#digital-surveillance — Public Fediverse posts

Reuters: Amazon’s Ring sued over facial recognition feature, latest privacy concern for doorbell maker. “Amazon was sued on Monday by a Virginia resident over what he said were privacy violations after the company’s Ring doorbell cameras at friends and ​family members’ homes collected and stored images of his face using facial recognition ‌software.”

Reuters: Amazon’s Ring sued over facial recognition feature, latest privacy concern for doorbell maker. “Amazon was sued on Monday by a Virginia resident over what he said were privacy violations after the company’s Ring doorbell cameras at friends and ​family members’ homes collected and stored images of his face using facial recognition ‌software.”

Gizmodo: Philly Cops Are Reportedly Monitoring Anti-AI Memes, According to Internal Alert. “A confidential law enforcement bulletin recently obtained by The Intercept reveals that, at least in Philadelphia, cops are taking note of those speaking out against AI. In a December report from the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, marked “for official use only,” its authors warned that […]

Gizmodo: Philly Cops Are Reportedly Monitoring Anti-AI Memes, According to Internal Alert. “A confidential law enforcement bulletin recently obtained by The Intercept reveals that, at least in Philadelphia, cops are taking note of those speaking out against AI. In a December report from the Delaware Valley Intelligence Center, marked “for official use only,” its authors warned that […]

Episodio 5: Conclusions.

🧵 1/4
We did it. A Samsung A12 in Cuba, sub‑800 kbps internet, no custom ROM, no paid VPN. I replaced: browser, search engine, keyboard, office suite, gallery, camera, phone, messages, contacts, calendar, music player, file manager, notes, calculator, voice recorder, and app store.

#DeGoogledAndroid #privacy #digitalsurveillance

Canada-US coalition emerges against Mark Carney's surveillance bill

https://web.brid.gy/r/https://www.theblaze.com/align/canada-us-coalition-emerges-against-mark-carney-s-surveillance-bill

Ars Technica: Websites have a new way to spy on visitors: Analyzing their SSD activity. “Now sites have a new way to spy on their visitors: measuring subtle interactions with their solid-state drives. The technique, named FROST (fingerprinting remotely using OPFS-based SSD timing), allows sites to monitor other sites a visitor is viewing and what apps are open on their devices.”

Ars Technica: Websites have a new way to spy on visitors: Analyzing their SSD activity. “Now sites have a new way to spy on their visitors: measuring subtle interactions with their solid-state drives. The technique, named FROST (fingerprinting remotely using OPFS-based SSD timing), allows sites to monitor other sites a visitor is viewing and what apps are open on their devices.”

Tom’s Hardware: Angry tiny Texas town council member proposes total ban on cellular and GPS devices in protest over AI dispute — says ‘Let’s take Bandera back to 1880’ after town votes to dump AI-powered license plate reader. “Bandera, Texas, a small town of around 900 residents located about 40 miles northeast of San Antonio, Texas, opted to cancel its Flock AI contract. Three of the […]

Tom’s Hardware: Angry tiny Texas town council member proposes total ban on cellular and GPS devices in protest over AI dispute — says ‘Let’s take Bandera back to 1880’ after town votes to dump AI-powered license plate reader. “Bandera, Texas, a small town of around 900 residents located about 40 miles northeast of San Antonio, Texas, opted to cancel its Flock AI contract. Three of the […]

Government Executive: The White House is ordering agencies to place its new app on all employees’ government phones. “The White House recently unveiled a new app to give the public ‘unfiltered’ access to ‘key priorities,’ ‘historic moments’ and ‘policy breakthroughs.’ Now, it’s directing agencies to help install it on the government phones of federal employees.”

Government Executive: The White House is ordering agencies to place its new app on all employees’ government phones. “The White House recently unveiled a new app to give the public ‘unfiltered’ access to ‘key priorities,’ ‘historic moments’ and ‘policy breakthroughs.’ Now, it’s directing agencies to help install it on the government phones of federal employees.”

Northeastern University: Workers’ information shared with third-party companies, new research reveals. “Companies are sharing workers’ identifiable information and online activity to third-party companies, including Microsoft, Google and Facebook, using employee monitoring software known as ‘bossware,’ new Northeastern University research has revealed.”

Northeastern University: Workers’ information shared with third-party companies, new research reveals. “Companies are sharing workers’ identifiable information and online activity to third-party companies, including Microsoft, Google and Facebook, using employee monitoring software known as ‘bossware,’ new Northeastern University research has revealed.”

Iowa Capital Dispatch: Grinnell College faces class-action lawsuit alleging privacy violations. “The lawsuit alleges that in July 2024, Eyal Hanfling visited the college’s website and that his information was then shared with third parties. The lawsuit seeks damages for Hanfling and a putative class of similarly situated users who were allegedly harmed by the site.”

Iowa Capital Dispatch: Grinnell College faces class-action lawsuit alleging privacy violations. “The lawsuit alleges that in July 2024, Eyal Hanfling visited the college’s website and that his information was then shared with third parties. The lawsuit seeks damages for Hanfling and a putative class of similarly situated users who were allegedly harmed by the site.”

Ars Technica: FBI seeks US-wide access to license plate cameras, wants “data in near real time”. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced plans to buy nationwide access to a network of license plate readers, saying it will award contracts to one or more vendors that can offer ‘near real time’ information from cameras across the US. The proposed contract is for the FBI Directorate of […]

Ars Technica: FBI seeks US-wide access to license plate cameras, wants “data in near real time”. “The Federal Bureau of Investigation announced plans to buy nationwide access to a network of license plate readers, saying it will award contracts to one or more vendors that can offer ‘near real time’ information from cameras across the US. The proposed contract is for the FBI Directorate of […]

Hoodline San Francisco: SF Lawyers Say Hisense TVs Turn Your Living Room Into a Spy Den. “San Francisco lawyers say Hisense USA has turned millions of its smart TVs into always-on surveillance tools, according to a federal class-action lawsuit filed last Tuesday. The complaint alleges the sets’ automatic content recognition, or ACR, can grab snapshots of what is on a screen as often as every […]

Hoodline San Francisco: SF Lawyers Say Hisense TVs Turn Your Living Room Into a Spy Den. “San Francisco lawyers say Hisense USA has turned millions of its smart TVs into always-on surveillance tools, according to a federal class-action lawsuit filed last Tuesday. The complaint alleges the sets’ automatic content recognition, or ACR, can grab snapshots of what is on a screen as often as every […]

7 Employee Engagement Solutions vs Surveillance - Choose Democracy

A recent study shows 42% of workers tie their engagement to the type of time‑tracking tool their company uses. Discover which platforms keep the office democratic and transparent.

https://hrops.site/7-employee-engagement-solutions-vs-surveillance-ch/

#attendancesoftwarecomparison #democraticworkplace #employeeautonomy #digitalsurveillance #bestschedulingtools

Gizmodo: Apple’s Privacy Standards May Be Eroding as New Siri Features Roll Out, Report Says. “If this is the plan, it might be an unwelcome change in the way Apple goes about handling its deep learning-related tasks that will disappoint privacy-focused Apple fans. Apple’s tight privacy around, for instance, face detection data sets the standard here. Faces are recognized on your device, […]

Gizmodo: Apple’s Privacy Standards May Be Eroding as New Siri Features Roll Out, Report Says. “If this is the plan, it might be an unwelcome change in the way Apple goes about handling its deep learning-related tasks that will disappoint privacy-focused Apple fans. Apple’s tight privacy around, for instance, face detection data sets the standard here. Faces are recognized on your device, […]

MinnPost: Minnesota House passes social media protections for minors, drawing opposition from tech industry group. “Some of the safety features in the bill include requiring parental consent for children signing up for social media accounts; setting privacy settings to the strongest levels by default; prohibiting targeted ads; and limiting addictive features such as infinite scrolling and video […]

MinnPost: Minnesota House passes social media protections for minors, drawing opposition from tech industry group. “Some of the safety features in the bill include requiring parental consent for children signing up for social media accounts; setting privacy settings to the strongest levels by default; prohibiting targeted ads; and limiting addictive features such as infinite scrolling and video […]

Ah, the dream of using WiFi to sense humans because clearly, there weren't *enough* ways for technology to creepily invade our lives. 🤖👀 "Intelligence for the Real World"—more like "Paranoia for the Gullible". Because who needs privacy when you can have WiFi-witchcraft? 📡🙃
https://cognitum.one/RuView#capabilities #WiFiSensing #PrivacyConcerns #TechInvasion #DigitalSurveillance #CreepyTechnology #HackerNews #ngated

Ah, the dream of using WiFi to sense humans because clearly, there weren't *enough* ways for technology to creepily invade our lives. 🤖👀 "Intelligence for the Real World"—more like "Paranoia for the Gullible". Because who needs privacy when you can have WiFi-witchcraft? 📡🙃
https://cognitum.one/RuView#capabilities #WiFiSensing #PrivacyConcerns #TechInvasion #DigitalSurveillance #CreepyTechnology #HackerNews #ngated

@EUCommission Age verification [sic] is surveillance, and puts LGBTQI+ people at risk, especially younger people.

Just an FYI, for Uschi.

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

#IDAHO #IDAHOBIT #Surveillance #DigitalSurveillance

@EUCommission Age verification [sic] is surveillance, and puts LGBTQI+ people at risk, especially younger people.

Just an FYI, for Uschi.

🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

#IDAHO #IDAHOBIT #Surveillance #DigitalSurveillance

🧵 5/5
Future plan: get a Google Pixel (second‑hand) and install GrapheneOS. Then I can say goodbye to Google Play Services completely. For now, this is the only real loose end.
⬇️ Final episode: Conclusions and reflections.

#degoogle #digitalfreedom #privacy #digitalsurveillance

Episode 4:

🧵 1/5
Google Play Services is like an OS inside the OS: push notifications, location, authentication, app compatibility. Many apps (WhatsApp, banking, etc.) depend on it. Without it, notifications break or apps crash.

#degoogle #privacy #digitalsurveillance

"Our submission suggested that Ofcom should consider whether the provider may violate the laws of a third country in complying with a technology notice. There is no such requirement in the Act, and it was not mentioned in Ofcom’s guidance. The guidance did note that a technology notice will only be imposed in relation to the operation of a service in the UK or as it affects UK users of the service. But there are serious concerns over whether an accredited technology could target only UK users on a global communications service without sweeping in the communications of users in other countries (and thus triggering a potential conflict of laws). We advised that a requirement should be added to the guidance that Ofcom should consider conflicting liabilities on the service provider before issuing a notice. In response, Ofcom amended the guidance to state that it will consider a potential conflict with foreign law, so long as such a conflict is raised by the provider.

This is an issue which I think has been overlooked in much of the commentary (academic and policy) on this power and similar proposed powers debated in the EU child sexual abuse regulation. Most of the services that are within scope of technology notices (and the proposed EU ‘detection orders’) are global services. I expect it would be technically difficult, not to mention costly, for these service providers to figure out how to scan the communications of only UK users. Further, how are we identifying a ‘UK user’—someone who is in the UK, a UK citizen, a UK resident, etc? Limiting the interception or scanning of communications to UK users may play politically, but in practice, it seems infeasible."

https://issuesincybercrimelaw.substack.com/p/uk-digital-surveillance-through-platform

#UK #Ofcom #OnlineSafetyAct #OSA #DigitalSurveillance #Privacy

"Our submission suggested that Ofcom should consider whether the provider may violate the laws of a third country in complying with a technology notice. There is no such requirement in the Act, and it was not mentioned in Ofcom’s guidance. The guidance did note that a technology notice will only be imposed in relation to the operation of a service in the UK or as it affects UK users of the service. But there are serious concerns over whether an accredited technology could target only UK users on a global communications service without sweeping in the communications of users in other countries (and thus triggering a potential conflict of laws). We advised that a requirement should be added to the guidance that Ofcom should consider conflicting liabilities on the service provider before issuing a notice. In response, Ofcom amended the guidance to state that it will consider a potential conflict with foreign law, so long as such a conflict is raised by the provider.

This is an issue which I think has been overlooked in much of the commentary (academic and policy) on this power and similar proposed powers debated in the EU child sexual abuse regulation. Most of the services that are within scope of technology notices (and the proposed EU ‘detection orders’) are global services. I expect it would be technically difficult, not to mention costly, for these service providers to figure out how to scan the communications of only UK users. Further, how are we identifying a ‘UK user’—someone who is in the UK, a UK citizen, a UK resident, etc? Limiting the interception or scanning of communications to UK users may play politically, but in practice, it seems infeasible."

https://issuesincybercrimelaw.substack.com/p/uk-digital-surveillance-through-platform

#UK #Ofcom #OnlineSafetyAct #OSA #DigitalSurveillance #Privacy

Engadget: GM agrees to pay $12.75 million to settle California lawsuit over misuse of customers’ driving data . “Following its settlement with the FTC earlier this year over its sale of drivers’ data to brokers, General Motors has now also reached a settlement in California. The company agreed to pay $12.75 million in civil penalties to settle the lawsuit led by Attorney General Rob Bonta on […]

Engadget: GM agrees to pay $12.75 million to settle California lawsuit over misuse of customers’ driving data . “Following its settlement with the FTC earlier this year over its sale of drivers’ data to brokers, General Motors has now also reached a settlement in California. The company agreed to pay $12.75 million in civil penalties to settle the lawsuit led by Attorney General Rob Bonta on […]

🧵 8/8
Episode 4 will tackle the hardest nut: Google Play Services (notifications, location, authentication). Can we replace it with microG? Spoiler: not easily on this phone.
⬇️ Continue to Episode 4.

#DeGoogledAndroid #privacymatters #digitalsurveillance

🧵 8/8
Episode 4 will tackle the hardest nut: Google Play Services (notifications, location, authentication). Can we replace it with microG? Spoiler: not easily on this phone.
⬇️ Continue to Episode 4.

#DeGoogledAndroid #privacymatters #digitalsurveillance

🧵 1/8
Stock Samsung apps are not private. I replaced them all with open source alternatives. The main source: F‑Droid (a massive repository of libre apps). I also added the IzzyOnDroid repo for more recent builds.
#fossifyapps #privacymatters #digitalsurveillance #fdroid

🧵 1/8
Stock Samsung apps are not private. I replaced them all with open source alternatives. The main source: F‑Droid (a massive repository of libre apps). I also added the IzzyOnDroid repo for more recent builds.
#fossifyapps #privacymatters #digitalsurveillance #fdroid

Gizmodo: FCC Attempts to Solve Robocall Problem by Potentially Creating Even Bigger Privacy Problem. “Among other sweeping changes, the era of the burner phone could end with the rollout of new ‘Know Your Customer’ rules voted on by the FCC on April 30, as noted by the blog of the D.C. telecom law firm Wiley Rein. Customers would, according to the proposed rules, have to present a government […]

Gizmodo: FCC Attempts to Solve Robocall Problem by Potentially Creating Even Bigger Privacy Problem. “Among other sweeping changes, the era of the burner phone could end with the rollout of new ‘Know Your Customer’ rules voted on by the FCC on April 30, as noted by the blog of the D.C. telecom law firm Wiley Rein. Customers would, according to the proposed rules, have to present a government […]

Courthouse News Service: Meta can’t duck majority of Android advertising tracking claims. “A federal judge ruled Monday that Meta must face claims brought by Android users who say the tech giant exploited vulnerabilities in Android smartphones to match users’ browsing activity to their Meta social media accounts in an attempt to create more detailed advertising profiles.”

Courthouse News Service: Meta can’t duck majority of Android advertising tracking claims. “A federal judge ruled Monday that Meta must face claims brought by Android users who say the tech giant exploited vulnerabilities in Android smartphones to match users’ browsing activity to their Meta social media accounts in an attempt to create more detailed advertising profiles.”

Associated Press: A bank robber’s cellphone gave him away. Now the Supreme Court is hearing his case . “The geofence warrant police served on Google found that [Okello] Chatrie’s cellphone was among a handful of devices in the vicinity of the bank around the time it was robbed. Now the Supreme Court will decide whether geofence warrants violate the Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable […]

Associated Press: A bank robber’s cellphone gave him away. Now the Supreme Court is hearing his case . “The geofence warrant police served on Google found that [Okello] Chatrie’s cellphone was among a handful of devices in the vicinity of the bank around the time it was robbed. Now the Supreme Court will decide whether geofence warrants violate the Fourth Amendment’s ban on unreasonable […]

CalMatters: Websites break California privacy law at ‘industrial scale,’ survey finds. “A new audit has found that websites across the internet may be failing to abide by California privacy law, ignoring a requirement to not track visitors who set a privacy control.”

CalMatters: Websites break California privacy law at ‘industrial scale,’ survey finds. “A new audit has found that websites across the internet may be failing to abide by California privacy law, ignoring a requirement to not track visitors who set a privacy control.”

BBC: Meta to track workers’ clicks and keystrokes to train AI. “Meta will start tracking the way employees work, including their keystrokes and mouse clicks, to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models. The company, which owns Instagram and Facebook, told workers on Tuesday that a new tool will run on Meta’s computers and internal apps, logging their activity to be used as training data […]

BBC: Meta to track workers’ clicks and keystrokes to train AI. “Meta will start tracking the way employees work, including their keystrokes and mouse clicks, to train its artificial intelligence (AI) models. The company, which owns Instagram and Facebook, told workers on Tuesday that a new tool will run on Meta’s computers and internal apps, logging their activity to be used as training data […]

Tom’s Hardware: LinkedIn is spying on you, according to a new ‘BrowserGate’ security report — scripts stealthily scan visitors’ browsers for over 6,000 Chrome extensions and harvest hardware data. “LinkedIn is understood to be injecting a JavaScript fingerprinting script into every page load that probes visitors’ browsers for 6,236 installed Chrome extensions and collects detailed device […]

Tom’s Hardware: LinkedIn is spying on you, according to a new ‘BrowserGate’ security report — scripts stealthily scan visitors’ browsers for over 6,000 Chrome extensions and harvest hardware data. “LinkedIn is understood to be injecting a JavaScript fingerprinting script into every page load that probes visitors’ browsers for 6,236 installed Chrome extensions and collects detailed device […]

Paypal decided to ask for more data. I decided to finally cancel it

#paypal #digitalsurveillance

Paypal decided to ask for more data. I decided to finally cancel it

#paypal #digitalsurveillance

NOTUS: The White House App Is Riddled With Cybersecurity Vulnerabilities. “The cybersecurity experts’ reviews of the app code turned up a host of issues that they say make data — for both users and some White House staffers — vulnerable. Several told NOTUS they were shocked by the slipshod approach to cybersecurity by the federal government, especially while the U.S. is engaged in war.”

Gothamist: New digital hall passes track bathroom breaks, gather data in NYC schools. “Permission to use the bathroom has taken an Orwellian turn at more than 150 New York City public schools, students say. New digital hall passes allow teachers to more closely monitor how long a student is spending in the bathroom — and who else has requested a bathroom break.”

Mashable: Trump’s new White House app is a security and privacy nightmare. “X user @Thereallo1026 went so far as decompiling the White House app and found that it’s sharing the exact location data of its users every 4.5 minutes and sending that information to a third-party server.”

Ars Technica: FBI started buying Americans’ location data again, Kash Patel confirms. “Three years after saying it had stopped buying location data of Americans without a warrant, the FBI acknowledged it has restarted the purchases. During questioning at a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing yesterday, FBI Director Kash Patel said the location data purchases have produced valuable […]