WASHINGTON (AP) — As they fled an Iranian missile strike, some Israelis with Android phones received a text offering a link to real-time information about bomb shelters. But instead of a helpful app, the link downloaded spyware giving hackers access to the device’s camera, location and all its data. The operation, attributed to Iran, showed […]

Your Access and Privacy Online News Summary for Saturday, March 28th. This week, Ontario’s government is moving to shield political records from access-to-information laws and it has set up a direct clash with the province’s independent privacy commissioner.  At the federal level, a new bill aimed at protecting Canada’s electoral system is raising early questions — including whether privacy concerns are addressed.   […]

Dual jury verdicts this week have validated longstanding concerns about the dangers of social media for young people. But the U.S. lacks federal regulation that meaningfully addresses these harms. On Wednesday, a Los Angeles jury found both Meta and YouTube liable for harms to children using their services. A day earlier in New Mexico, a […]

ATLANTA (AP) — Attorneys for Georgia’s Fulton County and President Donald Trump’s administration squared off in court Friday over the county’s demand that the FBI return seized ballots and other materials from the 2020 election. Abbe Lowell, representing Fulton County, repeatedly called the January seizure “unusual” because it involved an old election and allegations that […]

What do conservation authorities, a downtown Toronto parking lot and freedom-of-information requests have in common? On the face of it, nothing — but provincial legislative changes are coming to all three, and they are jammed into an omnibus budget bill tabled Thursday by Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy. The province’s plan for doling out taxpayer […]

The Quebec Superior Court has authorized a class-action lawsuit against Uber that accuses the San Francisco-based company of violating the province’s Consumer Protection Act with its cancellation fees.  Lawyers for the main plaintiff, Valerie Ohayon, allege the company is not explicitly stating in its terms of service that a fixed fee will be charged for […]

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesia on Saturday began implementing a new government regulation approved earlier this month that bans children younger than 16 from access to digital platforms that could expose them to pornography, cyberbullying, online scams and addiction. With the move, Indonesia became the first country in Southeast Asia to ban children from having […]

WASHINGTON (AP) — Vice President JD Vance on Friday held the inaugural meeting of a new anti-fraud task force he’s leading as the Trump administration seeks to show it’s cracking down on potential misuse of social programs. Vance, speaking Friday before the task force held a closed-door meeting, said that the federal government, for decades, […]

Prime Minister Mark Carney has agreed with Nova Scotia to simplify federal and provincial environmental approvals for major infrastructure and resource projects. Carney and Premier Tim Houston announced the deal Friday after the prime minister delivered a brief speech to about 1,100 people at the Halifax Convention Centre, most of which focused on recent announcements […]

OTTAWA, March 27, 2026 – A broad coalition of human rights, civil liberties, refugee and migrant rights, gender justice, and data privacy organizations have denounced the adoption of Bill C-12, which became law yesterday. This egregious bill marks a significant attack on refugee and migrant rights in Canada, and has been criticized by the UN […]

For years, parents, teenagers, pediatricians, educators and whistleblowers have pushed the idea that social media is detrimental to young people’s mental health and can lead to addiction, eating disorders, sexual exploitation and suicide. For the first time, juries in two states took their side. In Los Angeles on Wednesday, a jury found both Meta and […]

LONDON (AP) — European Union regulators are investigating Snapchat over concerns the platform isn’t doing enough to protect kids and exposing them to risks such as increased vulnerability to child predators or recruitment by criminals. The 27-nation EU’s executive Commission said Thursday it was opening a formal investigation into Snapchat under the bloc’s sweeping rule […]