Consumer Rights and Laws
Surveillance Pricing: How Your Data Shapes What You Pay
Two shoppers can be offered different prices for the same product because of their personal data, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). A personal offer…
Digital Rights and Privacy
Digital rights and privacy is about the freedoms people keep when life moves online, and the protection of the personal information that technology collects. It covers who may see your data, how it is secured, when the government may watch, and how children are kept safe. Congress, federal and state agencies, courts, and technology companies all shape the rules.
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October 11last updated
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Referenced by Brookings, CNN, Forbes, Fox News, Pew Research, Snopes, The Hill and USA Today.
The Webby-recognized AI behind our articles »
Latest in Digital Rights and Privacy
Privacy Laws
Can You Make Data Brokers Delete Your Personal Information?
California’s deletion platform does not cover publicly available data; Connecticut’s attorney general says residents may ask covered companies to delete publicly available information assembled into profiles…
Voting Systems and Equipment
Can Anyone Find Out Who You Voted For?
A public voter record can show that a person voted, but never who the person voted for. The record may also list the voter’s party and…
Privacy and Data Protection
How to Cut Most of Your Junk Mail (and What You Can’t Stop)
Free tools like OptOutPrescreen and DMAchoice can clear out most credit offers, catalogs, and coupons cluttering your mailbox each week.
Topics in Digital Rights and Privacy
Protecting your data
Privacy and Data Protection explains who can collect and keep information about you, and Privacy Laws covers the statutes and rulings behind those limits. Data Breaches looks at what happens when personal information is exposed.
Privacy and Data Protection
16 articles
- Government Surveillance vs. Personal Privacy
- Digital Privacy and the Ninth Amendment: Does the Constitution Protect Your Online Life?
- Who Can Read Your DMs? Your Data, the Cloud, and Government Access
Watching and securing
Digital Surveillance covers how governments and companies track people through technology. Encryption addresses the tools that keep communications private and the debate over access to them.
Children online
Online Child Safety covers the protection of minors from harm on the internet.
All Articles on Digital Rights and Privacy
What a Data Breach Means for You
A data breach notice means your info was exposed, not that it's been stolen. Learn the first steps, from freezes to protecting your Social Security number.
Geofence Warrants: How Police Use Your Phone’s Location to Solve Crimes
If police want to know who was near a crime scene, they can ask Google for a list of every phone in the area—including…
Mobile Fortify: How ICE Uses Facial Recognition Without a Warrant
An ICE agent points a government-issued smartphone at someone's face, snaps a photo, and within seconds knows whether that person has a deportation order—or…
Why the US Plans to Require Five Years of Social Media History from Visitors
The Department of Homeland Security has published a proposal that would fundamentally alter international travel to the United States. The proposal mandates the disclosure…
How the IRS Shares Taxpayer Data with ICE Under Trump Administration Agreement
The Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have long operated in separate spheres. The IRS collects taxes. ICE enforces immigration law.…
How the FCC Controls Your Phone, TV, and Internet
From the smartphone in your pocket and the Wi-Fi that connects it, to the emergency alerts that buzz across a city, the Federal Communications…
Who Can See Your New Address: Privacy Risks of the National Change of Address Database
When you file a change of address form with the U.S. Postal Service, you're entering personal information into a vast commercial database that extends…
Overturning Roe v. Wade Also Affected Digital Privacy
For nearly half a century, the Supreme Court's 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade stood as a landmark of American law. It established that…
Facial Recognition Technology: How It Works, Where It’s Used, and What It Means for Privacy
Using your face as identification has become routine in modern American life. Millions of people unlock smartphones with a glance, creating seamless personal security…
Can DNA Testing Companies Sell Your Genetic Data?
DNA testing privacy depends on consent, company promises and federal and state rules, with different limits for research, business sales and police access.