Genetic privacy alert: 23andMe’s bankruptcy puts your DNA data at risk

With user data now part of potential asset sales, EFF is urging all customers to act now:

Download your data — store it securely for personal use
Delete your account + data — this includes reports, raw data, and family tree connections
Revoke research consent — and explicitly request sample destruction

Why it matters:
• DNA reveals more than identity — it exposes health, ancestry, and family connections
• The data doesn’t just belong to you — it can implicate relatives who never opted in
• A new owner might not respect your privacy

Take control now. Your genes deserve better security than a bankruptcy fire sale.

#Privacy #DNA #DataRights #CyberSecurity #23andMe #DigitalRisk #security #privacy #cloud #infosec

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/03/how-delete-your-23andme-data

Brazil top intelligence official summoned in illegal surveillance probe

#politics #brazil #DataRights https://valorinternational.globo.com/politics/news/2025/04/16/top-intelligence-official-summoned-in-illegal-surveillance-probe.ghtml?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=compartilhar

Brazil to appoint data executives in ministries to boost digitalization

#politics #brazil #DataRights
https://valorinternational.globo.com/politics/news/2025/04/02/brazil-to-appoint-data-executives-in-ministries-to-boost-digitalization.ghtml?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=compartilhar

23&Me has filed for bankruptcy.

If you've used their service you might want to delete your data. Now. No telling where the data will end up, who will aquire it and what they'll do with it.

Log in, select your account, then Settings, then scroll down to the download & delete section.

Think companies can collect & sell your data without your say? Think again.

Under CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act), you have rights:
Request your data be deleted
See what companies have collected about you
Opt out of data sales

Even if you’re not in California, CCPA may still protect you. Start using your rights today.

One of the things I've been advocating for years - and where I want to raise my voice even louder - is the importance of owning your data. #OwnYourData

Over the past few days, I’ve come across two examples of how misinformation is causing immense damage, leading people to believe that there's no alternative but to hand over their data to big corporations, putting themselves entirely in their hands.

- A well-known lawyer, just before a meeting, warned about using Teams and its new "virtual assistant," which joins conferences before anyone else and transcribes everything. When I pointed out that it would be wise to use alternative tools (like Jitsi, for example, but there are others), he abruptly ended the conversation, saying, "We've lost this war. There's no alternative anymore."
That wasn’t the right moment for a detailed discussion, so I just noted that alternatives do exist - but if no one starts using them, and if we passively accept certain behaviors from certain companies, things will never improve for us.

- Just now, I received another one of those emails that hurt more in the heart than in the wallet: "Our e-commerce is taking off, so we’re moving it to Shopify to better manage our growth."
I replied, trying to explain that handing over a growing e-commerce business to a third-party company (right now, they have full access to their own server - meaning all their databases, data, etc., are under their control) means losing ownership of it. Prices could change at any moment, contract terms could shift negatively, and, worst case scenario, if Shopify itself faced issues (which seems impossible today, but think of giants like Kodak), they could lose everything. Of course, they’ll do what they think is best, but I feel obligated to warn them.

Luckily, others are making the opposite choice. But I keep wondering: since these big platforms aren’t exactly cheap, rather than "selling themselves" to them just for (potentially) fewer headaches, wouldn’t it be worth paying someone (not me, of course, but someone working exclusively for them) to handle these things - ensuring they retain full ownership of their business and their data?

Protect Our Privacy—Stop DOGE’s Unauthorized Data Access!

The government should never have unchecked access to our most personal data. But reports show DOGE has gained unauthorized access to financial, medical, and personal records—violating privacy laws and endangering our rights.

We cannot allow government agencies to sidestep safeguards like the Privacy Act of 1974 and the Internal Revenue Code to misuse sensitive information for political purposes. Abuse of data today opens the door to mass surveillance, corruption, and the dismantling of crucial programs that serve everyday Americans.

Tell Congress: Stop DOGE’s illegal data grabs NOW!

Sign the petition and demand accountability: https://resist.bot/petitions/PSZUWY

Should be a law: if you run a web app that stores user data behind a login, you are required either to allow users to scrape their data (no anti-scraping tech blocking authenticated users) or to provide an API they can use to access it at no additional charge.
It should literally be illegal to lock users data into your site and prevent them from implementing their own automation to access it.
#tech #web #dataOwnership #dataRights

Data Privacy and Protection Day: an overview of the Brazilian scenario

#politics #brazil #DataRights
https://www.mattosfilho.com.br/en/unico/data-protection-day-2025/

Law and technology in Brazil: trends, challenges, and opportunities for 2025

#politics #brazil #ArtificialIntelligence #DataRights #IntellectualProperty
https://www.mattosfilho.com.br/en/unico/technology-brazil-trends-2025/