Privacy News

Read the latest and most relevant privacy news by clicking on the links below. These news articles provide info on what  you can do to  protect your privacy, as well as the latest updates on new privacy laws. Subscribe to our newsletter above to receive a monthly overview of all new articles. 

Navia Benefit Solutions, a company that manages health spending accounts (FSAs, HSAs, COBRA, and commuter benefits) for over 10,000 employers and more than a million participants, disclosed that an unauthorized party accessed its network between December 22, 2025, and January 15, 2026. Nearly 2.7 million individuals had their sensitive information exposed to attackers. If you use an employer-sponsored health benefit account, your name, health insurance information, and financial account details may be at risk, check your employer's communications and consider enrolling in credit monitoring.

A whistleblower complaint alleges that a former DOGE software engineer at the Social Security Administration stored at least one of two highly restricted databases on a personal thumb drive, then left to work at a government contractor where he told colleagues he possessed the data. The databases — called "Numident" and the "Master Death File" — include records for more than 500 million living and dead Americans, including Social Security numbers, places and dates of birth, citizenship, race and ethnicity, and parents' names.A former SSA chief data officer described this as an "irrecoverable loss" that "could represent a structural failure of our identity system." The SSA's inspector general has opened an investigation and briefed Congress.

"Apple has announced its new privacy policy called App Tracking Transparency (ATT) that will require developers to ask for permission when their apps use tracking data outside of their own apps."

"See our explanations below of how other automakers use in-car cameras or other types of driver monitoring systems."

"We’re living in challenging times these days — and our own worries and fears aren’t lost on our children. A recent Safety.com survey reports that “More than three-fourths of parents claim at least one event in the past year has impacted their child(ren)’s sense of safety.” 

"Lawmakers in Virginia have passed a privacy bill similar to a law that took effect last year in California."

"If you use the popular messaging service WhatsApp you may have noticed a pop-up message in recent days asking you to accept the service's new terms and conditions by 8 February in order to continue using it."

"Tim Berners-Lee want to put people in control of their personal data. He has technology and a start-up pursuing that goal. Can he succeed?" 

"Since Facebook acquired  WhatsApp in 2014, users have wondered and worried about how much data would flow between the two platforms. Many of them experienced a rude awakening this week, as a new in-app notification raises awareness about a step WhatsApp actually took to share more with Facebook back in 2016."

"In November, Californians approved a ballot measure, Proposition 24, a.k.a. the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), to create a new consumer data privacy agency. "

"The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a broad and wide-ranging request to nine social media companies and video streaming services for information about how they collect and use the personal information of their users, how they sell that information to advertisers, and how the practices affect children and teens."