Category Archives: Surveillance technology

Biometric Update: Federal, state court rulings on whether biometrics protected by Fifth Amendment get murky by Anthony Kimery (“Because courts have ruled they are, and they aren’t, U.S. Supreme Court may be final arbiter.”)

NYTimes: How Your Phone Betrays Democracy by Charlie Warzel and Stuart A. Thompson. Hong Kong protestors tracked by their cell phones:

Pacific Legal Foundation: How the Fourth Amendment can protect us from becoming a surveillance state by Daniel Woislaw. Can it if we aren’t constantly vigilant, and not just going along?

WaPo: Editorial: Why Congress needs to regulate facial-recognition systems (“A MASSIVE government study in which more than 18 million images of more than 8 million people were run through almost 200 algorithms has confirmed what researchers have been warning for years: Facial-recognition … Continue reading →

NYTimes: Opinion: You Should Be Freaking Out About Privacy featuring Farhad Manjoo and Kara Swisher (“Nothing to hide, nothing to fear? Think again.”)

NYTimes Editorial: Total Surveillance Is Not What America Signed Up For:

NYTimes: Police Surveillance Planes to Fly Above Baltimore in 2020 by AP (“BALTIMORE — The city of Baltimore will be monitored by surveillance airplanes for up to six months next year under a pilot program announced Friday that is aimed … Continue reading →

NYTimes: Many Facial-Recognition Systems Are Biased, Says U.S. Study by Natasha Singer and Cade Metz (“Algorithms falsely identified African-American and Asian faces 10 to 100 times more than Caucasian faces, researchers for the National Institute of Standards and Technology found.”)

NYTimes: Your Landlord Could Know That You’re Not at Home Right Now by Michael McKee (“Key fobs and other smart-access technologies make it easier for us to get in and out of our homes — but they’re also a privacy … Continue reading →

WaPo: She installed a Ring camera in her children’s room for ‘peace of mind.’ A hacker accessed it and harassed her 8-year-old daughter. By Allyson Chiu (“Several Ring users nationwide have reported that their security systems were also infiltrated by … Continue reading →

Vox: How to avoid a dystopian future of facial recognition in law enforcement y Shirin Ghaffary (“The future of police surveillance doesn’t have to be scary. But government and citizens need to step up.”) Vox: What facial recognition steals from … Continue reading →

VICE: Inside Ring’s Quest to Become Law Enforcement’s Best Friend by Caroline Haskins (“Amazon’s surveillance company has seeped into hundreds of American communities by throwing parties for police and giving them free devices.”)

WaPo: DHS withdraws proposal to require airport facial scans for U.S. citizens by Lori Aratani (“Homeland security officials said Thursday they were dropping a proposal that would have required citizens to have their faces scanned when entering or leaving the … Continue reading →

WSJ: A Billion Surveillance Cameras Forecast to Be Watching Within Two Years by Liza Lin and Newley Purnell (“Global numbers to grow almost 30% as higher image quality allows better facial recognition. … As governments and companies invest more in … Continue reading →

techdirt: EU Tells US: Ban Strong Encryption, And Privacy Shield Data Sharing Agreement Could Be At Risk by Glyn Moody:

The Intercept: Amazon’s Ring Planned Neighborhood “Watch Lists” Built on Facial Recognition by Sam Biddle (“Ring, Amazon’s crimefighting surveillance camera division, has crafted plans to use facial recognition software and its ever-expanding network of home security cameras to create AI-enabled … Continue reading →

The Intercept: Senators Press Amazon on Ring’s Sloppy Security Practices by Sam Biddle (“This past year has been chock full of uncomfortable revelations about Ring, the surveillance social network and home security hardware company acquired by Amazon for a reported … Continue reading →

NBC News: Police used Google location data to find an accused bank robber. He says that’s illegal. By Jon Schuppe (“The demand for Google data, known as a geofence warrant, is a way for law enforcement authorities to take advantage … Continue reading →