After a 5-year legal battle, an Illinois FOIA lawsuit seeking database schemas from Chicago's parking ticket system ended in a unanimous Supreme Court loss, significantly broadening agencies' ability to withhold records. The case highlighted ongoing challenges in accessing public data through FOIA requests and revealed inconsistencies in how Chicago handles sensitive data disclosure.
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A Department of Energy (DOGE) employee Jordan Wick has been publicly sharing sensitive work-related code on GitHub, including a Twitter DM downloader and geospatial data analysis tools for undersea cables and critical minerals.
Government access to personal data through tech giants has dramatically increased, with Meta, Google, and Apple sharing details of 3.16 million accounts over the past decade. The US government made nearly 500,000 data requests to Google and Meta in the last measured 12 months, exceeding all other 14 Eyes Alliance members combined. These companies' business models prevent them from implementing strong privacy protections, as they rely heavily on user tracking for revenue.
A legal battle over database schema access through FOIA requests in Illinois reached the state Supreme Court, ultimately ruling that schemas could be withheld as 'file layouts.' New legislation (SB0226) aims to require public bodies to provide database structure descriptions, enabling citizens to request specific database queries.
European governments and organizations continue migrating to US cloud services despite increasing risks and Trump's undermining of data privacy frameworks. The practice is justified through legal mechanisms and convenience, despite serious concerns about data sovereignty and business continuity. The author argues for immediate cessation of US cloud adoption and investment in European alternatives.
A comprehensive list of advertising and analytics vendors with their data collection practices, cookie durations, and privacy policies. Each vendor details specific data types collected, storage methods, and consent requirements for digital advertising and tracking purposes.
Apple is removing its Advanced Data Protection tool from UK customers after the government demanded access to user data under the Investigatory Powers Act. The move means UK customer data stored on iCloud will no longer be fully encrypted, despite Apple's strong stance against creating encryption backdoors. This decision has sparked criticism from privacy advocates and US politicians who view it as a threat to security.
Meta defends against copyright allegations by claiming they didn't seed torrented book datasets used for AI training, while arguing that torrenting itself isn't illegal. Authors, including Sarah Silverman and Ta-Nehisi Coates, allege Meta's actions constitute massive data piracy and copyright infringement.
Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has gained unprecedented 'God mode' access to multiple federal agencies' digital infrastructure, raising serious security and privacy concerns. The organization has already accessed sensitive systems at USAID and NASA, with plans to enter CDC and FAA systems, potentially exposing critical government data and infrastructure. DOGE's unrestricted access could compromise national security, personal data, and classified information across numerous federal agencies.
South Korea has accused Chinese AI startup DeepSeek of sharing user data with ByteDance, leading to its removal from app stores. The accusation follows cybersecurity concerns and potential data sharing with Chinese state-owned entities, though the extent of data transfer remains unclear. Multiple countries have banned DeepSeek from government devices amid privacy concerns.
A comprehensive list of advertising and analytics vendors detailing their data collection practices, cookie durations, and privacy policies, focusing on how they handle user data including IP addresses, device information, location data, and browsing behavior.