About two weeks ago KU Leuven University and Vrije Universiteit Brussel in Belgium published a report commissioned by the Belgian Privacy Commission about the tracking behaviour of Facebook on the internet, more specifically how they track their users (and non-users!) through the ‘Like’ buttons and Share buttons that are found on millions of websites across… Continue reading Belgian Privacy Commission Found Facebook in Violation of EU and Belgian Privacy Law
Category: Tracking
Dutch Data Retention Law Struck Down
Good news on privacy protection for once: after an 11 March 2015 ruling of the Court of The Hague in the Netherlands in the case of the Privacy First Foundation c.s. versus The Netherlands, the court decided to strike down the Dutch data retention law. The law required telecommunication providers and ISPs to store communication… Continue reading Dutch Data Retention Law Struck Down
Gave Privacy By Design Talk At eth0
I gave my talk about privacy by design last Saturday at eth0 2014 winter edition, a small hacker get-together which was organised in Lievelde, The Netherlands this year. eth0 organizes conferences that aim at bringing people with different computer-related interests together. They organise two events per year, one during winter. I’ve previously given a very… Continue reading Gave Privacy By Design Talk At eth0
The Rising Trend of Criminalizing Hackers & Tinkerers
Note: This article is also available in Portuguese, translated by Anders Bateva. There seems to be a rising trend of criminalizing hackers & tinkerers. More and more, people who explore the limits of the equipment, hardware and software they own and use, whether they tinker with it, re-purpose it, or expand its functionalities, are met… Continue reading The Rising Trend of Criminalizing Hackers & Tinkerers
Facebook records self-censorship
Recently I came across an article about Facebook, more specifically, that Facebook wants to know why you self-censor, in other words, why you didn’t click Publish on that status update you just wrote, but decided not to publish instead. It turns out Facebook is sending everything you type in the Post textarea box (the one… Continue reading Facebook records self-censorship
Choose Your Friends Wisely: Tracking & Profiling on the Web
Note: This article is also available in Portuguese, translated by Anders Bateva. A lot of data about you and your Internet behavior gets collected when you simply surf the Internet ‘unprotected’. We are currently living in a time when data profiling and getting to know your customers is getting more and more important. In this… Continue reading Choose Your Friends Wisely: Tracking & Profiling on the Web
At the Crossroads: Surveillance State or Freedom?
When I went to OHM2013 last week, it was great to see such increased political activism from the hackers and geeks at the festival. I truly believe we are currently at a very important crossroads: either let governments the world over get away with crimes against the people’s interests, with programs like PRISM, ECHELON, TEMPORA… Continue reading At the Crossroads: Surveillance State or Freedom?
My Privacy by Design Talk at OHM 2013
Last week I’ve given a talk about privacy by design as it relates to websites at Observe, Hack, Make (OHM) 2013, a quadrennial geekfest and hacker/maker event held in the Netherlands. It’s one of the biggest hacker festivals out there, with 3,000 people that have descended on the festival grounds, and it’s great fun and… Continue reading My Privacy by Design Talk at OHM 2013
Ubiquitous Tracking by Big Mega Corporations and What We Can Do About It
Nowadays, if you surf the web like any normal person, chances are your movements on the internet will be tracked. There are a lot of companies tracking you and building detailed profiles about your behaviour on the internet. With all the news about the revelations of Edward Snowden about the mass surveillance going on by… Continue reading Ubiquitous Tracking by Big Mega Corporations and What We Can Do About It