Privacy

After a seven-month investigation into automated license plate readers, Sacramento County's Grand Jury found the county Sheriff's Office and the Sacramento Police Department improperly shared data with out-of-state agencies.

Two local governments have taken steps to make residents aware of their digital rights. Experts argue that cities actually have a responsibility to do so.

City officials said Tuesday they had deployed the first 100 cameras; the other 300 are expected to be on the street by July. The devices, paid for by a $17 million state grant, are intended to take on organized retail theft.

Ruling that the Fourth Amendment protects a person’s right to privacy, a Norfolk Circuit Court has granted a defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained by city-owned license plate reader cameras, but without a search warrant.

Alarmed by the reach and rapid expansion of license plate cameras, privacy advocates have filed suit in Illinois, saying the cameras violate the Constitution’s protections against unreasonable search.

Los Angeles Unified School District is investigating claims that a user on the dark web posted student information including home address, homelessness status, disability status and contact information for relatives.

A bill introduced in the New York City Council last week would change the New York City Correction Department’s longtime practice of recording and keeping jail telephone calls. A court-ordered warrant or consent would be required.

Police in Anchorage, Alaska, began using body-worn cameras this year. Now, body cam video of a fatal officer-involved shooting could test a state position on releasing footage that could be evidence.

The city is cautioning constituents to look for signs of identity theft, after its phone lines and online payment system were compromised March 25. After the incident, officials worked with a third-party specialist to investigate.

The Credential Authentication Technology, in use by Transportation Security Administration agents at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, scans photo IDs, but also works to crack down on fraudulent identification.

The private information of around 10,300 people — potentially including Social Security numbers, passport and driver’s license numbers — may have been compromised by bad actors targeting the University of Chicago Medical Center.

At a time when cameras are ubiquitous and social media is part of community engagement, school districts need policies, and perhaps technology, that formalize the process of getting parental consent for photos of students.

Two bills on Internet safety and privacy for children that are now before the New York state Legislature have fierce opposition from tech companies. But Gov. Kathy Hochul said their passage is her “priority.”

Attorney and former Santa Cruz County Supervisor Gary Patton addressed hypothetical privacy questions and more at an event hosted Monday night by the Santa Cruz chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

In coming months, drones will supplant police emergency response in the Central Park precinct, in three precincts in Brooklyn and one in the Bronx. It’s not yet clear the types of calls on which the drones will be used.

After a state Supreme Court suggestion, lawmakers amended the state’s biometric privacy law Thursday. If signed by the governor, the law would limit damages collection to when biometric information is collected or disclosed without consent.

State legislators have agreed on what should be done about protecting residents from artificial intelligence, and against the use of deepfakes in elections. Proposed laws taking action on each have gone to Gov. Jared Polis for his signature.

Hackers who breached Wichita, Kan., police and traffic records were able to access residents’ personal information, including names, Social Security numbers and driver's licenses. Since then, the city’s network has remained down.