Massive iOS Security Exploit Apple pushes back against Google's detailed report of a severe iOS exploit, insisting the attack is narrowly focused rather than en masse. However, the math suggests thousands of targeted devices still fall victim to the malicious websites.
google Google Pays Record $170 Million FTC Fine Over YouTube Child Privacy Violations The Federal Trade Commission fines Google $170 million for illegally collecting children's personal data on YouTube without parental consent. The settlement forces the platform to implement new systems to protect kids and limit targeted advertising.
deepfakes Chinese Deepfake App Zao Sparks Immediate Privacy Concerns A new Chinese app called Zao allows users to effortlessly swap their faces onto movie stars in video clips, raising serious privacy and security alarms. The app goes viral quickly but faces intense backlash over its broad user data terms.
zao Viral Chinese Deepfake App Zao Sparks Major Privacy Fears A popular new Chinese app called Zao allows users to easily swap their faces onto celebrities, but its extreme user agreement raises serious privacy and intellectual property concerns.
facebook Facebook Considers Hiding Like Counts to Improve User Mental Health Facebook is prototyping a feature that hides public Like counts on News Feed posts, following similar ongoing tests on Instagram. The goal is to reduce unhealthy social comparison and encourage users to share more freely without fear of judgment.
wechat WeChat Blocks Viral Deepfake App Zao Over Privacy and Security Fears WeChat restricts access to the popular face-swapping app Zao amid intense backlash over its aggressive data policies and deepfake security risks. The app, which went viral in China for its realistic celebrity face replacements, promises to update its controversial user terms.
apple Apple Faces Heavy Scrutiny Over Security Flaws and Siri Privacy Apple's strong reputation for privacy faces serious challenges after a major iPhone security flaw and revelations that human contractors listen to Siri recordings.
uber Uber Promotes Privacy Features Amid New Safety Fee Controversy Uber attempts to reassure riders about privacy following a damning book excerpt that reveals the company misled customers about a safety fee. The email blast highlights hidden phone numbers and locations, though Uber denies any connection to the recent negative press.
google Google Introduces Privacy Budget to Thwart Web Tracking and Fingerprinting Google unveils a new web standard proposal that limits how much data sites can extract to identify users, building on its broader Privacy Sandbox initiative. The plan aims to balance user anonymity with publisher revenue needs.
moviepass Unprotected MoviePass Server Exposes Tens of Thousands of Card Numbers A critical MoviePass database left without a password exposes over 58,000 customer card numbers, personal credit card details, and mistakenly typed passwords. The company only takes the leaking server offline after TechCrunch contacts executives.
facebook Facebook Overhauls Infrastructure to Launch Off-Facebook Activity Tool Facebook rolls out its new Off-Facebook Activity tool, allowing users to view and disconnect off-site data shared by third-party apps and websites. This launch requires a massive infrastructure redesign to overcome the challenge of decentralised data storage.
amazon Amazon Security Flaw Sends Order Details to Wrong Customers A technical glitch at Amazon causes the company to send order invoices and shipping updates to the wrong users, exposing private names and addresses. Amazon confirms it fixes the issue but declines to provide further details.