17 August 2026
Apple changes its rules for personalised advertising in apps
bundeskartellamt.de Apple gave binding commitments to make its tracking-consent prompts neutral and align them with its own, closing a Section 19a case; they run EU-wide for seven years.
15 August 2026
Met apologises for exposing 143 email addresses of Mohamed Al Fayed victims
theguardian.com The Met exposed the email addresses of 143 Al Fayed victims in a group update, blamed human error and referred itself to the Information Commissioner.
14 August 2026
FTC probes health records giant Epic Systems, sources say
reuters.com The FTC opened an antitrust probe into whether Epic Systems withholds access to health records data; its platforms hold records on over 300 million patients.
French taxpayers' data stolen in cyber attack, French Finance Ministry says
reuters.com France's Finance Ministry confirmed an intruder extracted data on 678,000 taxpayers from the DGFiP in late June; those affected will be notified individually.
Décision n° 2026-911 DC du 14 août 2026 — Loi visant à protéger les mineurs des risques auxquels les expose l'utilisation des réseaux sociaux
conseil-constitutionnel.fr France's Constitutional Council struck down the under-15 social media ban as a disproportionate curb on minors' freedom of expression, blocking its September start.
Brazil Suspends Discord's Livestreams in First Enforcement Test of Child Protection Law
techpolicy.press Brazil's ANPD gave Discord three business days to suspend livestreaming after a 13-year-old died on air, the first enforcement of the ECA Digital law.
13 August 2026
Hiding your use of AI is about to get much harder — thanks to Brussels
politico.eu AI Act transparency duties applying since 2 August force marking of AI output; Anthropic said every Claude model released after that date embeds invisible text watermarks.
Hacking group claims mass data theft from Shell, Philips, GE, Fiserv and dozens of others
reuters.com Cl0p claimed data theft from nearly 50 firms via PTC Windchill flaws; Philips confirmed a contained server compromise and Shell a possible incident.
German privacy watchdog urges EU to scrap cookie banners
euractiv.com Germany's federal data protection commissioner asked the EU to replace cookie banners with central cookie managers, after 75% of surveyed users said they would deny all.
EDPS Opinion 18/2026 on the Proposal for a Regulation on Europol repealing Regulation (EU) 2016/794
edps.europa.eu The EDPS said the Commission's Europol reform creates serious risks by letting the agency hold data on vast numbers of people with no criminal links for an unspecified period.
Brazil's Data Protection Agency Faces Landmark Test on Kids and Facial Recognition
techpolicy.press Brazil's ANPD ordered the immediate suspension of biometric processing of schoolchildren in Parana, where facial recognition tracked attendance tied to welfare eligibility.
AI agents aren't legally responsible for any harm that they cause, experts say. So who is?
theguardian.com After Australia's first reported agentic AI hacking incident, legal experts said deployers bear liability for their bots, with developers exposed where guardrails are inadequate.
12 August 2026
Twitch Is Now Using Your Content To Train Amazon AI Models And Has Hidden The Option To Opt Out
kotaku.com Twitch turned on generative-AI training of streamer content by default with a buried opt-out; its product chief said nobody would have opted in.
Meta AI glasses face criminal complaint in Germany
politico.eu HateAid filed a criminal complaint against Meta, Ray-Ban, Oakley and retailers, arguing covert filming by smart glasses breaches Germany's TDDDG and warrants a sales ban.
Expanding Capabilities to Combat Transnational Cyber-Enabled Crime
whitehouse.gov Trump signed a memorandum letting vetted US firms run offensive cyber operations against foreign criminal networks, with a $1m escrow and DOJ-DHS sign-off per operation.
11 August 2026
US human rights groups sue Trump over anti-ICC push
reuters.com Human Rights Watch, Open Society, AFSC and the Center for Constitutional Rights sued in New York to void Trump's executive order sanctioning those who work with the ICC.
The backlash to social media bans has already begun
politico.eu Eight months after Australia's under-16 ban, its regulator found over 80% of minors still using social media, and experts warned von der Leyen against EU-wide blanket bans.
Meta glasses banned from courts in England and Wales
theguardian.com HMCTS will confiscate Meta smart glasses from anyone entering courts in England and Wales, while still allowing smartphones inside judicial buildings.
French media asks French anti-trust watchdog to act on Google's AI
reuters.com French press publishers asked the Autorite de la concurrence to curb Google's AI summaries, seeking the payment-plan remedy imposed on Meta in July.
FinCEN Permanently Ends Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements for Millions of Small Business Owners
fincen.gov FinCEN's final rule permanently exempts US companies and persons from Corporate Transparency Act ownership reporting and deletes their records from the database.