A group of U.S. tech giants, including Apple, Google and Microsoft, have collectively denounced the new so-called “anti-encryption” law passed by the Australian parliament last week. The bill was passed less than a day after the ruling coalition government secured the votes from opposition Labor lawmakers, despite strong objection from tech companies and telcos. “The […]
View More US tech giants decry Australia’s ‘deeply flawed’ new anti-encryption lawCategory: surveillance
Critics call NYPD’s drone deployment ‘a serious threat to privacy’
Drones are coming to New York City, and that should worry you.
So argues the New York Civil Liberties Union, which in a Dec. 7 statement blasts the forthcoming NYPD deployment of the flying surveillance bots as “a serious threat to privacy.” Th…
Lawmakers say Amazon’s facial recognition software may be racially biased and harm free expression
Amazon has “failed to provide sufficient answers” about its controversial facial recognition software, Rekognition — and lawmakers won’t take the company’s usual silent treatment for an answer. The letter, signed by eight lawmakers — including Sen. Edward Markey and Reps. John Lewis and Judy Chu — called on Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos to explain […]
View More Lawmakers say Amazon’s facial recognition software may be racially biased and harm free expressionACLU asks court to release a secret order forcing Facebook to wiretap Messenger
Earlier this year, the U.S. government tried to force Facebook to secretly recode its Messenger app to allow the feds to listen into an encrypted, real-time voice call on suspected members associated with the notorious MS-13 gang. It was only when reporters revealed that when Facebook declined, the feds pushed the court to hold the […]
View More ACLU asks court to release a secret order forcing Facebook to wiretap MessengerEmployees publicly call on Google to end its censored Chinese search engine
“Don’t be evil” has transformed from a mantra into a plea.
A group of Google employees published an open letter to their employer on Tuesday, calling for an end to Google’s planned censored Chinese search engine. The 11 co-signees are mostly engineer…
Five years and one pivot later, Trueface emerges with a promise for better facial recognition tech
Shaun Moore and Nezare Chafni didn’t initially intend to develop a new standalone facial recognition technology, when they first got started developing the technology that would become their new company, Trueface.ai. When the two serial entrepreneurs were planning their next act five years ago, they wanted to ride the wave of smart home technologies with […]
View More Five years and one pivot later, Trueface emerges with a promise for better facial recognition techIn a court filing, Edward Snowden says a report critical to an NSA lawsuit is authentic
An unexpected declaration by whistleblower Edward Snowden filed in court this week adds a new twist in a long-running lawsuit against the National Security Agency’s surveillance programs. The case, filed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation a decade ago, seeks to challenge the government’s alleged illegal and unconstitutional surveillance of Americans, who are largely covered under […]
View More In a court filing, Edward Snowden says a report critical to an NSA lawsuit is authenticKhashoggi’s fate shows the flip side of the surveillance state
It’s been over five years since NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden lifted the lid on government mass surveillance programs, revealing, in unprecedented detail, quite how deep the rabbit hole goes thanks to the spread of commercial software and connectivity enabling a bottomless intelligence-gathering philosophy of ‘bag it all’. Yet technology’s onward march has hardly broken its stride. […]
View More Khashoggi’s fate shows the flip side of the surveillance stateUnbiased algorithms can still be problematic
Creating unbiased, accurate algorithms isn’t impossible — it’s just time consuming. “It actually is mathematically possible,” facial recognition startup Kairos CEO Brian Brackeen told me on a panel at TechCrunch Disrupt SF. Algorithms are sets of rules that computers follow in order to solve problems and make decisions about a particular course of action. Whether […]
View More Unbiased algorithms can still be problematicYes Facebook is using your 2FA phone number to target you with ads
Facebook has confirmed it does in fact use phone numbers that users provided it for security purposes to also target them with ads. Specifically a phone number handed over for two factor authentication (2FA) — a security technique that adds a second layer of authentication to help keep accounts secure. Facebook’s confession follows a story Gizmodo […]
View More Yes Facebook is using your 2FA phone number to target you with adsWatchdog says face scanning at US airports is plagued with technical problems
A watchdog report has warned that Homeland Security’s face scanning program, designed to track all departing travelers from the US, is facing “technical and operational challenges” that may not see the system fully working by the time of its estimated completion in 2021. The report by Homeland Security’s inspector general said that although Customs and […]
View More Watchdog says face scanning at US airports is plagued with technical problemsDelta to start scanning faces at airport check-in
Delta will later this year roll out facial recognition at its terminal at Atlanta International Airport for anyone traveling on an international flight. The airline said the biometric facial scanning is optional — a move that will shave off a few minutes off each flight — but will help border and pre-flight security authorities before […]
View More Delta to start scanning faces at airport check-in