Privacy

There have been some new updates around airport security and identification. Here’s what you need to know.

An unsecured platform made roughly 4.6 million records across a dozen Illinois counties temporarily available on the Internet. Information exposed included voting registrations. The vulnerability was identified in July.

The civil rights advocacy organization sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom urging his signature on a bill that would ban law enforcement from deploying killer drones against the public.

The city has deployed 15 Flock Safety cameras to photograph vehicle license plates and alert on those being sought. The system, officials have said, is not used for immigration enforcement, and use is closely scrutinized.

Sheriff’s deputies’ vehicles will soon be able to scan license plates and check drivers’ criminal records, in an expansion of the technology. Funding is coming via a grant from the federal Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs.

The city apologized and, on Tuesday, removed documents from its website with unredacted personal information on residents, including Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers. An investigation is underway.

The Consortium for School Networking launched a program this year allowing districts to earn its Trusted Learning Environment Seal one step at a time. Using this method, the Georgia district recently received the full seal.

A recent incident at Tampa International Airport showed what can happen when facial recognition technology is in use. Transportation Security Administration officers used it to identify and arrest a person with an active arrest warrant.

The ACLU of Maryland is calling for safeguards to be incorporated in a statewide policy governing the use of facial recognition technology by law enforcement.

More than 500 applications of AI are in use across Texas agencies, a state representative said, but individual rights remain paramount. Efficiency must not come at the expense of privacy, panelists said.

The state legislature last month approved new legislation that gives local police departments the option to target loud vehicle stereos, exhaust systems and the like with the automated listening devices.

The Minnesota-based group has begun sending letters to patients whose information may have been accessed during a large cyber attack in February. The attack may have impacted data from as many as 1 in 3 Americans.

Gov. Mike Parson’s administration will spend $243,750 to purchase 21 additional license plate readers, to supplement law enforcement during a personnel shortage. A contract with Atlanta-based Flock Safety took effect Aug. 1.

Recent data walks, and the city’s newly launched digital rights platform, inform residents on how city technologies collect their personally identifiable information, and how it is stored.

The technology has been used since 2021 at Raleigh-Durham International Airport to check arriving international passengers. The Transportation Security Administration is now using it at checkpoints for all departing passengers.

The inaugural yearly report aims to address privacy and lack of transparency concerns. It shows how the Boston Police Department uses technology to prevent crime, including cellphone monitoring and cameras in neighborhoods.

A new lawsuit says the city has ignored its law that requires elected official approval for facial recognition use for at least four years, allowing officers to use whatever surveillance techniques they choose.

The Senate Commerce Committee will mark up the long-delayed legislation before Congress’ recess in August, Chair Maria Cantwell said. The markup of a House version was canceled last month, but it retains support, she said.