Category: Law

France embraces Google, Microsoft in quest to safeguard sensitive data | Reuters

The question of who to use, where and how your data is stored is tricky. Various legislative frameworks, often competing, make choosing a vendor problematic. This French government initiative may point the way for other countries.

Cat-and-computer

Some of France’s most sensitive state and corporate data can be safely stored using the cloud computing technology developed by Alphabet’s Google (GOOGL.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O), if it is licensed to French companies, the government said on Monday.

The comment, part of strategic plan laid out by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and two other ministers, acknowledges U.S. technological superiority in the field and contrasts with previous calls from European politicians for fully homegrown alternatives.

Source: France embraces Google, Microsoft in quest to safeguard sensitive data | Reuters

Explainer: What Is Google FLoC?

Worried about browser cookies?

Would a central cookie authority make anything better?

Am I FLoCed?

Read about Google’s FLoC proposal here.

Google says it will block third-party cookies from its Chrome browser and instead will use what’s called Federated Learning of Cohorts, or FLoC. It’s billed as a privacy-preserving platform that lets advertisers reach users using behavioral targeting without needing third-party data. The news has received negative attention from other tech companies and it’s even run afoul of Europe’s GDPR policy. Here’s what FLoC is and the impact on your privacy.

Source: Explainer: What Is Google FLoC? – Flipboard

Why Apple’s new privacy feature is such a big deal – from The Verge

There’s a massive fight taking place. Ostensibly about privacy on the net, in reality it’s about who gets control.

Google Analytics - Tracking Code | Uploaded with Skitch | Wesley Fryer | Flickr
Wesley Fryer https://www.flickr.com/photos/wfryer/6635768527

Read more here.

Apple’s latest iPhone update, iOS 14.5, brings a host of new features that customers will likely see and enjoy — better Face ID unlocking when wearing a mask (for Apple Watch users only), new emoji, support for PS5 and Xbox Series X controllers, and more. But the new update also adds a much more important and controversial new feature: App Tracking Transparency. That’s Apple’s name for a privacy feature that’s shaping up to be the company’s next big fight.

The change has been a contentious one. Apple originally announced the feature alongside the rest of iOS 14 last June but has delayed the release until now to give developers more time to adapt to the changes. It’s finally live, though, setting the stage for what could be a massive fight between the Cupertino tech giant and competitors like Facebook.

Source: Why Apple’s new privacy feature is such a big deal – The Verge

Understanding intellectual property rights in a digital world | @Jisc

Intellectual property law provides tools that can enhance an institution’s ability to capitalise on the value of its expertise and help it exploit innovative opportunities. Having an appreciation of the significance of intellectual property law for further and higher education is essential.

In an increasingly competitive environment where more and more learning content is digital, institutions need to know how to maximise the value of their own assets as well as how to make the best use of resources they licence. They need to be able to share and protect their own intellectual outputs while not infringing the rights of others.

Source: Intellectual property rights in a digital world | Jisc