TechCrunch: How the rewards app Freecash scammed its way to the top of the app stores. “The app has been marketed as a way to make money just by scrolling TikTok — and jumped to the top of the app stores in recent months, peaking at the No. 2 position in the U.S. App Store. In truth, Freecash pays users to play mobile games — all the while collecting a heaping amount of sensitive data, […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/20/techcrunch-how-the-rewards-app-freecash-scammed-its-way-to-the-top-of-the-app-stores/
TechCrunch: How the rewards app Freecash scammed its way to the top of the app stores

TechCrunch: How the rewards app Freecash scammed its way to the top of the app stores. “The app has been marketed as a way to make money just by scrolling TikTok — and jumped to the top of th…

ResearchBuzz: Firehose

Lifehacker: These 108 Malicious Chrome Extensions Are Stealing Google and Telegram Data. “As reported by The Hacker News, cybersecurity researchers with Socket’s Threat Research Team have identified 108 extensions available in Google Chrome that steal login credentials, user IDs, and browsing data. All 108 extensions route that information back to servers controlled by a single operator, […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/20/lifehacker-these-108-malicious-chrome-extensions-are-stealing-google-and-telegram-data/

Fast Company: Shuttered startups are selling old Slack chats and emails to AI companies. “According to a report by Forbes, defunct companies are selling their digital footprints to AI companies as training data—and making real money from it. Shanna Johnson, the CEO of now-defunct software company Cielo24, told the publication that she was able to sell every Slack message, internal email, and […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/18/fast-company-shuttered-startups-are-selling-old-slack-chats-and-emails-to-ai-companies/
Fast Company: Shuttered startups are selling old Slack chats and emails to AI companies

Fast Company: Shuttered startups are selling old Slack chats and emails to AI companies. “According to a report by Forbes, defunct companies are selling their digital footprints to AI compani…

ResearchBuzz: Firehose

Ars Technica: Californians sue over AI tool that records doctor visits . “Several Californians sued Sutter Health and MemorialCare this week over allegations that an AI transcription tool was used to record them without their consent, in violation of state and federal law.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/17/ars-technica-californians-sue-over-ai-tool-that-records-doctor-visits/
Ars Technica: Californians sue over AI tool that records doctor visits

Ars Technica: Californians sue over AI tool that records doctor visits . “Several Californians sued Sutter Health and MemorialCare this week over allegations that an AI transcription tool was…

ResearchBuzz: Firehose

After Numerous Screw Ups, EU Develops Own Age Verification App

The roll out of age verification has been a complete disaster. So, Europe has decided to roll out their own broken app.

https://www.freezenet.ca/after-numerous-screw-ups-eu-develops-own-age-verification-app/

#Censorship #News #Privacy #Security #AgeVerification #app #EU #Europe #government #PersonalInformation

Ars Technica: Police corporal created AI porn from driver’s license pics. “A corporal in the Pennsylvania state police yesterday pleaded guilty to a mind-boggling set of crimes that include going through his co-workers’ underwear, possessing a stolen gun, having child sexual abuse material on his hard drives, and using AI tools to create over 3,000 pornographic ‘deepfakes.'”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/16/ars-technica-police-corporal-created-ai-porn-from-drivers-license-pics/
Ars Technica: Police corporal created AI porn from driver’s license pics

Ars Technica: Police corporal created AI porn from driver’s license pics. “A corporal in the Pennsylvania state police yesterday pleaded guilty to a mind-boggling set of crimes that include g…

ResearchBuzz: Firehose

Reuters: Italy court allows class action against Meta over Facebook data scraping. “A Milan court on Tuesday accepted a class action brought ​by a consumer group against Meta ‌Platforms (META.O), opens new tab over the theft of personal data suffered by Facebook Italy. According to the court ​order, the data scraping incident, ​which took place between January 2018 and ⁠September 2019 […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/15/reuters-italy-court-allows-class-action-against-meta-over-facebook-data-scraping/
Reuters: Italy court allows class action against Meta over Facebook data scraping

Reuters: Italy court allows class action against Meta over Facebook data scraping. “A Milan court on Tuesday accepted a class action brought ​by a consumer group against Meta ‌Platforms (META…

ResearchBuzz: Firehose

KQED: What Is the Point of California’s Privacy Laws if Big Tech Ignores Them?. “An independent review of Microsoft, Meta and Google web traffic in California in March found the tech companies may have violated state regulations around internet privacy. The audit, by webXray, also said that nearly 200 online advertising services ignored ‘legally defined, globally standard, opt-out signals’ […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/15/kqed-what-is-the-point-of-californias-privacy-laws-if-big-tech-ignores-them/
KQED: What Is the Point of California’s Privacy Laws if Big Tech Ignores Them?

KQED: What Is the Point of California’s Privacy Laws if Big Tech Ignores Them?. “An independent review of Microsoft, Meta and Google web traffic in California in March found the tech companie…

ResearchBuzz: Firehose

Irish Times: Facial recognition trial on Dublin-Holyhead route scans thousands but finds no matches. “Thousands of passengers on the ferry route to the Welsh port were scanned in February as part of a UK immigration enforcement pilot scheme. Over three days, passengers were checked against a watch list of 6,535 suspected immigration offenders, with no matches detected.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2026/04/14/irish-times-facial-recognition-trial-on-dublin-holyhead-route-scans-thousands-but-finds-no-matches/
Irish Times: Facial recognition trial on Dublin-Holyhead route scans thousands but finds no matches

Irish Times: Facial recognition trial on Dublin-Holyhead route scans thousands but finds no matches. “Thousands of passengers on the ferry route to the Welsh port were scanned in February as …

ResearchBuzz: Firehose