NOT SO FUN FACT ABOUT INTERNET SURVEILLANCE

The Federal Trade Commission released a report last week detailing the “concerning” amount of data internet service providers (ISPs) collect on customers.

ISPs such as T-Mobile and Verizon collect browsing data, television viewing history, contents of emails and searches, data from connected devices, location information, and race and ethnicity data, the report found.

“Internet service providers are surveilling users across a broad swath of activities,” FTC Chair Lina Khan said.

But did you know that in 2016, the Federal Communications Commission passed rules requiring ISPs to get opt-in consumer consent before using browsing and app usage history for targeted advertising?

That rule was short-lived because Congress killed it the following year, caving to the ad industry’s claim that the rule was unfair because search engines and social networks are not held to the same standard. Of course, Congress could have raised the bar across industries instead of lowering it for ISPs to meet the low privacy standards for firms like Google and Facebook. So, it’s no surprise that months after Apple launched a major privacy policy forcing developers to get consumers’ consent before tracking them across mobile apps, Google said it would introduce new privacy features for location tracking of Android users.


Thanks to popular demand, we’ve updated Reklaim so you can now include multiple emails and phone numbers in your profile. Most of you have more than one email address and device, and now your Reklaim profile can reflect that.

• You can now add multiple email addresses and phone numbers from the account screen.

• Unveil for existing users will use all the identifiers you’ve added when scanning for the data of yours out there on the market. This will increase the match rate for people who want to know what data has been collected about them.

• You can update your primary email address/phone number to be used for authentication and communication.

• You can remove non-primary email addresses and phone numbers.

The future of data privacy isn’t fragmented opt-ins. It’s one holistic key that allows you to signal to the entire digital world how you want to be tracked (or not).

This is one step toward building that future.


Don’t forget to link your Reklaim account to the Reklaim browser extension for a chance to win an Amazon gift card!!! Our browser extension will allow you to signal to websites whether you consent to data collection, block ads for specific sites, and earn from what the data companies collect on you while you surf the web.

See our Instagram or Facebook for rules on how to enter!

This giveaway will close on October 31, 2021 at 11:59PM EST.


What We’re Reading

  • Commerce Department announces new rule limiting international sales of hacking tools.

  • A quick update on why SNAP was down 30% on Friday.

  • UK judge rules Amazon Ring doorbell audio recordings breach data privacy laws.


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Google LIMITS LOCATION TRACKING