Tag - privacy

 
 

PRIVACY

TikTok creators gather before a news conference to voice their opposition to a pending crackdown legislation on TikTok in the House of Representatives, on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Mar 15, 2024
TikTok bill sets up fight over free speech protections of U.S. Constitution
Opponents could argue it infringes free speech by preventing users from expressing themselves and businesses from using the app to promote their products.
Supporters of TikTok gather outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Mar 14, 2024
U.S. House passes bill to force ByteDance to divest TikTok or face ban
The fate of TikTok, used by about 170 million Americans, has become a major issue in Washington.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, whose company launched a pair of smart glasses, on stage at the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, in September.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 22, 2023
Do you want Meta snooping in your closet with AI wearables?
AI wearable devices represent yet another intrusion into our privacy, allowing tech companies to learn even more about who we are — and what we might buy.
Nippon Telegraph and Telephone West President Masaaki Moribayashi (center) bows at a news conference in Osaka on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Feb 29, 2024
NTT West president to resign over customer information theft
NTT West has been slapped with administrative guidance by the communications ministry for insufficient supervising.
U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during an event at the White House in Washington on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Feb 29, 2024
Biden cracks down on U.S. data flows to China and Russia
Seeking to protect American personal data, Biden unveiled an executive order barring genomic data transfers to China and other "countries of concern."
OpenAI has announced that it will add a memory feature to its AI-powered chatbot, ChatGPT.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 15, 2024
The perils of giving ChatGPT more memory
ChatGPT developer OpenAI is rolling out a memory feature that, it says, will improve the bot. But not if it ends up replicating the biases of social media.
A surveillance drone is seen in midair during the G7 foreign ministers' summit in Lucca, Italy, in 2017.
WORLD / Crime & Legal
Feb 13, 2024
'Intrusive' drones? U.S. surveillance case tests privacy law
Evidence suggests police departments are increasingly using drones, including as first responders to emergency calls.
Users often do not realize that almost all app notifications travel over Google and Apple's servers, giving the two companies unique insight into the traffic flowing from those apps to their users.
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 8, 2023
Smartphone users' push notifications spied on, U.S. senator warns
Users often do not realize that almost all notifications for incoming messages, breaking news and other updates travel over Google and Apple's servers.
President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen arrives at the U.K. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Safety Summit at Bletchley Park in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, Britain, on Nov. 2.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 6, 2023
EU set to hold talks to finalize agreement on world's first AI law
Brussels wants a legal armory to protect EU citizens' rights, while some member states worry that too much regulation will stifle innovation.
Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto Prefecture hands out "blindfold" stickers that visitors can use to cover up their wishes written on wooden plaques.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 23, 2023
Privacy concerns prompt people to cover up Shinto prayer plaques
The plaques have been used to express wishes for centuries, and now some shrines are allowing them to be covered with stickers for privacy reasons.
U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak speaks with entrepreneur Elon Musk during a chat session on the rewards and risks of artificial intelligence in London, earlier this month.
EDITORIALS
Nov 10, 2023
Can the world harness AI’s fire without getting burned?
Calls are increasing for governance of artificial intelligence, the world-changing tech that bears both major rewards and risks.
Seiko Noda (right), head of a suprapartisan group of lawmakers discussing assisted reproductive technology, addresses the group's general meeting held in the Diet building on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2023
Bill on sperm and egg donors seeks disclosure of some information
The draft seeks to allow information that is not personally identifiable, such as height, blood type and age, to be disclosed without donor's consent
A 23andMe DNA kit
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2023
Drugmakers are set to pay 23andMe millions to access consumer DNA
Under the new agreement, 23andMe will provide GSK with access to anonymized DNA data from customers who have agreed to share their information.
The European Union and Japan concluded an agreement Saturday on cross-border data flows, a deal that could benefit companies across a range of sectors, including financial services, transport, machinery and e-commerce, allowing them to handle data without cumbersome and costly administration.
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 28, 2023
EU and Japan conclude agreement on data flows
The deal on cross-border data flows should drive business and may help shape global rules for data, the European Commission said.
About 9 million sets of customer information have been leaked from an NTT West subsidiary.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 18, 2023
NTT unit says around 9 million sets of customer information leaked
The former worker illegally downloaded customer information between around July 2013 and January this year.
Hackers have attacked the Philippines’ state health insurer, which didn’t have cyber protection software, leaving the data of millions of the country's citizens vulnerable.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 10, 2023
Hacked Philippine health insurer had no cyber protection software
The lapse, partly caused by a change in procurement processes, adds to a series of attacks on Philippine government agencies.
Visual AI allows us to see more than meets the eye when looking at cities like Tokyo.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 22, 2023
AI will show us the future of cities, if we guide the way
Visual AI can help us better see our cities, from crime rates to property values, but only human intelligence can tell the forest from the trees.
Twitter's new X logo at the company's headquarters in San Francisco, California, on July 29
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 31, 2023
Elon Musk's X to collect biometric data, work and school history
It’s unclear how X will collect the data or how it may be used.
Digital minister Taro Kono (right) tries out a device that allows the use of My Number cards as health insurance cards at Chigasaki City Hall in Kanagawa Prefecture on Aug. 9.
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 21, 2023
My Number and beyond: What's holding back Japan’s digitalization?
The transition from analog to digital in the public sector has been a long-standing challenge for the country, spanning at least the past two decades.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (right) sits next to digital minister Taro Kono while speaking at a government review meeting on the My Number national identification cards.
PODCAST / deep dive
Aug 10, 2023
Why is modernizing Japan so darn tough?
Reporter Gabriele Ninivaggi joins us to break down how Japan’s digitalization hiccups risk exposing how backward things are.

Longform

A statue of "Dragon Ball" character Goku stands outside the offices of Bandai Namco in Tokyo. The figure is now as recognizable as such characters as Mickey Mouse and Spider-Man.
Akira Toriyama's gift to the world