Page 4 - Data Privacy

WhatsApp introduces 'view once' feature for voice notes to boost privacy

The feature allows users to designate voice notes as "View Once." This enhances privacy by preventing the recipient from exporting, forwarding, saving, or recording the voice note

Meta Platforms' paid ad-free service targeted in Austrian privacy complaint

The ad-free service cost 9.99 euros ($10.90) monthly for Web users and 12.99 euros for iOS and Android users

Probing data breach claim, no current security issue detected: Tata's IHCL

Tata group hospitality firm Indian Hotels Company Ltd on Thursday said it is investigating claims of a data breach, but asserted there is no suggestion of any current or ongoing security issue. According to a media report, there has been a personal data breach of 15 lakh users from the Taj Hotel database, which is available on the dark web for purchase at USD 5,000. "We have been made aware of someone claiming possession of a limited customer data set which is of non-sensitive nature," Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) spokesperson said in a statement. Asserting that safety and security of customers' data is of paramount importance to the company, the spokesperson said, "We are investigating this claim and have notified the relevant authorities." The spokesperson further said, "We continue to monitor our systems and there is no suggestion of any current or ongoing security issue or impact on business operations." IHCL runs a number of hospitality properties under the Taj, SeleQtion

Customer data shared with account aggregators totally safe: FM Sitharaman

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday assured that customer data shared with account aggregators (AA) is completely safe in India. Concerned over the slow movement of the AA scheme, she said, "It is not as much as I would want to see. It can be better, which means either the building of awareness exercises are not sufficient, adequate" or there is a need for simplification of technology. "Banks, both public and private, have reviewed it with me once. Banks have become a member or a part of this account aggregators working, and it has actually helped," she said at the 'DATE with Tech' event here. She stressed that the enthusiasm of the banks has to be accentuated, only then that it will reach every customer. Allaying concerns about data security, she said, "Initially, there were some apprehensions that possibly, account aggregators are going to sit over data bank. They cannot hold data. They are just a pass-through. Neither the beneficiary customer nor the bank can sit on

WhatsApp Security Upgrade: Privacy checkup feature for safer chats

WhatsApp has upgraded security for safer chats with a new privacy checkup feature. The new security feature is available on both Android and iOS. Here's all you need to know about the latest update

MFIs need to focus on data privacy, cyber security: SBI MD Choudhary

State Bank of India (SBI) managing director Alok Kumar Choudhary on Wednesday said there is a need for micro finance institutions (MFIs) to pay attention to data privacy and cyber security as they deal with data of a large number of customers. Speaking at a conference organised by Sa-Dhan, he said, MFIs should also focus on capacity building to deal with the challenges of the future. "The second thing which is very important is the integration with the evolving regulation particularly when you have data privacy law. The enormous amount of data which has been handled by all the MFIs, this particular aspect (data privacy) requires attention and some kind of action plan needs to be in place," he said. Financial institutions need to focus on improving ease of transaction through digital means, he said, adding, the need of the customers in the changing time has to be addressed as per their convenience and ease. "For this segment of (bottom of the pyramid) customers, we need to understan

Passkey: What it is, how-to setup password-less authentication using phones

Instead of using an alphanumeric password or two-step verification via SMS, Passkeys allow users to authenticate signing in requests by using biometrics such as fingerprints and facial scans

Only 9 of 100 firms obtain clear consent before collecting user data: PwC

Only 17% of Indian organisations have listed the email IDs of customer care or other functions for queries with respect to data protection

DPDP Act: Social media, telcos, startups lobby for 18-24 months to comply

The stakeholders also said that implementation of eKYCs may create an immense cost burden for startups and smaller organisations, considering that the number of users is in millions

Fintech firms rush to make tweaks as new data protection law looms

Fintechs, banks and non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) will have to redraw their contracts with their business partners with whom customer data gets shared

TikTok is hit with $368 mn fine under Europe's data privacy rules

European regulators slapped TikTok with a USD 368 million fine on Friday for failing to protect children's privacy, the first time that the popular short video-sharing app has been punished for breaching Europe's strict data privacy rules. Ireland's Data Protection Commission, the lead privacy regulator for Big Tech companies whose European headquarters are largely in Dublin, said it was fining TikTok 345 million euros and reprimanding the platform for the violations dating to the second half of 2020. The investigation found that the sign-up process for teen users resulted in settings that made their accounts public by default, allowing anyone to view and comment on their videos. Those default settings also posed a risk to children under 13 who gained access to the platform even though they're not allowed. Also, a family pairing" feature designed for parents to manage settings wasn't strict enough, allowing adults to turn on direct messaging for users aged 16 and 17 without their ..

'Data Act will make digital companies handle info under legal obligation'

Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar on Thursday said the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (DPDP Act) passed by Parliament recently will make digital companies handle the data of Indian citizens under absolute legal obligation. Calling the law an important milestone in the cyber law framework, Chandrasekhar said there will be punitive consequences of high penalty and even blocking them from operating in India. "The Digital Personal Data Protection Act that was passed by Parliament a few days ago is a very important milestone in the global standard cyber law framework that Prime Minister Narendra Modi wanted to build for the India Techade' (a decade of technology) for a trillion dollar digital economy," the union minister told PTI. The DPDP Bill is aimed at giving Indian citizens a right to have his or her data protected and casts obligations on all companies, all platforms be it foreign or Indian, small or big, to ensure that th

Data Protection Bill: Experts warn of risks in verifying IDs for apps

If a child uses 40 apps on the phone and each of these apps has a copy of the child's Aadhar card along with their parents, then it would be a big issue, an industry expert said

Legal experts divided on citizen privacy, other provisions in Data Bill

As the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill stands passed by Parliament on Wednesday, legal experts are divided on aspects of privacy awarded to Indian citizens and its wider implications for the IT industry. Rajya Sabha Member and lawyer Sirgapoor Niranjan Reddy said the Bill is in an easy language and illustrations provided by the government are very useful. He, however, pointed out that exemptions for startups "may have to be conditioned", as that can be misused, especially in the case of data mining startups. The government on August 3 tabled the Digital Personal Data Protection Bill (DPDP) 2023 in the Lok Sabha with an aim to protect the privacy of Indian citizens. Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas and Co-Partner Hemant Krishna feels the implementation of the DPDP will give control to citizens and businesses over collecting and processing data. "With the strides made by AI, personal data can be processed with unprecedented velocity and sophistication. Ironically, despite the volum

Digital Personal Data Protection Bill, 2023 clears Lok Sabha test

The Bill prescribes penalties of up to Rs 250 crore for each instance of a data breach arising from a lack of reasonable safeguards on platforms

Privacy experts raise concerns over increased govt control in Data Bill

ITI Council, the global industry body with several big tech firms, has welcomed the bill

Apps, firms could lose 'continuous consent' in data protection bill

The move will discard the concept of 'continuous consent' where apps and services get permission to process data from the users when they initially sign up for the service

Twitter asks court to end US FTC order over its data privacy practices

Twitter in the filing said the FTC has "pummeled" the company with "burdensome letters and requests for depositions," issuing demands for information as frequently as one letter every other week

TikTok CEO asked to explain statements about how company manages US data

Two U.S. senators are asking TikTok to explain what they called misleading or inaccurate responses about how it stores and provides access to U.S. user data after recent news reports raised questions about how the Chinese-owned social media platform handles some sensitive information. In a letter sent Tuesday to TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew, U.S. Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Marsha Blackburn cited a report from Forbes that said TikTok had stored financial information of U.S. content creators who get paid by the company including their Social Security numbers and tax IDs - on China-based servers. The senators also cited another report from The New York Times, published in late May, that said TikTok employees regularly shared user information, such as driver's licenses information of some American users, on an internal messaging app called Lark that employees from TikTok's Beijing-based parent company, ByteDance, could easily access. Forbes first reported Wednesday on the letter. TikTok

ChatGPT records everything you type; here is a privacy-focused alternative

There is an alternative for users who have concerns about divulging their personal information to an AI chatbot: PrivateGPT