Online privacy

Children and preteens are more connected to the Internet than ever, which means retailers are looking for new ways to market — and sell — directly to young shoppers on their phones, tablets and laptops. Gone are the days of blanket television ads, marketing experts say. Instead, companies are flocking to Snapchat, YouTube Kids and other mobile apps to reach children with personalized messages. Nearly half of 10- to 12-year-olds have their own smartphones, according to Nielsen. By the time they’re teenagers, 95 percent of Americans have access to a smartphone.

Companies like AT&T, Comcast, and Verizon are going around to state legislatures and telling them that any laws they pass that protect consumers will harm their ability to deploy networks in rural America. They claim that any legislator eager to protect their constituents from the nefarious things that can be done by companies that control access to the Internet is somehow hurting residents most desperate for an Internet connection.

President Donald Trump has two nominees to join the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board for the remainder of six-year terms expiring January 29, 2020:

After House Commerce Committee GOP leadership asked Apple about its data collection practices, the company has now replied. Apple said that its Siri voice assistant does not collect data unless it hears the trigger phrase, “Hey Siri.” The company also said it does not share any “Siri utterances” to third parties. Apple also laid out many of the policies it has shared publicly about its data collection and data use practices, which reflect what consumers see in the privacy policies they’re asked to review when they buy an Apple device.

After Congress repealed Federal Communications Commission rules that required internet service providers to get permission from customers before collecting their data and selling it to advertisers. ISPs Comcast and Verizon assured everyone that they had no intention of selling their customers’ internet histories. In the wake of that repeal, about half of the country’s states chose not to take the ISPs at their word, and began crafting their own legislation to restore the FCC’s rules within their borders.

Facebook has asked large US banks to share detailed financial information about their customers, including card transactions and checking account balances, as part of an effort to offer new services to users. The company asked JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo & Co., Citigroup,  and US Bancorp to discuss potential offerings it could host for bank customers on Facebook Messenger. Facebook has talked about a feature that would show its users their checking-account balances. It has also pitched fraud alerts. Data privacy is a sticking point in the banks’ conversations with Facebook.

Tech companies are assessing their roles in protecting their users as officials in Washington debate whether the government should take a firmer hand in safeguarding Americans’ privacy.

A tech industry source close to Trump administration’s push to come up with some sort of national privacy policy fills us in on the scheduling nitty-gritty. The White House is expected to issue a set of draft rules in late summer or early fall at the latest. The draft will be opened up for comment, possibly via a formal Commerce Department request for information. From there, legislation is a possibility, though not the only one on the table. If it seems like the privacy push is moving at an expedited pace, there’s a reason for that. In a word, Privacy Shield.

An ambitious smart-city project spearheaded by Alphabet subsidiary Sidewalk Labs has run into local resistance, causing delays. Waterfront Toronto, a development agency founded by the Canadian government, partnered with the Google sister company in October 2017 to create a futuristic neighborhood on the Toronto waterfront. Sidewalk Labs plans to fill the 12-acre plot with driverless shuttle buses, garbage-toting robots, and other gadgets to show how emerging technologies can improve city life.

The Trump administration is exploring some sort of national privacy proposal amid efforts by the European Union and California to impose their own data requirements on the tech industry. “Companies are finding themselves squeezed on both sides," said Daniel Castro, vice president of Washington-based think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF). Internet giants balked at California's new rules and think Europe's GDPR is a mess, but they also know the industry is developing a reputation for being obstructionist.