Encrypted Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Private: A Look at WhatsApp Privacy Concerns
Guest Post by Karen McInnes What’s up with WhatsApp? You may have noticed increased news coverage on WhatsApp, this post will break down some of the privacy concerns being discussed. This all started in 2014, when WhatsApp was bought by Facebook. Two years later, WhatsApp began sharing user data with Facebook, unless users specifically chose […]
The Surveillance Economy: How Amazon Uses Your Alexa Data to Drive Profits
The Surveillance Economy: How Amazon Uses Your Alexa Data to Drive Profits Guest Post by Jill Pineau Voice AI assistants collect massive amounts of highly personal user data. Of the corporations that sell these devices – including Google, Apple, Microsoft and Amazon – Amazon’s data harvesting is arguably the most concerning, as the company itself […]
Unkweusultineg Protecting Self & Community: Indigenous Activism & Safety in the Digital World
Unkweusultineg Protecting Self & Community: Indigenous Activism & Safety in the Digital World Guest Post by Taya Jardine Introduction We are in a new age of Indigenous uprisings across the colonized world. From international movements such as #LandBack to local movements in Indigenous Nations globally, we are at the forefront of revolution. Engaging with forms […]
Guest Post: The Revolution Will Not Be Streamed: Digital Activism in the Era of Mass Surveillance
The Revolution Will Not Be Streamed: Digital Activism in the Era of Mass Surveillance by Leila Matte-Kaci On December 4th, 2020, the State Council of France expanded three decrees to widen the scope of police surveillance. [1, 11, 28] French police will now be able to track citizens or groups whose activities indicate that they […]
Guest Post: Algorithms and the Death of Democratic Discourse
Algorithms & The Death of Democratic Discourse by Christian Koch Our entire digital history tracked— and is still being tracked. Platforms like Google, Facebook, and others collect data from links clicked, time spent on a particular page, whether or not the content is shared, and even the most seemingly inconsequential choices— all to build pictures […]
Guest Video: Privacy vs. Anonymity
Privacy vs. Anonymity by Misha Khawaja and Ali Albastaki Do you know the difference between online privacy and anonymity? This excellent video by Misha Khawaja and Ali Albastaki from the Institute of Communication, Culture, Information, and Technology, University of Toronto, Mississauga does a great job of explaining the difference! Which is more important to you […]
Guest Post: The Many Sides of Being Social
The Many Sides of Being Social by Alannah Berson In 2014, several drag queens found themselves locked out of their Facebook accounts because their names weren’t “authentic”. [1] The accounts had been flagged after Facebook instituted a “Real Name” policy that limits what types of usernames are allowed on the site and seeks to tie […]
How to Protect Your Digital Identity Based on Your Zodiac Sign
We all can do more to protect ourselves online, but sometimes it can be difficult to know where to start. To help you out, we’ve come up with simple steps each Zodiac sign can take to increase their online safety. Let us know if your sign’s advice speaks to you, and let us know how […]
Book Review: Data and Goliath
Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World Bruce Schneier (2015) Digital Tattoo Rating: 4/5 1 2 3 4 5 Leave it on the shelf Give it a skim An informative read Would give to a friend A must read!!! Summary Once, while talking with Digital Tattoo contributor Elyse, […]
Voice as Identity: Rising Use of Vocal Biometrics
In this blog post, we will look at: What are voice biometrics? Why would companies want to start using voice biometrics? Are there risks in using voice biometrics? We may be becoming more familiar, and even more comfortable, with using biometric identifiers for authentication or security keys. A common usage of a type of biometric […]
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