United Kingdom
Personal details of Tate galleries job applicants leaked online
- Personal details submitted by applicants for a job at Tate art galleries have been leaked online which exposed their addresses, salaries, and the phone number of their referees.
- The records appeared on a website unrelated to the Tate art gallery organisation. It has been found that information of about 111 individuals is included. The applicants are not named, but their referees are, and a few with mobile numbers and personal email addresses.
- One applicant whose personal details were leaked has said “It’s very disappointing and disillusioning” and that “They should take it down, apologise and there should be a report into how this happened and what they are going to do to ensure it does not happen again.”
- A spokesperson for Tate said “We review all reports thoroughly and are investigating the matter. We have not identified any breach of our systems and wouldn’t comment further while the matter is ongoing.”
UK poised to open up Covid-era data despite doctors’ fears
- Despite concerns from doctors’ representatives, a direction is set to be signed allowing a dataset from the pandemic to be accessed for non-Covid-19 related research.
- A formal direction titled “GP Data for Consented Research,” which is yet to be signed by Health Secretary Wes Streeting, would enable patient data originally collected solely for the purpose of Covid-19-related research to be used for other studies.
- The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) confirmed that the direction has been drafted and is awaiting signature.
- While the direction says the government will obtain patient consent to share the data, doctor groups are concerned that this won’t happen in practice.
United States
Senator opposes FCC plan to reverse cyber rules adopted after Salt Typhon attack
- The top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee called on the Federal Communications Commission to abandon plans to rescind cybersecurity requirements adopted after the Salt Typhon Chinese hacking incident that infiltrated U.S. telecom companies last year.
- It has been urged to drop the plan to vote to rescind the ruling, which found that federal law requires telecommunications carriers to secure networks from unlawful access to or interception of communications.
- The ruling also said that carriers could be in breach if they failed to adopt certain cybersecurity practices.
- The democrat called the FCC ruling adopted in the final days of the Biden administration “a commonsense acknowledgement that providers are responsible for protecting public safety against cybersecurity threats.”
US House subcommittee seeks answers to mental health issues stemming from chatbot use
- The U.S. House Committee on Energy and Commerce’s Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee held a hearing on 18 Nov. to ask experts about the safety risks chatbots pose and what can be done from a legislative or regulatory perspective to mitigate them.
- This comes from a variety of mental health crises experienced by individuals who used chatbots powered by artificial intelligence.
- The hearing has suggested that Congress has room to pursue legislation that ensures chatbots interacting with the public are safe in both recreational and therapeutic applications.
- Witnesses at the hearing, a psychiatrist and psychotherapist, said between 25-50% of U.S. adults are turning to chatbots for mental health support, however, general purpose and companion bots have not been designed for that purpose.
- Another witness, Standford Institute for Human-Centred AI Privacy and Data Policy Fellow, Jennifer King, told the subcommittee that chatbots, even those used specifically for therapy, are not governed under HIPAA. A concern is that users are entering sensitive personal health information into chatbot prompts, which is then used as part of model training.
Europe
EU moves to ease AI, privacy rules amid pressure from Big Tech, Trump
- The European Union has moved to scale back its ‘sweeping rules governing artificial intelligence and data privacy’.
- Under the reform package, there will be a delay in the introduction of stricter risk-management and oversight rules for “high-risk” AI until 2027 and allows tech firms to use anonymised personal data to train AI models.
- EU tech chief Henna Virkkumen said that the changes would boost European competitiveness by simplifying the rules on AI, cybersecurity, and data protection. The changes need to be approved by representatives of the 27 EU member states.
- Max Schrems, the founder of Vienna-based rights group NOYB, said that “this is the biggest attack on Europe’s digital rights in years”.
International
Meta to block Facebook and Instagram for Australian teens by December 10
- Australian users under 16 will be blocked by Meta from accessing Instagram, Facebook and Threads by December 10 to comply with the country’s social media ban for teenagers.
- Meta has stated that it has begun notifying users it believed were 13 and 15 years old that their accounts will be shut down through in-app message, email, and texts.
- According to Meta, it will use several age assurance methods to comply with the ban and adopt a “data minimisation approach”, additional information will only be sought when it has reason to doubt a user’s stated age.
- It is reported that Australia’s social media ban is one of the most comprehensive efforts by a government to regulate minors’ access to social media.
For the latest updates on UK data leaks, US cyber and AI rules, EU privacy reforms, and the Meta Australia teen ban, visit our Data Protection News hub.
