Top news: Life360 found selling location data, White House announces challenge for advancing PETs

Life360 app selling location data

Family safety app Life360 was found to be selling data on kids’ and families’ location data to data brokers who, in turn, have sold data to virtually anyone willing to buy it. As reported by The Markup, it learned of the sale through interviews with the company’s former employees, along with two former employees at location data brokers Cuebiq and X-Mode. Read More

White House announces challenges for Democracy-Affirming Technologies

The White House Office of Science and Technology announced the launch of a series of International Grand Challenges on Democracy-Affirming Technologies. The challenges will focus on advancing privacy-enhancing technologies (PETs) in a bid to “mature PETs and accelerate their adoption for a range of practical use cases.” Read More

Netherlands DPA fines Tax and Customs Administration

The Netherlands’ data protection authority has fined the Tax and Customs Administration for data processing violations under the EU’s GDPR. The €2.75 million fine was imposed due to the administration's improper processing of dual nationality information belonging to applicants for childcare allowance and not complying with the GDPR’s data minimization principles. Read More

Microsoft gains control of 42 websites

Microsoft gains control of over 42 US-based websites run by a Chinese hacking group called Nickel. The group targeted organizations in 29 countries, using collected data “for intelligence gathering from government agencies, think tanks, universities and human rights organizations.” Read More

China removes 106 apps citing privacy violation

The Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology ordered the removal of 106 apps as part of the country’s last crackdown on data violations. The apps were accused of collecting too much personal data at high frequencies, and misleading users into downloading their apps. Read More