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This is certainly not a platform which values free speech...
ā Cooper Quintin, Senior Staff Technologist, Electronic Frontier Foundation
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š Happy Thursday and welcome back to Snippets!
In this issue, Trump and TikTok take center stageāas the former is sworn in for his second Presidential term and the latter works overtime to avoid the impending U.S. ban. Plus...
- TikTok alternative RedNote draws hundreds of thousands of new users, despite privacy experts' warnings
- The FTC offers guidance following a settlement with GM
- Underfunded EU privacy professionals are feeling the strain
- And so much more!
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U.S. privacy under a second Trump presidency
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Scott Olson / Getty Images
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As Donald Trump begins his second term as President, experts are exploring his administrationās possible effects on privacy in America. Much is still uncertain, but his first term and campaign suggest a continued focus on national security, with little emphasis on consumer protection.
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- In his first term, Trump pushed to ban TikTok over security risks rather than privacy violationsāa stance he has since reversed with a Day 1 executive order that delays the appās ban for 75 days.
- Project 2025, a conservative policy agenda, takes a strong stance against mass collection of American consumersā data, but is tainted by a strong anti-Chinese bias that overlooks similar practices by American corporations.
- Issues such as abortion surveillance and the monitoring of reproductive data, another key piece of Project 2025, have raised alarms about government overreachāas new proposals call for an increase in tracking and collection of reproductive data.
- Despite his controversial stance on data privacy, Elon Musk, Trumpās co-lead of the new Department of Government Efficiency, could play a pivotal role in shaping the administration's policies.
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How Transcend makes privacy transformations seamless š”
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As privacy challenges evolve and businesses need better technology solutions, many are rightly rethinking their strategies, as well as the platforms they use.
But this shift introduces a key question: How do we move forward without disrupting everything weāve built? Transcend CEO Ben Brook answers this question, and more, below.
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Experts flag privacy issues with RedNote
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Cath Virginia / The Verge
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In anticipation of a TikTok ban, over 700,000 Americans downloaded the Chinese social app RedNote. But experts warn the platform poses the same risks as TikTokāwith many predicting a similar sanction, barring a divestiture by its Chinese parent company.
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- Like TikTok, RedNote is heavily influenced by the Chinese government and has already begun censoring U.S. users' posts deemed inappropriate, including those related to LGBTQ issues.
- Privacy experts warn against using RedNote, citing its lack of scrutiny, ties to Chinese government surveillance, and data sharing agreements with Facebook and Google.
- Cooper Quintin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation summed up the concerns, saying: āThis is not a platform which values free speech or will protect you from US-based surveillance capitalism.ā
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The FTC issues guidance to carmakers following GM settlement
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Adobe Stock
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Following their settlement with General Motors (GM) and OnStar, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued guidance about businessesā obligations to protect consumer data, particularly regarding consent for selling personal information.
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- Under a proposed order, the FTC has banned GM and OnStar from sharing geolocation and driver behavior data with consumer reporting agencies for five years, after they were found guilty of selling data without consent.
- According to the FTC, GM lured consumers into their āSmart Driverā program by claiming it used driver behavior data to improve safety.
- They then sold the data without consentāenabling insurance providers to deny coverage and charge hefty premiums.
- To protect consumer data, the agency is directing businesses to obtain consent for each intended data use, provide clear and detailed data collection notices, and only collect and store data that's absolutely necessary.
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- EUās data protection supervisor loses Parliament support.
- TikTok among five companies named in EU privacy complaint.
- 30 million usersā locations were compromised in data broker hack.
- User claims Gemini AI continued notetaking after being disabled.
- Video game maker fined $20 million for violating privacy.
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Underfunded EU privacy professionals approaching burn out
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Getty Images
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A survey by ISACA, a global association of IT professionals, has revealed that privacy workers in the European Union are suffering from severe underfunding, a shortage of skilled staff, and mounting work-related stress.
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- Over half of respondents expected budgets to shrink in 2025, only a third believed their organizations had the ability to protect sensitive data, and only a quarter implemented Privacy by Design.
- Among organizations that practice Privacy by Design, 43% indicated sufficient staffing and 60% felt confident in their teamsā technical expertise.
- In a complex regulatory landscape that includes the GDPR, Digital Services Act, and EU AI Act, experts warn against compromising on privacy to cut costsāpredicting that current gaps will contribute to non-compliance.
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How users can fight Metaās data monetization
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Following Meta's controversial policy changes, many users are looking for ways to limit the company's invasive data practices, but it's not as simple as just deleting an account.
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- After Meta loosened its hate speech policies, specifically those addressing LGBTQ+ people and immigrants, Google searches for deleting Facebook and Instagram surged.
- Meta's primary business is surveillance advertising, relying on extensive data collection across the internet to sell highly-targeted ads, with its revenue heavily dependent on tracking user activity.
- Meta's tracking tools are embedded across millions of websites and apps, collecting sensitive data about users' online and offline activitiesāeven if they delete Facebook and Instagram accounts.
- Users can limit data collection by adjusting privacy settings in Meta's Accounts Center, using browser extensions like Privacy Badger, and disabling location and ad tracking on mobile devices.
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Transcend launches the search for our CISO in Residence!
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Privacy and security are two distinct disciplines that are increasingly converging to address shared challenges. In fact, IDC reports that 68% of organizationsā privacy policies and initiatives are driven by the CISO.
At Transcend, we see this convergence as an opportunity to offer more to our community. Thatās why weāre introducing the privacy industryās first-ever āCISO in Residenceā programāa new initiative designed to embed security expertise into the heart of privacy leadership.
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Snippets is delivered to your inbox every Thursday morning by Transcend. We're the platform that helps companies put privacy on autopilot by making it easy to encode privacy across an entire tech stack. Learn more.
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