The FTC and the Justice Department are investigating claims that TikTok, the popular social media app with close ties to China, violated a 2019 agreement to protect children's privacy. Read the rest
The United States Internal Revenue Service says it purchased access to a marketing database that offers location data for millions of US cellphones, so the IRS can identify and track persons suspected of tax-related crimes. Read the rest
Well, this isn't creepy at all. Facial recognition search.
A facial recognition website based in Poland claims to offer a service in which you can upload a picture of anyone to the site, and it finds more images of that individual all around the internet. Read the rest
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) today voted unanimously to propose a $225 million fine against Texas-based health insurance telemarketers blamed for making 1 billion illegally spoofed robocalls. This is the largest such fine ever proposed by the FCC. Read the rest
In a letter to members of Congress, IBM says it will abandon the general-purpose facial recognition business, and that the company opposes the use of facial recognition for mass surveillance. Read the rest
• Mark Brnovich (R) sued Google on Wednesday, alleging violation of user privacy.
Arizona's state Attorney General is suing Google over claims the company collected Android users' location data even when users turned digital tracking off. Read the rest
Your concerns about the privacy and security risks of using state-run coronavirus contact tracing apps? They're reasonable concerns. Read the rest
“An Associated Press review of those states found that at least 10 states also share the names of everyone who tests positive.”
A review by the Associated Press found that public health officials “in at least two-thirds of U.S. states” are sharing the addresses of people who confirmed to have the coronavirus with first responders.
Widespread disclosure of who has tested positive is said to be intended to protect medical workers and first responders from exposure, but the practice sparks concerns involving racial profiling, privacy, and security. Read the rest
Clearview AI is reportedly set to cancel client accounts that are not associated with law enforcement or other government entities, as scrutiny grows over abuses of the facial recognition AI app. Read the rest
“We believe that the Blacks and the Jews are taking over America, and it’s our job to take America back for the White race,” Patton testified at trial, describing his beliefs while carrying out the crime — beliefs he said he no longer held.
Banjo CEO Damien Patton has admitted to being a Neo-Nazi skinhead in his youth. But until today, the extent of his activity had not yet been reported, in part because of multiple spellings of his name used over the years. Read the rest
VIDEO: RTÉ News.
Singapore's Public Utilities Board is deploying a robot to encourage people wandering the outdoor parks of the densely populated Asian metropolis to social distance, and "stay safe, stay home". Read the rest
📷 Pepper Construction is using Startup SmartVid.io to analyze worksite images for Oracle Industries Innovation Lab in Deerfield, Illinois.
Existing security cameras at retail stores and workplaces are being equipped with articifial intelligence to enforce measures intendded to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, Reuters reports, based on interviews with 16 different machine vision software firms and a number of businesses that are now their clients. Read the rest
Mark Di Stefano of the Financial Times is accused by The Independent of accessing private Zoom meetings held by The Independent and The Evening Standard as journalists were learning how coronavirus restrictions would affect them. Read the rest
More than 12 government-backed hacker groups are exploiting the COVID-19 pandemic as cover for digital reconnaissance and espionage, a new report by Google's Threat Analysis Group finds. Read the rest
