Archive for the 'Surveillance' Category
Facebook Reveals Secrets You Haven’t Shared
March 12th, 2013Via: Financial Times: The increasing amount of personal information that can been gleaned by computer programs that track how people use Facebook has been revealed by an extensive academic study. Such programmes can discern undisclosed private information such as Facebook users’ sexuality, drug-use habits and even whether their parents separated when they were young, according […]
Ohio Judge: Traffic Cameras Are a Scam Against Motorists
March 11th, 2013Via: Columbus Dispatch / AP: A southwestern Ohio judge yesterday ordered a halt to a speeding-ticket blitz in a village that installed traffic cameras, saying it’s “a scam” against motorists. Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Robert Ruehlman blasted the cameras and the thousands of $105 citations that resulted. He ruled that they violate motorists’ constitutional […]
Microsoft Phone App Collects Audio from Bars and Restaurants to ‘Deduce the Current Atmosphere’
March 11th, 2013Via: MIT Technology Review: An app called Bing Now, demonstrated at Microsoft’s headquarters last week, could give Web searchers a way to gauge the current vibe of a bar or restaurant before they book a table. Smartphones can already deliver directions to a restaurant, endless reviews, and other static information. But without making a phone […]
Electronic Sensors Printed Directly on the Skin
March 11th, 2013Via: MIT Technology Review: Taking advantage of recent advances in flexible electronics, researchers have devised a way to “print” devices directly onto the skin so people can wear them for an extended period while performing normal daily activities. Such systems could be used to track health and monitor healing near the skin’s surface, as in […]
9th Circuit Appeals Court: 4th Amendment Applies At The Border; Also: Password Protected Files Shouldn’t Arouse Suspicion
March 9th, 2013Ok, now they’ll need to make up a reason to take your laptop and copy its contents. Via: TechDirt: Here’s a surprise ruling. For many years we’ve written about how troubling it is that Homeland Security agents are able to search the contents of electronic devices, such as computers and phones at the border, without […]
‘The Coming Surveillance Dystopia’
March 8th, 2013I wasn’t going to post this. You know all of this, or, at least you should, if you’ve been hanging out here for any length of time. But, Holder, “Dressed like Elvis and surrounded by the Real Housewives of Orange County,” won me over. Must share. Via: The Verge: Assuming that some degree of privacy […]
House Orders Pentagon to Disclose Domestic Drone Use
March 8th, 2013Via: Cnet: The U.S. House of Representatives voted yesterday to require the Defense Department to disclose whether military drones are being operated domestically to conduct surveillance on American citizens. A requirement buried in a lengthy appropriations bill calls on newly confirmed Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to disclose to Congress what “policies and procedures” are in […]
K-12 Student Database Will Share Information with ‘Private Companies Selling Educational Products and Services’
March 4th, 2013You’ll love this. Check out the part in bold to see who’s behind this database. Via: Reuters: An education technology conference this week in Austin, Texas, will clang with bells and whistles as startups eagerly show off their latest wares. But the most influential new product may be the least flashy: a $100 million database […]
DHS Using Customized Versions of Predator Drones
March 3rd, 2013Via: Cnet: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has customized its Predator drones, originally built for overseas military operations, to carry out at-home surveillance tasks that have civil libertarians worried: identifying civilians carrying guns and tracking their cell phones, government documents show. The documents provide more details about the surveillance capabilities of the department’s unmanned […]
U.S. Navy Will Run Drone Missions 24/7 Out of Point Mugu
March 2nd, 2013Via: Gizmodo: I talked to the U.S. Fleet Forces Command, which had plenty to say about the upcoming drone playground, which is just one of “several bases throughout the world” the Navy wants. Each will host Tritons, with Point Mugu boasting four, conducting around five missions every single day. That’s over 1,800 takeoffs or landings […]
