Andrew Yang: Our data should be a property right, new proposal says

"At this point our data is more valuable than oil," Yang said. "If anyone benefits from our data it should be us."

Tom Williams / Contributor
  • 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang published a policy proposal this week calling for personal data to be treated as a property right.
  • Currently, tech companies are able to collect, repackage and sell individuals' data with little oversight.
  • Yang wants individuals to have the option to sell their personal data, or opt out of the process.
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Why Germany is a blank spot on Google's Street View

There are good historical reasons why Germans are suspicious of surveillance — but is Google as bad as Gestapo or Stasi?

Image: Google Maps
  • Since its launch in 2007, Google Street View has mapped millions of miles of roads across the world – and even gone to space and into the ocean
  • Germany and Austria are a conspicuous gap in the mess of blue lines that covers the rest of Europe
  • It's to do with Germans' curious sense of privacy: they'd rather flaunt their private parts than their personal data
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The hackable technology that worries even a legendary con man

Before we release new technology into the ether, we need to make safeguards so that bad actors can't misuse them.

  • Right now cybercrime is basically a financial crime — it's a business of stealing people's money or stealing their data. Data has value.
  • We develop a lot of technology — we need to always ask the question how the new innovation can be misused and make safeguards so that it cannot be done.
  • Because we currently don't do these things, we have hackable vehicles, pacemakers, and laptops.
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How to outsmart a scam: Strategies from a legendary con man

Frank W. Abagnale says scammers don't discriminate — here's what you can do to protect yourself.

  • In today's world, anyone can be targeted by scams -- even famous con man Frank W. Abagnale. For this reason he shares his top advice for protecting yourself against fraud.
  • When receiving a suspicious call, be aware of the two major red flags of immediacy and info-sharing. Is the person asking for money, and they need it right now? Does the person want sensitive personal information like a social security number or date of birth? If the answer to either of those questions is yes, it's probably a scam.
  • Scammers obtain much of their info from a victim's social media accounts. Caution is key for prevention, and education is the most powerful tool in outsmarting this type of crime.
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YouTube fined $170 million for harvesting data from children

But some say the settlement is a slap on the wrist.

Thomas Trutschel/Contributor
  • The Federal Trade Commission and New York's attorney general reached an agreement with Google in which YouTube must pay a fine and bolster protections for children's privacy on its platform.
  • Now, YouTube creators who created child-directed content will have to designate videos as such, and personalized ads will no longer be allowed on such content.
  • YouTube said these changes will take place in about four months.
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