In the news...
- OpenAI Enables Marketing Cookies by Default for Free ChatGPT Users [wired.com]
Heads up: Per some big changes in its privacy policy, OpenAI can now share personal data like email addresses and cookie IDs with marketing partners. (In an email to users, the company emphasized that ChatGPT conversations won't be shared with third parties.) The shift comes as OpenAI expands its own in-product ad network, joining competitors like Google in incorporating ads into generative AI products.
- Google Chrome Silently Installs a 4 GB AI Model On Your Device – Without Your Consent [gadgetreview.com]
Google Chrome has been quietly downloading a Gemini AI model onto users' devices without any meaningful notifications, according to a report from thatprivacyguy. Disabling it permanently requires some technical knowledge; if you just try to delete the model, it will re-download the next time you open Chrome. Privacy researchers say the silent install appears to clash with Article 5(3) of the EU's ePrivacy Directive, which requires "prior, freely-given, specific, informed, and unambiguous consent" before storing data on user devices.
- Your Fridge May Be Spying on You [usnews.com]
A bipartisan group of senators is backing the Informing Consumers About Smart Devices Act — better known as the "Spy Fridge" bill — which would require makers of internet-connected appliances to disclose when their products include a camera or microphone. With the average US household now connecting more than 17 devices to the web, lead sponsor Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) argues consumers deserve to know if their fridge, thermostat, or doorbell is capable of recording them.
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