Privacy
Coverage of the way technology is changing the kinds of data state and local government collects about citizens, how it uses that data and the ethical and security implications of that. Includes stories about police body cameras, facial recognition, artificial intelligence, medical data, surveillance, etc., as well as privacy policy nationwide.
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The City Council has approved a three-year, $200,000 contract to install the surveillance devices. Data collected may be used by other state and local law enforcement at city discretion, the police chief said.
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After roughly 90 minutes of public comment, nearly all in opposition, the Flagstaff City Council voted to end its contract for automated license plate readers. The devices came into use last year.
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The city’s police chief reviewed its contract with the vendor providing the cameras and will brief the Common Council, as officials contemplate placing more devices. The city, not the vendor, owns the data collected.
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Advocacy groups say they received five New York City Police Department contracts that were significantly redacted. These documents seem to violate a law that requires the NYPD to be transparent about surveillance tech.
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Thanks to a judge’s permission, Hartford County authorities wiretapped a suspect’s Facebook audio calls in 2020 for a drug trafficking case. A handful of similar wiretaps have occurred in Maryland since 2018.
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A lengthy investigation that involved scouring surveillance videos and using facial recognition software connected a Harrisburg man to the shooting death of a Houston truck driver, court records state.
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Earlier this week, UC San Diego Health disclosed that it experienced a data breach between December 2020 and April 2021 that could have compromised sensitive patient information. The breach occurred through phishing.
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The Richmond County Sheriff's Office in Georgia is employing a camera system from Altanta-based company Flock Safety to track down criminals. Those who use the system claim it's not a threat to privacy.
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Between April 27 and July 16, hackers attacked Florida's unemployment insurance website. The criminals may have acquired up to about 58,000 Social Security numbers of unemployed Floridians, among other data.
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Hesperia, Calif., will buy seven more automated license plate reader cameras, despite a number of residents who expressed concern that the surveillance technology could turn the city into an Orwellian dystopia.
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Last year, fraudsters swindled thousands of dollars from Michigan’s unemployment insurance program using the celebrity names “Kimberly Kardashian” and “Kylie Jenner.” Michigan has since improved its fraud detection.
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A now-deactivated private website published the names, vaccination details and other personal information of almost 5,000 employees of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. Firefighters have demanded an investigation.
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The federal government recently approved an idea from Amazon to track people's sleep patterns through new technology. Experts warn that Amazon is taking a creepy step into American bedrooms with this approach.
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As more government entities look to adopt facial recognition, concerns have been raised about its potential risks and how the technology might have disproportionate impacts for transgender and nonbinary individuals.
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The federal government believes it has identified a group of criminals stationed in Maryland that took millions of dollars from states, particularly California, through unemployment insurance fraud.
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Law enforcement uses facial recognition systems with little oversight and, at times, disastrous impact. During a congressional hearing this week, members and experts talked through how new laws could head off greater harm.
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Identity thieves are posing as the state’s Motor Vehicle Commission through text messages as a means of conning residents out of their personal information, police in Franklin Township report.
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Hudson, McDonald's and White Castle are just a few companies taking steps toward an automated workforce. The transition raises privacy concerns and questions about what it will ultimately mean for the workforce.
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The proposal would close data sharing loopholes and allow immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses, regardless of legal status, as long as they submit certain documents to the Registry of Motor Vehicles.
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The National Institute of Standards and Technology recently released a proposal regarding the risk of bias in the use of artificial intelligence to help reduce it. The agency is seeking comments from the tech community.
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In an 8-7 decision, a federal appeals court rejected any possibility of Baltimore, Md., restarting its aerial surveillance program, which began years ago and collected about 6.7 million images.