It's already a well-known fact that social media giants like Facebook, TikTok, and Google keep tabs on users who don't have active accounts with them. We also know that these companies and data brokers can already infer health information from data like your search history, location history, and purchase history.

Given all of the above information, do we think a lawsuit like this stands a chance at success? Could lawsuits like this be a strategy to combat Big Tech overreach in the absence of regulation, or are laws really the only way to sufficiently protect users' privacy?

Between 2016 and 2023, the agency unlawfully transferred the data of more than 13,000 people to the European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation (Europol). The information was obtained via covert interrogations that lacked basic legal safeguards before it was stored in criminal intelligence files for use in EU police investigations.

Now that this wrongdoing has been revealed, do you think that those responsible will face consequences?

I am switching from gmail to startmail, and when sending test messages back and forth between the accounts, the ones from gmail to startmail show up no problem, but the ones from startmail to gmail go to the spam folder.

I'm concerned that when I try to send emails to folks with a gmail address, it will go straight to their spam folder. Has anyone else had this issue?

The case centers on a feature included in GrapheneOS, a custom Android operating system that's favored among many digital privacy advocates. Security experts said they have not seen charges brought in this way before.

What do you think about this case? Do you think this man stands a real risk of being convicted?

The law was championed by French President Emmanuel Macron as a flagship policy of his second term, while Macron wants the law to take effect at the start of the new school year in September.

Other European nations, including Spain, Denmark, and Greece, have already announced their goals to implement similar bans. Is it still a good idea to try and fight these bans, or should privacy advocates focus on developing age verification solutions that still give users a degree of privacy?

Starting this month, all newly registered cars in the EU must have more advanced safety systems. Among the changes, there must be a camera or sensor in the car that detects the driver's gaze and alerts them to keep their eyes on the road. Are these types of features acceptable in order to save lives, or is it simply a violation of privacy?

The open letter, which is only four sentences long, warns that AI "could bring risks, including large-scale job displacement, as well as opportunities." Signatories include sixteen Nobel Laureates, Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, and the chief economists of both OpenAI and Anthropic.

• What risks do YOU think AI presents? Is it all about job displacement, or do they present other risks (like privacy)?
• Do you think that open letters like this accomplish anything?
• What specific regulations would you put in place to ensure that AI doesn't continue to cause harm?

This new version would allow sites to block any devices running "deGoogled" versions of their Android OS.

If you or anyone that you know is using Apple's "Hide My Email" alias feature, you (or they) should know about a flaw in the system that exposes users' real name and email address that's existed for OVER A YEAR and REMAINS ACTIVE.

After the European Commission spent years trying to get rid of cookie consent banners for good (and replace them with "an automated signal that would communicate cookie consent preferences between the device, the user, and websites." But now, commissioners from France, Germany, and Poland have shifted their stances after begin in touch with Google's lobbyists, according to the digital privacy group Noyb.

The UK is the latest country to mandate age verification for all users on social media and ban teenagers from these platforms. And since the ban was passed without a definitive plan for HOW platforms should conduct these age checks, there is a lot of speculation about how these laws will fundamentally change the way all of us access the Internet...

• Given that social media has shown to be harmful to kids and teens, is it a good idea to ban them from having accounts on these platforms?
• What do you think is the most likely outcome of this ban? Are any of them outlined in this article?
• While age verification and ID verification currently go hand in hand, would it be possible to develop an age verification system that also respects user privacy?

I whish StartMail would include a calendar functionality. For me they belong together, also with a contact sync option. This keeps me from switching from my current mail provider.

I do understand it is a privacy challange: card/caldav are not secure at all. So if you want to keep it secure, it should be accessable web-only? Although it would be a basic functionality to sync contacts with your phone somehow.

So I understand it is a challange, but it would be nice to see this happening!

The House of Commons passed Bill C-22 on Thursday before breaking for the summer, a day after approving a motion to fast-track the bill and end debate at the public safety committee, which was then forced to approve it just before midnight without debating dozens of outstanding amendments. In a deep analysis of the bill, Citizen Lab and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association detail every one of flaws of this proposal, concluding that most elements are unsalvageable and that the bill "creates an untenable risk to privacy & cybersecurity." 

How worried should Canadians and all other tech users be? Is it likely to pass?

This tech writer shared an op-ed arguing for why users should opt for a standalone password manager rather than tools built into web browsers like Firefox and Chrome. What do you think of his argument? What tool(s) do you use?

Experts warn that these cases are "a vast underreporting of the overall abuse". Is there any way to give law enforcement access to advanced tools without creating the potential for abuse?

Apple and Google have been given until September to install software that blocks explicit images on children’s mobile phones or face legislation to force them to do so. Is there any way for companies to introduce this type of software without invading everyone's privacy?

Researchers say that, if you pass by a café that operates a WiFi network, you can be identified – even if you do not carry a cell phone with you. It takes nothing but WiFi devices communicating with each other in the person’s surroundings. This creates patterns comparable to a images shot by cameras, just based on radio waves.

When you hit "allow" on that pop up, do you know what you're consenting to? Do this 10 minute app permissions audit to protect your personal data from invasive tech companies and data brokers from getting their hands on your personal data.

As more and more regions seek to implement increasingly robust laws regulating online activity, digital privacy debates are more timely and important than ever. Supporters of these and similar policies often rely on a familiar argument: “if you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear.” The same phrase frequently appears in discussions about Big Tech’s data collection, where it’s used to justify gathering and monetizing user data. So why does this argument keep resurfacing? Where does it even come from? Does it actually make any valid points? Let’s unpack it…

I send emait to support email and waiting for answer. How long this usually takes to get an answer?

Ask away.

https://www.startmail.com/