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“I don’t believe in public justice, but I do believe in public shaming and public accountability.”
— Dominick Skinner, a Netherlands-based immigration activist
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Welcome back to Snippets 👋 Here's what's been happening at the intersection of privacy, AI, and tech:
- The FTC warned big tech companies against complying with the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA)
- President Trump dismissed Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook on allegations of mortgage fraud, raising concerns over how easily that type of data can be accessed
- Disney agreed to settle an FTC child privacy case for $10 million
- And so much more!
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The FTC warns big tech against complying with international privacy laws
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Richard Drury; Getty Images
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In a series of scathing letters to major U.S. tech companies, Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Andrew Ferguson warned against implementing the European Digital Services Act if doing so undermines Americans’ freedom of expression, privacy, or security.
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- Though the DSA was designed to make online spaces safer by regulating illegal content, Ferguson, appointed by President Trump in late 2024, criticized it and other international privacy laws as forms of “online censorship,” citing the First Amendment.
- As part of a broader Trump Administration effort to reverse what it views as censorship, Ferguson also targeted the EU’s GDPR and the UK’s Online Safety Act, highlighting their potential to weaken end-to-end encryption.
- The FTC has ordered companies to report how they plan to comply with these “incorrect international regulatory requirements,” warning that failing to deliver on encryption promises could be considered deceptive or unfair under Section 5 of the FTC Act.
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Preference management drives growth. See exactly how much revenue you could unlock 🔓
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In a world racing toward AI-powered personalization and hyper-connected customer experiences, the brands winning market share are the ones treating consent and preference management (CPM) as a growth engine, not a legal formality.
That’s why we’re excited to introduce the Transcend Preference Management ROI Calculator—an interactive tool that helps marketing, security, and privacy leaders measure the potential revenue lift, efficiency gains, and compliance savings of upgrading to a best-in-class CPM platform.
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Mortgage records weaponized in politics
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Mark Schiefelbein for The New York Times
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President Trump’s public accusations of mortgage fraud against political opponents are highlighting how much mortgage information is publicly accessible, raising privacy concerns for ordinary citizens.
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- Trump accused Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook of mortgage fraud, prompting her to sue him for an “unprecedented and illegal” firing.
- Much mortgage data—including borrower names, property addresses, loan amounts, refinancings, and property use—is part of the public record, often accessible through county offices or commercial databases.
- While sensitive financial details (pay stubs, bank statements, tax forms, etc.) are protected by federal law, basic mortgage and property records can still reveal whether a property is a primary residence, potentially exposing homeowners to scrutiny.
- Citizens seeking privacy can sometimes use LLCs, trusts, or privacy services to reduce public exposure, though rules vary by location and legal guidance is recommended.
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Disney to pay $10 million to settle FTC child privacy case
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Illustration: Brendan Lynch/Axios
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Disney has agreed to pay $10 million to settle an FTC lawsuit after it failed to properly label certain YouTube videos as directed at children, resulting in unauthorized data collection and targeted advertising in violation of COPPA.
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- The FTC complaint focused on videos uploaded mostly during the pandemic, including storytime videos with celebrities, which were not designated as children’s content—allowing targeted ads and collection of viewers’ data without parental consent.
- This is the first known case in which a content provider on YouTube has settled with the FTC over children’s privacy violations, signaling potential scrutiny for other publishers.
- Under the settlement, Disney must establish an “Audience Designation” program to formalize the review of videos before upload and ensure proper categorization.
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- EU regulators launch inquiry into Commission’s inaction over DPS successor.
- Google refuses to implement Canada’s right to be forgotten recommendation.
- US and Indian VCs form a $1B+ deep tech coalition.
- How Pixel’s Private Space increases privacy from intrusive apps.
- Understanding WhatsApp’s “Advanced Chat Privacy.”
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AI used to identify masked ICE agents
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Illustration by Jade Cuevas/POLITICO (source images via AP)
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A Netherlands-based immigration activist, Dominick Skinner, claims he has used AI to identify at least 20 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, all of whom were wearing masks while carrying out arrests.
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- Skinner’s AI tool reconstructs masked faces from ICE arrest footage and cross-references them with reverse image searches, contributing to the “ICE List” that has named over 100 agents.
- The technology can reportedly identify masked agents by generating a best guess if at least 35% of the face is visible.
- ICE and Homeland Security argue masking protects officers’ safety, while Republican lawmakers have introduced bills to criminalize doxing federal agents. Meanwhile, Democrats are exploring regulations requiring officers to identify themselves.
- The ICE List is currently legal under U.S. law, highlighting years of congressional inaction on surveillance since no proposals to restrict the public use of facial recognition have gained traction.
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Podcast: When your thoughts aren’t yours anymore
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With technology now able to decode, and potentially manipulate, human thoughts, neuroscientist Rafael Yutse and human rights lawyer Jared Genser talk on the How To Fix The Internet podcast about the risks, benefits, and necessary safeguards to protect our most personal data.
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- Neurotechnology has advanced from implanting hallucinations in mice to decoding human speech and emotions, raising urgent concerns about mental privacy, personal agency, and identity.
- Consumer headsets and wearables harvest vast amounts of brain information with minimal protection. For example, meditation device Muse has recorded more than 100 million hours of neural data, while Apple has filed a patent for AirPods with EEG sensors that could potentially convert thoughts into text.
- Though regulatory protections are minimal, some governments are starting to respond: Chile’s constitution now protects mental privacy, and U.S. states including Colorado, California, and Montana have enacted laws safeguarding neural data.
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Power responsible AI at scale with ‘Do Not Train’ and ‘Deep Deletion’
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Transcend is excited to share that we’re expanding two of our most critical AI Governance capabilities—Do Not Train and Deep Deletion—to serve even more of the world’s leading B2B AI companies.
These capabilities aren’t new to us. In fact, some of the most innovative AI companies already depend on Transcend to ensure their enterprise customers can control how their data is used, and to permanently remove data from systems when contractual or regulatory obligations require it.
What’s new is our scale—bringing these proven capabilities to more AI vendors and deployers who are ready to meet the highest standards of trust and compliance.
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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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