Top News – Avast fined $16.5 million for selling data: Twitter avoided violating a government order, and more
Avast fined $16.5 million for selling browsing data
The Federal Trade Commission imposed a $16.5 million fine on software provider Avast for selling browsing data to third parties for advertising purposes. This was done after claiming that their consumers were protected from online tracking. The FTC stated that the UK-based company collected data through its browser extensions and antivirus software and stored it indefinitely. This data was then sold without proper notice or consumer consent. Through their Czech subsidiary, Jumpshot, Avast sold data to over 100 third parties. Read more
Twitter, formerly X, did not violate government order
On investigating ‘Twitter Files’, the Federal Trade Commission found that X did not violate the terms of a government order requiring the company to have strict controls on all systems that store consumer data. Despite Elon Musk’s order to employees to give an outsider writers group “full access to everything”, veteran employees stepped and prevented writers from accessing the data in the company’s internal systems, saving Musk from breaking the federal order. Read more
AI office to open in Europe
With the intention of assisting with the implementation of the AI Act and supporting the safe development and use of Artificial Intelligence, the European Commission will open the European AI Office. Their tasks include supporting the AI Act and enforcing AI rules, strengthening the development of safe AI, building international cooperation, cooperating with experts and stakeholders, and more. Read more
America’s second-largest insurance company reported security breach
Prudential Financial, a large insurance company in the US, reported a security breach that resulted in the leaking of corporate and user data. The breach was detected in early February 2024 after the external threat gained access to certain internal systems. The company immediately reacted by collaborating with external cybersecurity experts, implementing their response plan, and notifying the required authorities. Read more
DoorDash fined $375,000 for violating CCPA
DoorDash reached a $375,000 settlement with the California Attorney General’s Office for offering users’ data in a marketing cooperative, allowing businesses to use the PI of customers to advertise their products to each other’s customers. Further, it was found that the same was not disclosed in their privacy policy. The ‘Do Not Sell My Personal Information’ link was not easy to locate, as required by the CCPA. Read more
