1. GDPR Takes Effect This Upcoming Friday
Across the EU, new data privacy rules will be implemented this upcoming Friday. GDPR, the General Data Protection Regulation, has been in the works for four years and has been enacted to protect EU citizens from potential abuses like the Cambridge Analytica Scandal. For those who rebel against this law, a fine of up to 4% of the company’s annual worldwide revenue may apply. This can add up to a massive fee; for example, a violation could cost Facebook $1.6B. Once this law takes effect, consumers can ask companies what personal information they have on file and then ask them to delete it.
(Source: AdAge)
2. Starbucks Takes the Plunge
Starbucks is opening their bathrooms to all — paying customers or not — a month after they were under fire for racial profiling. The new policy will apply to over 8,000 of their U.S. company-operated stores. On Saturday, the company told its employees in a letter that “any person who enters our spaces, including patios, cafes and restrooms, regardless of whether they make a purchase, is considered a customer.” Starbucks is also closing its U.S. owned stores for one day next week to conduct a racial bias class for all its employees.
3. Passwords Leaked from TeenSafe App
TeenSafe, an app for parents to monitor their kids’ phone use, reportedly leaked thousands of passwords. Two of the company’s servers, which are hosted on Amazon’s cloud service, were left unprotected without a password, exposing thousands of accounts. One server had 10,200 records on database with primary emails, the associated kids’ Apple ID email address, device name, its unique identifier and plaintext passwords.
(Source: Mashable)
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