Natasha Lomas
TechCrunch
Philippines
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Recent articles by Natasha:
UK’s health data guardian sets a firm line for app development using patient data –
The UK’s health data watchdog, the National Data Guardian (NDG), has published correspondence between her office and the national privacy watchdog which informed the ICO’s finding in 2017 that a data-sharing arrangement between an NHS Trust and Google-owned DeepMind broke the law. The exchange was published following a Freedom of Information request by TechCrunch. In […] → Read More
Facebook really doesn’t want you to read these emails –
Oh hey, y’all, it’s Friday! It’s August! Which means it’s a great day for Facebook to drop a little news it would prefer you don’t notice. News that you won’t find a link to on the homepage of Facebook’s Newsroom — which is replete with colorfully illustrated items it does want you to read (like […] → Read More
Reliability concerns raised over pi-top’s STEM learning laptop –
TechCrunch has learned of a safety issue and a number of product reliability questions being raised about a modular computer made by a London edtech startup that’s intended for children to learn coding and electronics. The product, called the pi-top 3, is a Raspberry Pi-powered laptop with a keyboard that slides out to access a […] → Read More
Europe’s top data protection regulator, Giovanni Buttarelli, has died –
Europe’s data protection supervisor, Giovanni Buttarelli, has died. His passing yesterday, aged 62, was announced by his office today — which writes: It is with the deepest regret that we announce the loss of Giovanni Buttarelli, the European Data Protection Supervisor. Giovanni passed away surrounded by his family in Italy, last night, 20 August 2019. […] → Read More
Privacy researchers devise a noise-exploitation attack that defeats dynamic anonymity –
Privacy researchers in Europe believe they have the first proof that a long-theorised vulnerability in systems designed to protect privacy by aggregating and adding noise to data to mask individual identities is no longer just a theory. The research has implications for the immediate field of differential privacy and beyond — raising wide-ranging questions about […] → Read More
US legislator, David Cicilline, joins international push to interrogate platform power –
US legislator David Cicilline will be joining the next meeting of the International Grand Committee on Disinformation and ‘Fake News’, it has been announced. The meeting will be held in Dublin on November 7. Chair of the committee, the Irish Fine Gael politician Hildegarde Naughton, announced Cicilline’s inclusion today. The congressman — who is chairman […] → Read More
Instagram says growth hackers are behind spate of fake Stories views –
If you use Instagram and have noticed a bunch of strangers watching your Stories in recent months — accounts that don’t follow you and seem to be Russian — well, you’re not alone. Nor are you being primed for a Russian disinformation campaign. At least, probably not. But you’re right to smell a fake. TechCrunch’s […] → Read More
Microsoft tweaks privacy policy to admit humans can listen to Skype Translator and Cortana audio –
Microsoft is the latest tech giant to amend its privacy policy after media reports revealed it uses human contractors to review audio recordings of Skype and Cortana users. A section in the policy on how the company uses personal data now reads (emphasis ours): Our processing of personal data for these purposes includes both automated […] → Read More
Huawei pushes back launch of 5G foldable, the Mate X –
If you were desperately ripping days off of your calendar until you could get your hands on Huawei’s $2,600 5G foldable, the Mate X — which was originally slated to launch next month — it sounds like you’re going to have to wait a bit longer, per TechRadar which attended a press event at Huawei’s […] → Read More
WebKit’s new anti-tracking policy puts privacy on a par with security –
WebKit, the open source engine that underpins Internet browsers including Apple’s Safari browser, has announced a new tracking prevention policy that takes the strictest line yet on the background and cross-site tracking practices and technologies which are used to creep on Internet users as they go about their business online. Trackers are technologies that are […] → Read More
Facebook’s human-AI blend for audio transcription is now facing privacy scrutiny in Europe –
Facebook’s lead privacy regulator in Europe is now asking the company for detailed information about the operation of a voice-to-text feature in Facebook’s Messenger app and how it complies with EU law. Yesterday Bloomberg reported that Facebook uses human contractors to transcribe app users’ audio messages — yet its privacy policy makes no clear mention […] → Read More
Facebook denies making contradictory claims on Cambridge Analytica and other ‘sketchy’ apps –
Facebook has denied contradicting itself in evidence to the UK parliament and a US public prosecutor. Last month the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) committee wrote to the company to raise what it said were discrepancies in evidence Facebook has given to international parliamentarians vs evidence submitted in response to the Washington, DC […] → Read More
London edtech startup Pi-Top sees layoffs after major contract loss –
London-based edtech startup Pi-Top has cut a number of staff, TechCrunch has learned. According to our sources the company has reduced its headcount in recent weeks, with staff being told cuts are a result of restructuring as it seeks to implement a new strategy. One source told us Pi-Top recently lost out on a large […] → Read More
Deliveroo is exiting the German market –
UK on-demand food delivery startup Deliveroo is pulling the plug on its service in Germany. The startup expanded into the market more than four years ago. But in an email sent to users it writes that — “regrettably” — it will be exiting Germany on August 16. “This was not an easy decision and one […] → Read More
Most EU cookie ‘consent’ notices are meaningless or manipulative, study finds –
New research into how European consumers interact with the cookie consent mechanisms which have proliferated since a major update to the bloc’s online privacy rules last year casts an unflattering light on widespread manipulation of a system that’s supposed to protect consumer rights. As Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force in May […] → Read More
Amazon’s lead EU data regulator is asking questions about Alexa privacy –
Amazon’s lead data regulator in Europe, Luxembourg’s National Commission for Data Protection, has raised privacy concerns about its use of manual human reviews of Alexa AI voice assistant recordings. A spokesman for the regulator confirmed in an email to TechCrunch it is discussing the matter with Amazon, adding: “At this stage, we cannot comment further […] → Read More
Apple is under formal antitrust probe in Russia –
Make way for another antitrust investigation into big tech. Step forward Russia’s Federal Antimonopoly Service (FAS), which has opened an official probe of Apple — following a complaint lodged in March by security company Kaspersky Labs. Kaspersky’s complaint to FAS followed a change in Apple’s policy towards a parental control app it offers, called Kaspersky […] → Read More
The UK’s National Health Service is launching an AI lab –
The UK government has announced it’s rerouting £250M (~$300M) in public funds for the country’s National Health Service (NHS) to set up an artificial intelligence lab that will work to expand the use of AI technologies within the service. The Lab, which will sit within a new NHS unit tasked with overseeing the digitisation of […] → Read More
Twitter ‘fesses up to more adtech leaks –
Twitter has disclosed more bugs related to how it uses personal data for ad targeting that means it may have shared users data with advertising partners even when a user had expressly told it not to. Back in May the social network disclosed a bug that in certain conditions resulted in an account’s location data […] → Read More
DeepCode gets $4M to feed its AI-powered code review tool –
DeepCode, a Swiss startup that’s using machine learning to automate code reviews, has closed a $4M seed round, led by European VC firm Earlybird, with participation from 3VC and existing investor btov Partners. The founders described the platform as a sort of ‘Grammarly for coders’ when we chatted to them early last year. At the […] → Read More