Feed: All Latest | Data Brokers’ and AI Firms’ Opt-Out Forms Are Built to Fail, Report Finds by Dell Cameron

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The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) audited the opt‑out processes of 38 major data collectors—including AI giants such as Google, Meta and OpenAI, data‑broker services like Spokeo and Whitepages, defense contractors, and dating apps—and found that they routinely employ manipulative designs that make it extremely difficult for users to stop the sale or sharing of their personal information. Their investigation identified at least eight tactics, such as burying opt‑out links in fine print, requiring multiple separate forms, forcing account creation or payment, and pre‑selected toggles that appear to opt‑out but actually do not. These practices raise safety concerns, as exemplified by cases where criminals used brokered data to locate victims, and EPIC notes that women, LGBTQ+ people, domestic‑violence survivors, and public officials are especially vulnerable. While several companies (e.g., Amazon, OpenAI, HireVue) disputed the findings or claimed default opt‑out status, EPIC argues that the real remedy is not better forms but stricter rules that prevent unnecessary collection of personal data in the first place.

Read more: https://www.wired.com/story/data-brokers-and-ai-firms-opt-out-forms-are-built-to-fail-report-finds/

#EPIC #Google #OpenAI #darkpatterns #security_privacy #MelissaHortman