Privacy nightmare: FTC claims Drug Discount App GoodRx was leaked user data to Facebook and Google

FTC alleges that GoodRx, a drug discount site, has sold user data to Facebook. The Masters of the Universe are known for their insatiable desire for all personal information, but medical data is especially valuable for advertising purposes and in other ventures.

Privacy nightmare: FTC claims Drug Discount App GoodRx was leaked user data to Facebook and Google

H/T: Steve Lehto

This is disturbing because it means that the pharmacies are giving people’s information to GoodRX! You don’t have to enter your personal information on the GoodRX site (unless they’re using information from cookies)—you just print out the discount coupon to give to your pharmacist! The pharmacies should be penalized, as well!

[2019] US military begins testing flying surveillance balloons across the country to TRACK people’s movements

Screenshot from YouTube.

US military begins testing flying surveillance balloons across the country to TRACK people’s movements

The tests were carried out by U.S. Southern Command, or Southcom, which is part of the Department of Defense and is responsible for intelligence operations, security cooperation and disaster response in Central and South America. It’s a joint effort by the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Army and other forces whose main task is finding and intercepting drug shipments that are destined for the U.S. According to the Guardian, as many as 25 unmanned solar powered balloons were launched from rural South Dakota and made their way 250 miles across the neighboring states in tests.

Related:

Worldview Stratollites are commercial high altitude balloons like Google Loon – Worldview had an explosion December 2017

Stratollites can maintain position over specific areas of interest for days, weeks, and eventually months on end. This allows for more sustained measurements and monitoring capabilities over a targeted area. Stratollites can carry a wide variety of commercial payloads (sensors, telescopes, communications arrays, etc.), launch rapidly on demand, and safely return payloads back to earth after mission completion.

Some interesting ‘coincidences’:

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More Mass Surveillance: FOIA Docs Reveal Illegal Snooping On US Residents’ Financial Transactions

If it can conceivably be considered a “third party record,” the government is going to seek warrantless access to it. The Third Party Doctrine — ushered into existence by the Supreme Court in 1979 — says there’s no expectation of privacy in information shared with third parties. That case dealt with phone records. People may prefer the government stay out of their personal conversations, but the Smith v. Maryland ruling said that if people shared this info with phone companies (an involuntary “sharing” since this information was needed to connect calls and bill phone users), the government could obtain this information without a warrant.

More Mass Surveillance: FOIA Docs Reveal Illegal Snooping On US Residents’ Financial Transactions

NYPD commissioner reveals plans for smartphone app, new cameras

NYPD commissioner reveals plans for smartphone app, new cameras

“Between its use of spying drones, rampant facial recognition technology, and other invasive policing tactics, we’ve seen time and time again that the NYPD cannot police itself,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union. “As it looks to deploy new apps to officer and civilian phones, the Department needs to be transparent about its plan for these technologies and how they will store and protect New Yorkers’ data — ensuring that this rollout complies with the Public Oversight of Surveillance Technology (POST) Act. To truly uphold New Yorkers’ privacy and safety, any technology adopted by the NYPD must be subject to public scrutiny and review,” she said in a statement.

Josh Hawley Wants In On The TikTok Moral Panic Attention, Proposes Nationwide Ban

Insurrectionist sprinter Josh Hawley has joined the growing chorus of GOP politicians who’ve spent years doing jack shit about U.S. consumer privacy abuses, and now want to pretend that banning a single app — TikTok — will protect American consumers from a problem they themselves created.

Josh Hawley Wants In On The TikTok Moral Panic Attention, Proposes Nationwide Ban