FTC Independence Ends, EU Chat Control Vote, Phone Tracking Exposed

EU Parliament to Vote Again on Message-Scanning Extension Amid Privacy Concerns

The European Parliament will vote again on legislation allowing technology companies to scan online communications for child sexual abuse material, this time under different voting rules that make approval easier. A legal framework that expired on 3 April had permitted platforms such as WhatsApp and Messenger to take voluntary measures derogating from e-privacy rules. The European Commission proposed a temporary extension, which Parliament rejected in March by 311 votes against, 228 in favour, and 92 abstentions. Critics have dubbed the legislation ‘chat control’ over its privacy implications for end-to-end encrypted communications. Greens/EFA MEP Ignazio Marino called it mass surveillance. The European People’s Party revived the extension through a rarely used legislative procedure; the version adopted by EU countries contains no substantive changes and would allow detection, reporting, and removal of child sexual abuse material until 2028. The vote on the extension will be held on Thursday, provided Parliament approves the urgent procedure on Tuesday.

EU to extend temporary message-scanning regime to detect child sexual abuse online | Euronews →

TikTok Tracks Users Via Pixel Even Without an Account, BBC Investigation Finds

TikTok collects data from websites that use its tracking pixel, even from people who have never used the app, the BBC observed. Websites were seen sending TikTok data about cancer diagnoses, fertility, and mental health crises. The tracking pixel was updated after TikTok’s US operations changed hands on 22 January 2026. Cybersecurity company Disconnect described the updated pixel as ‘extremely invasive’ and found it automatically intercepts data websites send to Google. DuckDuckGo reports TikTok trackers on 5% of the world’s top websites, compared with Google on about 72% and Meta on about 21%. TikTok says advertising pixels are industry standard and that websites are prohibited from sharing sensitive information. The BBC recommends using more private web browsers such as DuckDuckGo or Brave to block tracking, but notes that companies also share data directly from their servers, making regulation the real solution.

TikTok is tracking you, even if you don’t use the app. Here’s how to stop it →

Supreme Court Ends FTC Independence, Opening US Data Privacy Enforcement Gap

On June 29, the Supreme Court issued a 6-3 conservative majority decision in Trump v. Slaughter that struck down the 1935 precedent insulating Federal Trade Commission commissioners from political firing. The FTC now answers directly to the president. The United States has no comprehensive federal data privacy law and no independent data protection authority; the FTC used its authority over ‘unfair and deceptive’ trade practices as a de facto privacy regulator. The ruling’s roots date to 2025, when President Trump fired Democratic commissioners without cause. Chief Justice Roberts concluded that the modern FTC exercises core executive power and must answer to the president. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) said every person in the US is now more vulnerable to political whims. The EU-US Data Privacy Framework (DPF), which cited the FTC’s independence 259 times in its adequacy decision, is now threatened; privacy organization noyb announced plans to file a new CJEU legal challenge. State attorneys general are expected to fill enforcement gaps, and Congress could respond with federal privacy legislation, but the SECURE Data Act faces low odds of passage.

Supreme Court Ends FTC Independence, Opening US Data Privacy Enforcement Gap →

Transsion Phones Ship Unremovable SDK Exfiltrating Location and App Data to China

Transsion, the world’s fourth-largest smartphone manufacturer, ships a first-party Android telemetry framework called Athena and oneID on all devices under brands TECNO, Infinix, and itel. The framework collects GPS coordinates, cell tower lists, foreground app usage, network data per app, and more, bound to roughly 14 persistent identifiers that cannot be reset. Decryption keys are embedded in the client; a researcher extracted them from a TECNO Spark 40 firmware. Data is sent to shalltry.com hosts resolving to Alibaba Cloud. Over 60 distinct apps were reported on a single device, with TikTok using 625 MB of data. The SDK is also embedded in third-party apps like Boomplay and AHA Games. Because the SDK is unremovable on Transsion hardware, the only effective mitigation is a DNS-level wildcard block of shalltry.com and transsion-os.com.

1-in-2 phones sold in Africa exfiltrate telemetry to China - NowSecure →

AssuranceAmerica Breach Exposes Nearly 7 Million Driver’s Licenses

An incident at AssuranceAmerica exposed nearly 7 million individuals’ insurance information, including driver’s license numbers. The company offers auto and renters policies in 12 US states. AssuranceAmerica disclosed the breach, which occurred in March, after identifying suspicious activity on its systems on March 17. An unauthorized third party obtained data files containing names, contact information, auto insurance policy or account information, driver or vehicle information, claims-related information, and driver’s license numbers. AssuranceAmerica is expected to send notices to affected consumers starting on July 10. The company does not appear to be offering credit monitoring or identity theft protection services.

This Massive Data Breach Compromised Nearly 7 Million Driver’s Licenses →

Sextortion Scammer Tracked to Nigerian Village After Targeting Teen Profile

Erin West and a narrator set up a teen Instagram profile and were immediately targeted by sextortion scammers. The scammers used fake accounts of attractive young women to convince teen boys to send nudes, then demanded money. The scammer demanded $200. The pair traced the scammer to a remote village in Nigeria over 6,000 miles away. They showed up at his house with cameras and a Nigerian special forces unit. The FBI states sextortion is the fastest-growing crime targeting teenagers.

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