Illinois Wants To Ban Location Tracking Without Consent. Its increasingly difficult to do anything on your phone nowadays without sharing your geolocation information. Certain Snapchat filters, Facebook status updates, Instagrams, and even text messages are all potentially tied to geolocation data. Its relatively simple for app developers to build in geolocation functionalityand many services require users to opt in to sharing location data. But now the state of Illinois wants ensure that all companies extracting geolocation data from individuals must provide an opt in, or else theyll have to pay up. Last week, both houses of the Illinois state legislature passed the Geolocation Privacy Protection Act HB3. Now, its on the desk of Governor Bruce Rauner, waiting to be signed into law. If signed, companies would be required to inform users of how theyre using the location data they collect, if the users decides to share it. Companies who dont adhere would be in violation of the Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and would face criminal penalties and damages of at least 1,0. There are a few exceptions to the law. For instance, private entities can collect geolocation data without consent if the information will help parents find missing children or aid firefighters, police, or medical professionals. The new law might not have a huge real world impact, given that most devices and apps already ask people for permission before they start using location data. But this might encourage more tech companies and app developers to give users the option to opt out of being tracked. Around this time last year, my mom passed away. I was in charge of planning her funeral and burial arrangements, dealing with her stuff, and pretty much all the other. There have been plenty of times in the past when companies have faced repercussions for tracking users without their consent. For instance, Apple and Uber have been sued for allegedly tracking un notified users. Ari Scharg, director of the Digital Privacy Alliance DPA, told Gizmodo that the organization has done reports on the apps Selfie. Rate Selfie Pic Hot Or Not, which give developers precise GPS coordinates whenever a person uploads a photo. When a person is just browsing through the photos to rate them, if they were intercepting the backend traffic, they would be able to get the GPS coordinates of each person they viewed, Scharg said. Overall, a person could use this information to stalk someone or the owner of the picture could retaliate against a person that left a bad comment if they were capturing the traffic. The DPA urges app developers to be transparent with users by clarifying how location data is being used. The organization has been advocating for the bill, and even wrote an open letter to Governor Rauner, which was signed by more than 2. Chicago area tech companies. Illinois has a reputation of passing strict data privacy legislation. The states Biometric Information Privacy Act prohibits tech companies from using biometric identifierslike face scans and fingerprintswithout consent. Their Right To Know Actwhich passed in May, but was put on holdrequires companies such as Facebook, Amazon, and Google to disclose what data has been collected from consumers and shared with third parties. Naked Security. To use the Netflix gift card you simply create a Netflix account and enter the code from the card. Once the code is entered, you will have a balance that your bill. How to Use Less Plastic Because Were Using Way Too Much. Theres about a ton of plastic for each person living in the world todaythats 8,3. Issuu is a digital publishing platform that makes it simple to publish magazines, catalogs, newspapers, books, and more online. Easily share your publications and get. Its increasingly difficult to do anything on your phone nowadays without sharing your geolocation information. Certain Snapchat filters, Facebook status updates. Welcome to SweepstakesToday. The free online sweepstakes website that offers great prizes to win. All brand name sponsors are carefully selected for quality of. The Poirot Speak trope as used in popular culture. While national diversity is often used among fictional ensembles to add distinction and character, authors. QjQbOCbPY/hqdefault.jpg' alt='Watch The Replacements Online Fandango' title='Watch The Replacements Online Fandango' />Even worse, plastic production is increasing and half of all the plastic on Earth was created in the past 1. But you can reduce your own impact by cutting back your plastic consumption. Here are eight steps you could take. Buy in Bulk. Buying in bulk reduces the amount of packaging needed for an item. Instead of buying small containers of hand soap, buy a huge container that you can refill your smaller bottles with. Even better, go for the bulk bins and buy everything using containers from home. As an added bonus, buying in bulk also reduces the number of trips you need to make to the store, and youll be saving money while you save the environment. Over the last several years, my wife and I have become reasonably skillful practitioners in the art Read more Read. Use Reusable Shopping Bags. Instead of getting all your groceries in plastic bags every time you go shopping, bring a reusable bag. It can be as fancy as this one with a lot of pockets, or it could be something simple like an upcycled rice bag. Watch Hysteria Online Hollywoodreporter. An increasing number of retailers such as Whole Foods and Trader Joes sell reusable bags at their checkout lines, meaning theres no excuse not to use one. DSmY6TWCygvPWMxYMozeVKjbHP.jpg' alt='Watch The Replacements Online Fandango' title='Watch The Replacements Online Fandango' />Pressure Companies to Use Less Plastic. When enough consumers become sufficiently vocal, corporations respond to their demands. Being a smart consumer and knowing about the companies you buy from is helpful. If a company does something you disagree with, email them and tweet at them to voice your outrage. Or, even better, start buying from its competitors instead. For example, Coca Cola produces more than 1. United Kingdom, which many environmentalists find concerning. An environmental group in the UK filed a complaint, urging Coca Cola to do more to produce less waste. In response to these concerns, Coca Cola UK announced initiatives like a program that lets people return bottles for a small refund. Invest in Reusable Containers. Every year almost 3. Instead of buying disposable plastic water bottles, invest in a reusable water bottle or thermospreferebly one that isnt plastic. Not only will getting a good water bottle improve your water drinking experience your water stays cold and doesnt form condensation on the outside, but itll also encourage you to drink more water. When bringing lunch to work or going out to eat, bring your own utensils instead of using plastic disposable ones. The Kitchn has a roundup of their recommendations for reusable utensil sets. Also, pack your lunches with reusable containers more often instead of getting a takeout container we recommend getting a set of tiffins instead. Theres nothing wrong with taking your lunch to the office in a brown paper bag or a plasticRead more Read. Look for Alternatives in Packaging. Most of the plastic we use is for packaging, meaning that its only used once then thrown away or recycled. To remedy this waste, look for alternatives to plastic packaging buy toilet paper wrapped in paper, buy milk in glass containers that you can return, buy whole fruit at grocery stores and forgo plastic bags entirely. Larger items like avocados or apples dont need produce bags. For smaller items like grapes, check with your grocery stores to see if you can bring your own bags for produce instead of using the grocery stores produce bags. Push for a Plastic TaxBan. Individual actions are important, but larger actions, such as those led by the government, can spark major change. Encouraging your city governments to create laws that encourage less plastic can make a huge difference overall in plastic consumption. Cities like San Francisco and Chicago have already introduced laws limiting plastic consumption. Meanwhile, some states like New York have killed laws taxing plastic bags. If youre unhappy with plastic bag laws in your area, take it up with the local government and consult Lifehackers guide to making your local government listen to you. Compost. Instead of using lots of plastic bags to throw out your garbage, reduce the amount of garbage you produce by composting. Youd be surprised at how much of your trash is actually compostable more than half. You can buy a compost bin that does most of the work for you or make one yourself. If youre unsure where to start, Lifehacker has a comprehensive guide to composting. But be sure to check city laws on composting first because some cities have banned it. Composting is a great way of turning trash into treasure, but you may have trouble getting Read more Read. Buy Secondhand. New items almost always come in plastic packaging, but you could reuse someone elses items instead of buying new ones from a store. If youre looking for a new toy for your child, buy it secondhand. Scope out thrift stores or Craigslist for things that you need like clothes or furniture. A bonus is that it will also save you money along the way. Just be more careful when buying used technology or mattresses.