Brazil Hits TikTok With $29.8M Fine Over Minor Tracking

Brazil Fines TikTok $29.8M for Guest Browsing That Tracked 8 Million Minors

Brazil’s national data protection authority, the ANPD, fined ByteDance BRL 153.7 million (approximately $29.8 million USD) for illegally collecting and processing the personal data of at least 8 million children and adolescents through TikTok. The fine closes a five-year investigation and is Latin America’s largest children’s data enforcement action to date. It was announced five days after the U.S. DOJ’s $400 million COPPA settlement with TikTok and ByteDance.

The ANPD confirmed that TikTok ran a guest-browsing unregistered feed in Brazil that allowed any user to scroll content, see targeted advertising, and generate a behavioral profile without creating an account or passing age verification. The same feature is not available in the United States or Europe, which the regulator characterized as an aggravating factor. The enforcement order requires ByteDance to delete all personal data of minors collected without a valid legal basis within 60 business days, with daily penalties of approximately $26,600 for non-compliance. For registered accounts, the company must apply the most restrictive privacy settings for users under 16, and for the unregistered feed, it must suspend targeted advertising across Brazil and impose a daily screen time cap of 12 hours. ByteDance has 10 business days to appeal.

Brazil Fines TikTok $29.8M for Guest Browsing That Tracked 8 Million Minors →

Ring’s New Encryption System Limits Police Access to Video Footage

Ring announced a new encryption system called Throw Away the Key Encryption (TAKE), designed to reduce how long the company itself can access video recordings, which could also limit what Ring can share with law enforcement. The rollout begins in September and will eventually become the default for all Ring customers worldwide. TAKE adds a layer of protection using unique encryption keys that regularly rotate, with a copy temporarily held inside a secure enclave within the cloud that Ring says it can only access under limited conditions. Ring permanently deletes its copy of the keys after 24 hours; after that, the keys are stored on a customer’s authorized devices.

For customers who enable TAKE or end-to-end encryption, Ring says it can only provide non-video information such as basic subscriber information in response to valid law enforcement requests like warrants, subpoenas, and court orders. The company would also provide encrypted video files in response to valid legal process. The announcement comes amid growing scrutiny of surveillance technology like video doorbells and automated license plate readers. Earlier this year, Ring canceled a planned Flock integration into its Community Requests program following backlash to a Super Bowl ad promoting its AI-powered Search Party feature. Ring still works with the taser and body camera maker Axon in its Community Requests program.

Ring Says Its New Encryption System Could Make It Harder for Police to Access Videos →

Hawley Investigates Flock’s Camera Network as Texas Cities Cut Ties

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., is investigating Flock Safety over whether its network of AI-powered cameras has created a searchable national database of Americans’ movements. Hawley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Counterterrorism, launched the investigation in a letter to Flock CEO Garrett Langley, noting that Flock boasts more than 120,000 cameras across 49 states and more than 20 billion vehicle scans per month. He wrote that the camera networks use artificial intelligence to pool captured data into a national database that customers can search, rather than serving discrete local investigations.

The investigation follows decisions by two Texas cities to end their agreements with Flock. The Pflugerville City Council voted unanimously to end its agreement, with city staff turning off all 28 cameras covered by the contract. Police Chief Willie Richards said the city lost confidence in the current system and the vendor’s ability to meet data and privacy standards. In Hood County, the Commissioners Court voted to end its relationship with Flock, with Constable John Shirley posting photos of cameras unplugged and covered. Tempe, Arizona, has also turned off its Flock system and will end its contract. Robert Frommer of the Institute for Justice said the core concern is police searching a person’s past movements without a judge’s approval, and called a warrant the No. 1 reform needed. Flock spokesperson Paris Lewbel said the company received Hawley’s letter and would respond directly to the subcommittee’s questions.

Hawley rips Flock’s sprawling surveillance web as Texas cities cut cameras over privacy and data fears →

Proton VPN’s Stealth Protocol Reaches Stable Linux Release

Proton VPN has moved its anti-censorship Stealth protocol into the stable Linux release, following a beta testing phase. The update was announced by the Proton Team on Reddit, meaning Linux users no longer need to opt into experimental testing channels to use the feature. Stealth works by obfuscating VPN traffic, wrapping it in an extra layer of TLS encryption to make it appear like standard HTTPS web browsing, designed to prevent network administrators, ISPs, and government censors from detecting and blocking VPN usage via deep packet inspection.

The protocol was originally launched to help users in highly restrictive regions such as Russia and Iran. Early community feedback has been largely positive, though some users on specific distros, such as Debian Sid, temporarily reverted to WireGuard to maintain a stable connection. The protocol still carries a beta label inside the application, with the Proton Team stating: “The beta label stays until we’re confident it holds up across every distro, network condition, and edge case you throw at it, so keep the reports coming.” Users must update the Proton VPN Linux app to the latest version and switch protocols in the application settings. The update is rolling out across mirrors, and some Reddit users reported a slight delay in receiving the newest patch, version 4.17.2.

Proton VPN’s anti-censorship Stealth protocol finally lands on the stable Linux release →

EFF Comments on Meta’s Removal of Reproductive Health Content

EFF submitted a public comment to the Meta Oversight Board regarding content removals and account restrictions on Meta’s platforms related to reproductive and maternal health information. According to EFF, on Meta’s platforms, discussing prescription medication, abortion care, or one’s own medical experiences can be enough to trigger content removals and account restrictions. EFF stated that access to accurate information about reproductive and maternal health can be critical.

EFF Statement on Meta Settlement →