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UK warns TikTok of £27 million fine over child privacy violations
A UK regulator has warned TikTok that it might pay a £27 million fine for potentially violating kids' privacy.
Clearview AI fined £7.5 million and told to delete all UK facial recognition data
Clearview AI has been fined £7.55 million by the UK's privacy watchdog for illegally scraping the facial images of UK residents.
UK watchdog to grill Meta over child safety in VR
A UK data watchdog plans talks with Meta over concerns its VR platform doesn't do enough to protect kids.
Clearview AI fined £17 million for breaching UK data protection laws
The UK's Information Commissioner's Office has provisionally fined Clearview AI £17 million ($22.6 million) for breaching UK data protection laws.
John McAfee arrested for tax evasion, charged by SEC for touting ICOs
John McAfee has been arrested in Spain, and faces charges for tax evasion, failure to file taxes and promoting cryptocurrency without admitting he had a financial interest in it.
US court agrees with SEC that Kik's $100 million coin offering violated the law
A US district judge for the Southern District of New York has agreed with the Securities and Exchange Commission’s assessment that Kik’s $100 million initial coin offering (ICO) in 2017 was a securities sale. Judge Alvin Hellerstein has granted SEC’s motion for summary judgment, ruling that Kik violated the Securities Act when it sold its tokens called “Kin” without the blessing of the SEC.
Steven Seagal settles with SEC over undisclosed bitcoin promotions
It seems that martial artist and actor Steven Seagal isn't above the law. In 2017, he touted the initial coin offering (ICO) for Bitcoiin2Gen (B2G), a digital currency that sounded shady right from the start. Seagal didn't disclose the fact that he was paid by B2G to encourage his fans to buy into the bitcoin, which is required by law when a currency qualifies as a security. (B2G didn't even bother to register as a security, which resulted in the state of New Jersey issuing it a cease-and-desist order.) The actor has agreed to pay $157,000 in disgorgement plus a $157,000 penalty.
The UK will fine technology companies who fail to protect children
Technology companies that have produced used by children will need to radically redesign their systems after the UK laid down new privacy standards. The Information Commissioner's Office's new code of conduct covers everyone from social media platforms to the makers of internet-connected toys. And failure to comply with the new rules, expected to come into force by 2021, will see hefty fines being meted out.
Facebook agrees to pay the UK £500K for the Cambridge Analytica scandal
Facebook may be looking ahead to the 2020 election, but it's still sweeping up debris from 2016. Today, Facebook agreed to pay the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) £500,000 (about $644,000) for its role in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. As part of the deal, Facebook will not admit to any wrongdoing.
SEC fines Block.one $24 million for unregistered ICO worth billions
Blockchain technology company Block.one has been fined $24 million by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for running an unregistered ICO (initial coin offering). According to the SEC, the company conducted the ICO between June 2017 and June 2018, raising several billion dollars' worth of digital assets, but did not register it as a securities offerings as stipulated by federal securities law. The SEC says this meant investors were not given the information they needed to make informed decisions.
US, UK regulators ask Facebook how Libra will protect personal data (updated)
Facebook knew its Libra cryptocurrency would face a regulatory gauntlet, but it might not have expected a united front. Regulators from the US, UK, EU and four other governments have asked Facebook to answer several questions about how it will protect user data. The social network has "not met [regulators'] expectations" of privacy in the past, officials said in a joint statement, and there should be assurances that Libra will do better.
Marriott faces $123 million UK fine over data breach
Marriott might soon face a stiff penalty for the massive November 2018 data breach. The UK's Information Commissioner's Office plans to fine the hotel chain £99,200,396 (about $123.7 million) for allegedly violating the EU's General Data Protection Regulation through the incident. Marriott didn't conduct "sufficient due diligence" when it bought Starwood, according to the regulator, and "should also have done more" to improve security.
UK regulator to hit British Airways with record fine over 2018 hack
The UK's data privacy authority has announced it intends to levy its largest ever fine against airline British Airways (BA). The airline will have to pay £183.39 million ($230 million) to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) for failing to protect its customers' data.
SEC sues Kik for running an unregistered Initial Coin Offering
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is suing messaging service Kik Interactive, stating that its 2017 digital token sale, which raised $100 million, was essentially an illegal, unregistered securities offering. According to Bloomberg, this is one the highest profile cases yet where the SEC has targeted a company for not registering an offering with the regulator.
UK wants Facebook to remove its Like button for younger users
The UK wants social media to turn off so-called "nudge" techniques, including Facebook's "Like" button and Snapchat streaks, for under-18s. The recommendations form part of a new 16-rule code of of practice for age-appropriate design drafted by the UK's data watchdog, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). Other suggestions include turning location-tracking off by default for younger users, "robust" age-verification systems, limiting how children's data is collected, used, and shared, and informing children if parents are monitoring their online activity.
Cambridge Analytica parent company fined for violating UK data law
SCL Elections, the parent company of Cambridge Analytica, pleaded guilty in UK court to violating the Data Protection Act after it failed to comply with a request for information submitted by a citizen and backed by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO). The company was fined a paltry £15,000 for the violation, according to a report from The Guardian.
Facebook fined £500k in the UK for Cambridge Analytica scandal
The UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has upheld its £500,000 ($645,000) fine for Facebook for the social network's involvement in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. ICO's investigations found that between 2007 and 2014, Facebook processed the personal information of users unfairly by allowing application developers access to their data "without sufficiently clear and informed consent". It also found that Facebook failed to make suitable checks on the apps and developers using its platform.
Google relaxes its ban on cryptocurrency ads
Google is tweaking the ban on cryptocurrency ads it put into place earlier this year and will soon allow regulated exchanges to advertise on its platform in the US and Japan. The company said that advertisers will have to apply for certification in order to place ads and they'll have to do so for the specific country in which their ads will be circulated.
Equifax faces £500,000 fine in the UK over massive data breach
UK officials have slapped Equifax with a £500,000 (US$660,000) fine for failing to protect up to 15 million citizens' personal data. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has announced its verdict after almost a year-long investigation with the Financial Conduct Authority. Together, they looked into the massive Equifax breach that affected 146 million people around the world. Cybercriminals infiltrated the consumer credit reporting agency's systems by using an exploit on its website to gain access to people's names, addresses, birthdates, SSNs, as well as tax and driver's license information.
Facebook lifts its ban on some cryptocurrency ads
At the end of January, Facebook banned any advertisements promoting cryptocurrencies because they are "frequently associated with misleading or deceptive promotional practices," the company wrote in a blog post. Now the platform has softened its position and will permit ads involving cryptocurrencies, but only from advertisers who have been approved by Facebook after a vetting process. Even then, ads about binary options an initial coin offerings are still prohibited, at least for now.
