Apple has a problem, TikTok and LinkedIn are taking advantage of it
Apple has a problem, TikTok and LinkedIn are taking advantage of it
Every year Appel organizes a so-called Worldwide Developers Conference and this year was no different. Normally, Apple uses WWDC to show the latest innovations to an enthusiastic audience. This year was different. More than usual, attention was paid to security and privacy. And rightly so, because the company has gradually built up a bad reputation in these areas.
Just to name a few. In August 2019, press reports appeared that Google security researchers had found major vulnerabilities in the security of Apple products. For more than two years, hacked websites had been used to attack iPhones of any type. The ease with which these attacks could take place questioned the degree of security of the devices. According to the researchers, the leaks were countless and, according to the researchers, offered the attackers access to the heart of the iPhone. In essence, the attackers were able to take over the attacked iPhone with all possible consequences. This bad news came out the day Apple announced the release of the iPhone 11!
At the time, Apple did not want to comment on press coverage. However, that does not mean that the problems were gone. At the beginning of 2020, press reports appeared again that the security of the iPhone and the iMac would be in bad shape. In particular, this concerned the security of the clipboard. It would be very easy for apps on an iPhone to check and read what users were copying. Even then, Apple was not worried about the reports, even though researchers had clearly shown that apps like TikTok could read the contents of a clipboard. The researchers then urged Apple to take steps to improve the security of its devices, but to no avail.
Only in the middle of 2020, recently so, did Apple announce that improvement had been made in the new iOS 14 so that apps could no longer monitor the clipboard of an iPhone or iMac users. Users will be warned in the future if an app attempts to read along, thereby violating the privacy of the user of an Apple device.
Apple was late with its response, as it gradually became clear that countless apps had no qualms about violating third-party privacy. Perhaps TikTok was the deciding factor in this. After all, this is a Chinese app. The app's owner, Bytedance, initially marginalized the privacy violation and pledged to stop it in April of this year. However, that did not happen and again some unacceptable actions followed.
The iOS14, which will be introduced in the fall, does a good job. Not only TikTok was caught by Apple, but soon afterward it turned out that LinkedIn was also happy to participate in the clipboard of the iPhone. Like TikTok, LinkedIn downplayed the seriousness of the breach of user privacy. They said it was a result of a bug in the software. Like TikTok, LinkedIn also promises to improve!
For what such a promise is worth. Apparently, it is very interesting for many parties to read along on the clipboard of a user of a smartphone. The researchers have now compiled a list of more than 50 names of apps that do not mind the privacy legislation in order to collect as much data as possible. Everything can be found on a clipboard, financial information, passwords, working documents, confidential e-mails, and so on! Everything can be found, read, and collected!
Apple has clearly failed to protect the privacy of the users of its devices. The security has not been good for years. Moreover, it reacted too late to rumors and stories that appeared in the press. We can only guess why, but underestimating the problem is still the most optimistic explanation. If Apple's iOS was/is full of leaks, can we assume that the Android system is not affected? App builders are apparently very keen to get the data from smartphone users!
Facebook users' data has been passed on to third parties for years
Facebook has disclosed personal data of its users, without the consent of those involved, for use by third parties. On the basis of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), this falls into the category of "unlawful use". This could include information about people with whom someone is friends online, as well as matters such as gender and place of residence. But it is also about information about online activities of Facebook users outside of the Facebook app, and that kind of practice in particular, is highly illegal. It concerns the period between 2010 and 2020 in which this improper course of events took place.
The Consumers' Association and Data Privacy Foundation (DPS) have joined forces and are preparing a large-scale claim on behalf of duped Facebook users. The number of participants who have registered for this will rise rapidly to 90,000 within a few days. Since there are about 10 million Facebook users in the Netherlands, this number is likely to increase further in the coming days. The ultimate goal of the mass claim is compensation for the unlawful collection and distribution of personal data. This compensation will benefit individual participants.
This claim for breach of privacy is promising, according to data security experts and lawyers. Jurisprudence shows that in comparable situations at other companies, compensations were being issued. Moreover, Facebook's privacy policy has been pretty shady all along, according to additional research by DPS. However, Facebook will do everything in its power to train the judicial process and possibly bring it up to the European Court, given the effect this case could have on the situation in other countries.
The company was under fire for remaining silent for the time being and indicates that users themselves have been able to take the relevant measures via their privacy settings. People who had a Facebook account between 2010 and 2020 can register as a participant via https://www.consumentenbond.nl/acties/facebook/aanmelden