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A small email provider and its customers have mobilized to force the Swiss government to put its new invasive surveillance law up for a public vote in a national referendum in June. https://theintercept.com/2016/01/25/how-a-small-company-in-switzerland-is-fighting-a-surveillance-law-and-winning/
The FTC has settled a case against developers accused of purchasing a game called “Running Fred” and turning it into Adware: https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/ftc-calls-game-over-on-running-fred-020916.html
The Institute for Quantitative Social Science at Harvard University has created theDataMap, an online portal for documenting flows of personal data. http://observer.com/2016/02/harvard-datamap-personal-info/ ,http://thedatamap.org/ .
France’s data protection authority has ordered Facebook to stop transferring user data to the US, following a ruling from the European Union that invalidated a longstanding trans-Atlantic data transfer agreement: http://www.theverge.com/2016/2/9/10950768/facebook-france-data-transfer-privacy-order
James Clapper has acknowledged for the first time that agencies might use a new generation of smart household devices to increase their surveillance capabilities. http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/feb/09/internet-of-things-smart-home-devices-government-surveillance-james-clapper
Brendan Eich, co-founder of Mozilla and for an 11-day stint, its CEO, yesterday announced a new browser called “Brave,” that blocks outside online ads and ad tracking: http://www.computerworld.com/article/3025252/web-browsers/brave-is-the-name-ad-blocking-the-game-of-new-browser.html
The President is setting up a Federal Privacy Council: https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/09/executive-order-establishment-federal-privacy-council
Bills have been proposed in South Dakota, Virginia, and Florida to limit transgender students’ use of restrooms consistent with their gender identity: http://www.hrc.org/blog/am-equality-tip-sheet-february-10-2016
The President is directing his Administration to implement a Cybersecurity National Action Plan that takes near-term actions and puts in place a long-term strategy to enhance cybersecurity awareness and protections, protect privacy, maintain public safety as well as economic and national security, and empower Americans to take better control of their digital security:https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/02/09/fact-sheet-cybersecurity-national-action-plan
The Obama administration on Thursday implemented changes to the U.S. visa waiver program made in the wake of terrorist attacks in Paris that spurred fears extremists could enter the country undetected: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2016-01-21/us-restricts-visa-free-travel-to-enhance-national-security
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