Privacy

After nearly a decade of contentious debate surrounding the use of police body cameras, the Portland, Ore., City Council has approved a policy. Until now, Portland was the nation’s largest municipal police agency without the technology.

Lawmakers of both parties are eyeing legislation that would advance federal data privacy as well as measures that would address children’s online privacy. Colorado, Connecticut, Utah and Virginia have also passed privacy laws.

The Connecticut Special Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights has issued a report outlining the implications of the use of algorithms and the potential for discrimination.

The measure, null, and its companion, null, are headed for final votes. Both measures attempt to give consumers the right to opt out of sharing their data for targeted online ads.

The Supreme Court has agreed to decide when — or whether — public officials with public-facing social media accounts can legally deny access to individuals who want to post comments.

State lawmakers gave final approval to legislation imposing significant penalties on any person who uses remote tracking devices to keep tabs on someone without their consent.

According to the draft policy under consideration, the goal is to have a cohesive online presence through municipal, departmental and committee social media sites, with the municipal website as the primary online presence.

The New Jersey Supreme Court is hearing a case where the state is arguing that Facebook should give it continuing access to user information to determine whether they're engaging in criminal activity.

As many still advocate for a national privacy law, experts debate where to set guidelines on how police work with constituent data. The discussion isn’t as simple as personal privacy versus community safety.

Generative AI is designed to produce the unforeseen, but that doesn’t mean developers can’t predict the types of social consequences it may cause.

OpenAI has just over a week to comply with European data protection laws following a temporary ban in Italy as well as a slew of investigations in other EU countries.

Assemblyman Phil Ting authored a bill that would set standards for law enforcement’s use of technology that captures images of people’s faces and compares them to an existing database. The ACLU disagrees with this approach.

Several states are pushing legislation that would limit online access and social media use by kids, setting up yet another potential confrontation between states and Congress on technology policy.

Legal system reform advocates say new policing technologies such as decision-making algorithms and facial recognition can exacerbate problematic practices, making them more efficient as well as more opaque.

The Spokane County Commission and Spokane City Council have dedicated nearly $5 million to the project. Both governments used money they received through the American Rescue Plan.

Roughly 150 deputies – especially those who regularly interact with the public – will soon be outfitted with the devices as part of the department’s investment in body camera technology.

The Denver FBI field office is warning the public not to use the free public USB device chargers found in hotels, shopping centers and airports. The ports are increasingly being used to deliver malware to personal devices.

Portland police plan to start using drones in a yearlong pilot to document crash scenes, watch traffic, respond to bomb threats, help in searches and respond to disasters like building collapses.