In the news...
- An AI Toy Exposed 50,000 Logs of Its Chats With Kids to Anyone With a Gmail Account [wired.com]
Researchers Joseph Thacker and Joel Margolis made a "startling discovery" when they found that AI toy Bondu let "anyone with a Gmail account access transcripts of virtually every conversation Bondu's child users have ever had with the toy." No hacking required — just standard access to the web portal intended for parents.
Once alerted, Bondu acted quickly to remedy their “near-total lack of security around the children’s data,” but "the researchers argue that what they saw represents a larger warning about the dangers of AI-enabled chat toys for kids. Their glimpse of Bondu's backend showed how detailed the information is that it stored on children, keeping histories of every chat to better inform the toy's next conversation with its owner."
- Google Agrees to $135 Million Settlement for Collecting Android Users' Data [theverge.com]
Do you have an Android phone? You could get up to $100 as a recovery payout in a proposed settlement that Google filed in California. "The $135 million settlement is for a class action lawsuit claiming that Google collected users’ cellular data without their permission, even while Google apps were closed, location sharing was turned off, and users’ screens were locked... Google has also agreed to make it easier for users to stop cellular data transfers, ask for users’ consent to transfer data during device setup, and disclose data transfers in its Google Play terms of service."
Even though they've agreed to the settlement, Google has denied any wrongdoing.
- States Probe Firms Using Personal Data, Location to Set Prices [news.bloomberglaw.com]
"States are looking at how grocery stores, hotel chains, and retailers are using personal consumer information—from browsing history to location data—to dictate prices.” (This practice is known as surveillance pricing.) An investigative sweep led by California’s attorney general "is just the tip of the trend. New York in November started requiring companies to clearly disclose when their algorithms use consumers’ personal information to set prices. Legislative proposals are popping up across the country to ban or restrict companies’ use of sensitive personal information, like biometric data, for personalized prices."
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