Privacy newsletter - March 17, 2020

Welcome to your latest edition of Osano's Privacy Insider Newsletter! Each week, we send you the latest information you need to know from the world of data privacy. 

In this week's edition: a new study shows users value their personal information less than USD $10 per month, another round of privacy lawsuits are announced against major technology companies, pandemic-caused school closures are complicated by education-specific data privacy laws, and ex-US presidential candidate Andrew Yang launches a data privacy non-profit. 

Here are the top stories from last week that you might have missed:

Exactly How Much Is Online Privacy Worth? According to New Study, Consumers Set the Value of Personal Data Quite Low - Much has been made of the value of personal data to tech and marketing companies, and the idea that the end user should share in the profits these companies generate. While these companies are naturally resistant to pay anything for something they have been getting for free for decades, a new study indicates that many internet users may be willing to rent out their personal information at surprisingly low rates.

Australia Next Up To Issue Data Privacy Fines Against Facebook - The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner is suing Facebook for allegedly exposing the personal information of over 300,000 Australians in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. In the case lodged in the federal court this week, Australia’s information watchdog claims Facebook committed a serious breach of privacy.

Google is fined $8 million in Sweden over data protection laws - Since the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) went into effect in the European Union back in 2016, companies and organizations have had larger responsibilities in order to protect the privacy rights of individuals. Sweden determined that Google has not fully complied with these regulations, leading to this week's fine.

Vermont Sues Data Collection Agency For Violating State Consumer Protection And Privacy Laws - The Vermont Attorney General’s office filed suit Tuesday in Chittenden Superior Court against a New York-based data collection company claiming it has illegally obtained photographs of Vermonters, violating their privacy rights as well as the state’s consumer protection and new data broker laws.

Student privacy laws still apply if coronavirus just closed your school -Hundreds of colleges and universities are suddenly shutting their doors and making a rapid switch to distance learning in an effort to slow the spread of novel coronavirus disease. Likewise, hundreds of K-12 districts nationwide have either already followed suit or are likely to in the coming days. Even when all of the immediate logistical needs have been handled, there remains another complicating factor. While the United States doesn't have all that much in the way of privacy legislation, there is, in fact, a law protecting student educational data. It's called the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, or FERPA.

AI Predicted to Take Over Privacy Tech - More than 40% of privacy tech solutions aimed at ensuring legal compliance are predicted to rely on Artificial Intelligence (AI) over the course of the next three years, analysts from the business research and advisory firm Gartner Inc. have found.

Ex-Presidential Candidate Andrew Yang Launches Data Privacy Nonprofit - Former presidential candidate and identified cryptocurrency proponent, Andrew Yang, has introduced a brand new initiative to guard privacy online. After ending his presidential bid last month, Yang introduced a nonprofit group called Humanity Ahead. Its goals are to “rewrite the principles” of financial system and society with a specific focus on data privacy.