Archive for the 'Surveillance' Category
Smartphones and Social Media Causing Mental Health Disaster with Children
August 4th, 2017Via: The Atlantic: Even when a seismic event—a war, a technological leap, a free concert in the mud—plays an outsize role in shaping a group of young people, no single factor ever defines a generation. Parenting styles continue to change, as do school curricula and culture, and these things matter. But the twin rise of […]
Slain Activist’s Lawyers Latest Known Targets of Spyware Sold to Mexican Government
August 2nd, 2017Via: CBC: At first glance, the text messages looked innocuous enough. One was a simple “service message,” the sort you might get from your cellular provider, with a link to more information. Another was more serious; the person who sent it said their father had died, and included a link to “dates for the wake.” […]
GCSB ‘Had No Idea’ Spy Gear Was Still Targeting Kim Dotcom
August 2nd, 2017Oh sure. Via: New Zealand Herald: THE GCSB lost control of its surveillance technology and wasn’t aware its systems continued spying on Kim Dotcom, according to new documents from the spy bureau. It claimed that it turned off all surveillance systems targeting Dotcom and others but found out more than a year later that surveillance […]
Putin Bans VPNs to Stop Russians Accessing Prohibited Websites
August 1st, 2017Via: BBC: Vladimir Putin has banned virtual private networks (VPNs) and Tor in a crackdown on apps that allow access to websites prohibited in Russia. The law, signed by President Putin, was passed by Russia’s parliament last week and will come into force on 1 November. A second law to ban anonymous use of online […]
‘Apple’s Silence in China Sets a Dangerous Precedent’
July 31st, 2017Dangerous precedent? I think it’s more of a dangerous precedent du jour. Apple blocks apps for the Chinese regime. Yes, that’s bad. But Cisco built China’s god damned Great Firewall in the first place! In mentioning Apple’s, “Dangerous Precedent,” this New York Times article doesn’t mention Cisco at all. I’m definitely not defending Apple—their manufacturing […]
Facebook Lobbies to Prevent State Limits on Facial Recognition
July 31st, 2017Via: The Center for Public Integrity: When Chicago resident Carlo Licata joined Facebook in 2009, he did what the 390 million other users of the world’s largest social network had already done: He posted photos of himself and friends, tagging the images with names. But what Licata, now 34, didn’t know was that every time […]
Disney’s Next Movie Could Be Watching You
July 25th, 2017Via: Fast Company: Now, Disney Research has developed a neural network that seems to be chasing a similar idea–but for the world of movies. The system has been trained to watch an audience of theatergoers as they watch a film. It can track reactions like smiling and laughter on hundreds of faces in a dark […]
The Tiny Satellites Ushering in the New Space Revolution
July 19th, 2017Smile for the birdy. Via: Bloomberg: With all 149 satellites in place, Planet will be able to photograph every inch of Earth’s surface every day—something even the U.S. government can’t do. This satellite constellation is one of many signs that the relationship between humans and space is changing in ways unseen since Russia and the […]
Facial Recognition Coming to Police Body Cameras
July 17th, 2017Via: Defense One: Even if the cop who pulls you over doesn’t recognize you, the body camera on his chest just might in the future. Device-maker Motorola announced Monday that would partner with artificial intelligence software startup Neurala to build “real-time learning for a person of interest search” on Motorola products such as the Si500 […]
Homeland Security Says Americans Who Don’t Want Faces Scanned on International Flights “Shouldn’t Travel”
July 15th, 2017Via: ZDnet: Homeland Security’s advice for the millions of Americans traveling overseas who don’t want to end up in its facial biometric database is simply not to travel. That’s according to the agency’s own assessment document published earlier this year of a new so-called traveler verification project to “capture facial images of travelers” leaving the […]
