Privacy

"French lawmakers are preparing a renewed push to limit children’s online exposure, unveiling a proposal that would block anyone under 15 from using social media platforms.

"A courtroom drama over state surveillance in India took a striking turn when a Supreme Court judge suggested that people who live transparently should not be troubled by government monitoring.

"The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has a new definition of “reasonable expectation.” According to the justices, it’s no longer reasonable to assume that what you type into Google is yours to keep.

"I am standing on the corner of Harris Road and Young Street outside of the Crossroads Business Park in Bakersfield, California, looking up at a Flock surveillance camera bolted high above a traffic signal. On my phone, I am watching myself in real time as the camera records and livestreams me—without any password or login—to the open internet. I wander into the intersection, stare at the camera and wave. On the livestream, I can see myself clearly. Hundreds of miles away, my colleagues are remotely watching me too through the exposed feed.

"There is no single technological "silver bullet" solution to the serious problem of online CSAM. But that doesn't mean we must choose between "chat control" or nothing. As experts in child protection have long highlighted, fighting online CSAM requires a broad spectrum of solutions that encompass an all-of-society approach. Taking a socio-technical lens to the problem can also help us understand where technology can play an assistive role, whilst recognizing technology’s limits to tackle complex societal issues.

"In May, the European Commission once again presented its proposal. Yet several states objected. That included Germany, but also Poland, Austria and the Netherlands. As a result, Denmark, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Council, immediately began drafting a new version, known as “Chat Control 2.0” and unveiled earlier this month, which removed the requirement for general monitoring of private chats; the searches would now remain formally voluntary for providers. All this happened under the auspices of Coreper, the Committee of Permanent Representatives — one of the most powerful, but least visible, institutions in the EU decision-making process. It is where most EU legislation is actually negotiated; if Coreper agrees on a legislative file, member states almost always rubber-stamp it.

"The Baden-Württemberg state parliament has approved the use of Palantir's controversial "Gotham" software for police data analysis.

"Just before a decisive meeting in Brussels, digital rights expert and former Member of the European Parliament Dr. Patrick Breyer is sounding the alarm. Using a “deceptive sleight of hand,” a mandatory and expanded Chat Control is being pushed through the back door, in a form even more intrusive than the originally rejected plan. The legislative package could be greenlit tomorrow in a closed-door EU working group session.

"This year, when states began using an expanded Department of Homeland Security system to check their voter rolls for noncitizens, it was supposed to validate the Trump administration’s push to harness data from across federal agencies to expose illicit voting and stiffen immigration enforcement.

"A growing confrontation over major digital surveillance powers is unfolding within the European Union, as Denmark’s Justice Minister Peter Hummelgaard stands accused of using false claims to pressure hesitant governments into backing the European Commission’s proposed Chat Control 2.0 regulation.

"The Amazon-owned Ring doorbell company launched a new feature on its Neighbors app earlier this month called Community Requests, which allows police officers to request camera footage and live-feed access from users.

"There’s more drone technology to come. Skydio has a small indoor drone that adeptly flies around objects in tight spaces and can provide surveillance in a building or house, which could be useful for executing search warrants or during a fire. The company is working on a fixed-wing drone that flies farther and is launched with a robotic arm. Adam Bry, Skydio’s co-founder and chief executive officer, predicts this tracking drone will help reduce or even eliminate dangerous high-speed chases.One of the main privacy concerns about law enforcement drones is that they could randomly collect, use and share data from video, audio or even sensors, such as heat sensors, while they are airborne. Commitments to only collect and use data during a specific police or fire emergency call should be backed up by independent data audits and by providing the public continuous full transparency about when, where and why drone flights were made. This can all be done automatically and not burden officers with more paperwork.

"If you live in Mississippi, you may have noticed that you are no longer able to log into your Bluesky or Dreamwidth accounts from within the state. That’s because, in a chilling early warning sign for the U.S., both social platforms decided to block all users in Mississippi from their services rather than risk hefty fines under the state’s oppressive age verification mandate.

"With names like Investigative Case Management (ICM) and ImmigrationOS, the big data platforms Palantir provides for the Department of Homeland Security, and like those it offers the IDF, are fundamentally composed of four shared elements: the underlying data integrated into the system, the interpretation and modeling of that data through analytics, and the execution of automated actions – with or without human involvement. At every layer of this architecture, there are significant ethical questions regarding civil rights, data collection, data quality, bias, discrimination, accuracy, automation and, most importantly, accountability.

"The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) has shown interest in using GeoSpy, a powerful AI tool that can pinpoint the location of photos based on features such as the soil, architecture, and other identifying features, according to emails obtained by 404 Media. The news also comes as GeoSpy’s founder shared a video showing how the tool can be used in relation to undocumented immigrants in sanctuary cities, and specifically Los Angeles.

"Privacy advocates and some cities around the country have expressed concern about Flock’s technology, saying the products provide customers access to vast surveillance capabilities.

"If authorities are willing to claim that Comey’s social media post is an emergency justifying warrantless real-time cellphone location tracking, it’s not hard to imagine that they could make a similar (bogus) claim about a suspected whistleblower or a journalist who reports critically on the administration. It wouldn’t be any more meritless than their claims that journalism is inciting crimes or threatening national security.

"The Trump administration is continuing its dangerous push to surveil and suppress foreign students’ social media activity. The State Department recently announced an unprecedented new requirement that applicants for student and exchange visas must set all social media accounts to “public” for government review. The State Department also indicated that if applicants refuse to unlock their accounts or otherwise don’t maintain a social media presence, the government may interpret it as an attempt to evade the requirement or deliberately hide online activity.