surveillance
Mixed Bag Illinois Law Unleashes Drones on Populace, But Guarantees FR and Weapons Limits
According to The Register, a new Illinois law signed by governor Pritzker overhauls the rules regulating law enforcement use of drones, to mixed effect. The law, known as the “Drones as First Responders Act,” grants police in the … Read more »
The Technological Leaps Hitting the Market Show the True Face of Facial Recognition
A new report from the LA Times reveals the frightening scale of potential civil liberties violations posed by recent advances in facial recognition technology. The piece profiles a company called Vintra which is showcasing the “co-appearance” feature of its … Read more »
Illinois’s Nation-Leading Biometric Privacy Protections Continue to Strengthen
Last month, the Illinois Supreme Court set a milestone legal precedent to strengthen the state’s Biometric Information Privacy Act (or “BIPA”). The ruling expands the scope of possible enforcement of already potent biometric privacy protections.
In the case before the … Read more »
Senators Continue to Push Legislation Curbing Facial Recognition Use By Federal and State Governments
Massachusetts Senator Edward Markey has formally reintroduced his “Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act”. Initially debuted in the Senate chambers in 2021, Markey has been persistent in reintroducing it.
If passed, the bill would be a first for regulating … Read more »
Report On Leak Investigation By CBP Reveals Unrestricted Surveillance Powers
According to an investigation by Yahoo News, a little-known division of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was found to regularly snoop on journalists, nonprofit workers, and even members of Congress using CBP’s vast arsenal of surveillance tools. Moreover, … Read more »
New FTC Report Admits that ISP Surveillance is Practically Inescapable
According to The Register, a new report by the FTC has concluded that it is nearly impossible for internet service provider (ISP) customers to escape surveillance from these companies in actual practice. In particular, the report notes that add-on … Read more »
Apple Torches Its Pro-Privacy Reputation to Build a Massive iPhone Surveillance Infrastructure
According to the EFF, Apple has announced that it will be building a content-monitoring system into every iPhone, obliterating its reputation as a privacy champion practically overnight. The smartphone giant explained that every iPhone will soon be automatically loaded … Read more »
Magistrate Judge in Chicago Sets Stage for Challenging “Geofence” Warrant Constitutionality
According to a report in Wired, a magistrate judge based in Chicago has called the constitutionality of expansive location-based search warrants into question for the first time. In a July ruling that was only recently unsealed, judge M. David … Read more »
Federal Court Finds NSA Metadata Program Illegal
According to Politico, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that a former NSA call metadata collection program violated US law. In its unanimous decision, the appeals court found the authorizations of the NSA’s so-called “bulk collection” … Read more »
Leading Contact Tracing Initiative Offers Insufficient Assurance Against Abuse
Not long after the first wave of states imposed shelter-in-place orders to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, public discourse coalesced around initiatives which proposed harnessing technology to stem the spread of the virus.
In particular, public health experts in the United … Read more »
