Some state governments and federal regulators were already moving to keep individuals’ reproductive health information private when a U.S. senator’s report last week offered a new jolt, describing how cellphone location data was used to send millions of anti-abortion ads to people who visited Planned Parenthood offices. Federal law bars medical providers from sharing health … Read more
The RCMP has been quietly using private surveillance companies to trawl through social media accounts and “publicly available” information on the internet since at least 2015, a new report by Canada’s privacy watchdog reveals. And the national police force is rejecting the federal privacy commissioner’s recommendations on making their use of “third-party” surveillance vendors more … Read more
Insta_photos | Istock | Getty Images Cue the George Orwell reference. Depending on where you work, there’s a significant chance that artificial intelligence is analyzing your messages on Slack, Microsoft Teams, Zoom and other popular apps. Huge U.S. employers such as Walmart, Delta Air Lines, T-Mobile, Chevron and Starbucks, as well as European brands including … Read more
SAN FRANCISCO — When it comes to dealing with a Florida college student who uses public data and social media to track the private jets of billionaires, politicians and other celebrities, Taylor Swift apparently can’t just shake it off. In late December, Swift’s camp hit Jack Sweeney, a junior studying information technology at the University … Read more
Canada’s two main spy agencies were rebuked by the Federal Court on Tuesday for failing to keep judges informed on how they handle Canadians’ identifying information. The court ruling is another in a line of decisions suggesting the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) had again failed its “duty of candour” to be upfront with judges … Read more
Utah is poised to become the next state to regulate bathroom access for transgender people after its Republican-controlled Legislature passed a measure Friday that requires people to use bathrooms and locker rooms in public schools and government-owned buildings that match their sex assigned at birth. Transgender people can defend themselves against a complaint that they … Read more
Police and fire departments will no longer be able to request users’ doorbell video footage from the Amazon-owned Ring, the company announced. Ring, in a blog post Wednesday, said it will end its “Request for Assistance (RFA)” tool, meaning public safety agencies will no longer be able to request and receive video in its Neighbors … Read more
ATHENS, Greece — The European Court of Human Rights ruled Tuesday that authorities in Greece violated the privacy rights of a group of women who were arrested and publicly identified in 2012 as HIV-positive prostitutes who allegedly endangered public health. The case was brought to the Strasbourg, France-based court by 11 Greek women, 10 of … Read more
Hidden cameras are being found in hotel rooms, house rentals, cruise ships, and even airplane bathrooms, leaving many travelers to wonder: “Could a hidden camera be watching me?” Spycams, as they’re called, are getting smaller, harder to find and easier to buy. From alarm clocks to air fresheners, water bottles and toothbrush holders, cameras come … Read more
The original version of this story appeared in Quanta Magazine. We all know to be careful about the details we share online, but the information we seek can also be revealing. Search for driving directions, and our location becomes far easier to guess. Check for a password in a trove of compromised data, and we … Read more
