The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau wants to propose new regulations that would require data brokers to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act. In a speech at the White House earlier this month, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said the agency is looking into policies to “ensure greater accountability” for companies that buy and sell consumer data, in keeping with an executive order President Joe Biden issued in late February.

Chopra said the agency is considering proposals that would define data brokers that sell certain types of data as “consumer reporting agencies,” thereby requiring those companies to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The statute bans sharing certain kinds of data (e.g., your credit report) with entities unless they serve a specific purpose outlined in the law (e.g., if the report is used for employment purposes or to extend a line of credit to someone).

The CFBP views the buying and selling of consumer data as a national security issue, not just a matter of privacy. Chopra mentioned three massive data breaches — the 2015 Anthem leak, the 2017 Equifax hack, and the 2018 Marriott breach — as examples of foreign adversaries illicitly obtaining Americans’ personal data. “When Americans’ health information, financial information, and even their travel whereabouts can be assembled into detailed dossiers, it’s no surprise that this raises risks when it comes to safety and security,” Chopra said. But the focus on high-profile hacks obscures a more pervasive, totally legal phenomenon: data brokers’ ability to sell detailed personal information to anyone who’s willing to pay for it. 

Citing the February executive order, Chopra noted that data brokers can sell data to “countries of concern, or entities controlled by those countries, and it can land in the hands of foreign intelligence services, militaries, or other companies controlled by foreign governments.” In other words, instead of hacking hotel chains and credit reporting bureaus to get access to millions of Americans’ personal data, intelligence agencies can buy information that is just as detailed, if not more so. 

“For example, data brokers can facilitate the targeting of individuals by allowing entities to purchase lists that match multiple categories, like ‘Intelligence and Counterterrorism’ with ‘substance abuse,’ ‘heavy drinker,’ or even ‘behind on bills,’” Chopra said. “In other contexts, entities can purchase records for pennies per person, allowing relatively small investments to be leveraged into mass collection.” Put another way, the White House is concerned that the US’s adversaries — most explicitly, China — can use Americans’ data to identify targets for blackmail and surveillance.

The government is growing increasingly concerned about foreign governments’ access to Americans’ data. In March, the House passed a bill that would prohibit data brokers from selling Americans’ personally identifiable information to “any entity that is controlled by a foreign adversary.” Under the Protecting Americans’ Data from Foreign Adversaries Act, data brokers would face penalties from the Federal Trade Commission if they sell sensitive information — like location or health data — to any person or company based in certain countries. The Senate has yet to vote on the bill.

US government agencies, too, rely on data brokers to keep an eye on Americans. In 2022, the American Civil Liberties Union published a series of documents that showed how the Department of Homeland Security used location data to track the movement of millions of cell phones — and the people who own them — within the US. 

Frustrated with how often autocorrect is auto-wrong? Even with new AI features included in many platforms’ latest updates, autocorrect remains annoying. Let’s fix that for iOS and Android.

Join over 500,000 people who get tech smart with my free newsletter.

It’s easy to sign up and one click to cancel if you don’t like it.

If this saves you a little frustration, share this tip with a friend!

SEE WHAT THE HOME YOU GREW UP IN LOOKS LIKE NOW AND OTHER MAPS TRICKS

Go cold turkey

Yes, you can just turn it off — no more bad guesses or awkward corrections. Just type what you mean letter by letter, like in the early days.

Note: Depending on your Android make, model and OS, steps may differ. There are just too many variations to cover all of them.

Start here on your iPhone

• On iOS: Tap Settings > General > Keyboard.
• Toggle Auto-Correction to Off.
• You can always follow the same steps to turn it back on later, if you need it or change your mind.

Bonus tip: In iOS, misspellings are underlined. To turn that off, head to Settings > General > Keyboard again and turn off Check Spelling.

CAN YOU SPOT ELECTION DEEPFAKES? HERE’S HOW NOT TO BE DUPED

Using an Android?

• Go to Settings > System > Languages and input > On-screen keyboard > Gboard > Text correction.
• Here, you can turn off Auto-correction and Show suggestion strip, which displays predictive text.

Bonus tip: Under your keyboard settings, flip the switches next to “Predictive Text” and “Show Predictions Inline.”

Add your own slang

If you’re feeling ambitious, program your phone to replace a phrase with your shorthand. Think turning “brt” into “be right there” or “1234” into “Four Score and Seven Years Ago.” Pretty slick!

• On iOS: Go to Settings > General > Keyboard > Text Replacement. Tap the + (plus sign), then add your word or phrase to the Phrase field (i.e., “On my way”). In the Shortcut field, type your slang of choice (i.e., “OMW”).
• On Android: Go to Settings > System > Languages and input > On-screen keyboard > Gboard > Dictionary > Personal dictionary > English and tap the + (plus sign) in the top right to add a custom word. Put your slang or abbreviation in the Shortcut box to trigger that custom word.

Pro tip: In iOS and Android, if you leave the Shortcut field blank, autocorrect will stop bugging you with alternate spellings.

SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGIST URGES PARENTS TO KEEP SMARTPHONES AWAY FROM KIDS TO ‘PROTECT’ THEIR MENTAL HEALTH

Why is autocorrect capitalizing random words?

You may notice that autocorrect capitalizes random words in a sentence. If you are typing something like, “I need to call Mom and ask when She needs to go to the Store,” you’ll have to go back and make a change to all the words that shouldn’t be capitalized.

If you don’t know why autocorrect keeps capitalizing Mom and Store, take a peek at your contact list and see how you’re typing names. If you save certain words in your contact list a certain way, autocorrect assumes this is the way you always want it written.

Another simple fix for this issue is to turn off the auto-capitalization setting in your keyboard tab.

Get tech-smarter on your schedule

Award-winning host Kim Komando is your secret weapon for navigating tech.

Copyright 2024, WestStar Multimedia Entertainment. All rights reserved.

Officials at the UK’s Department of Science, Innovation and Technology have started drafting legislation to regulate AI models, Bloomberg reports. It’s unclear how any future regulation will intersect with the UK’s already-extant AI Safety Institute, which already conducts safety tests of the most powerful AI models.

However, the UK does not officially have a policy preventing companies from releasing AI models that have not been evaluated for safety. Neither does it have the power to pull any existing model from the market if it violates safety standards or to fine a company over those violations. (In comparison, the European Union’s AI Act can impose fines if AI companies violate certain safety benchmarks.)

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has previously said there’s no need to “rush to regulate” AI models and platforms. Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports, other government officials have raised the possibility of amending the UK’s copyright rules to strengthen the opt-out option for training datasets. Any potential bill is still a ways off, according to Bloomberg.