U.S. Used Facial Recognition on Millions of Air Travelers Last Year, Found No Imposters
Plus: Biden won't pursue Trump's TikTok and WeChat bans, Mitt Romney's child allowance plan, and more...
Privacy
How To Fix the Internet
Each episode explores how to fix laws that entrench privacy-violating practices.
'See Something, Say Something Online Act' Punishes Big Tech for Not Snitching
Plus: Oregon decriminalizes hard drugs, Kroger closes stores over hazard pay rule, and more...
Houston Police Chief Tries To Blame Encryption for Failure To Uncover Far-Right Cops
Meanwhile, he’s still trying to downplay corruption within his own force.
Cops Must Destroy Illegal Surveillance Videos From Spa Visited by Robert Kraft
Authorities "shall destroy the videos unlawfully obtained through the surveillance of the Orchids of Asia Day Spa," a federal judge says.
Don't Let the Capitol Riot Become a 9/11-Style Excuse for Authoritarianism
Frightening events create openings for attacks on civil liberties.
A Libertarian Judge Champions Privacy Rights Against Warrantless Police Searches
Justice Clint Bolick dissents in Arizona v. Mixton.
Embattled Administration Pushes Midnight Controls on Financial Tech
Bureaucracy keeps on regulating through the chaos
In 2021, Politics Needs a 'Leave Us Alone' Coalition
Government is not reason. It is not eloquence. It is force. We could use a little less of that, please.
Immunity Passports May Liberate Us From Lockdowns or Invite New Privacy Invasions
The idea is looking less like a Get Out of Jail Free card and more like a hall pass.
The Massive SolarWinds Hack Won't Stop the Feds from Wanting All Your Data
Government surveillance doesn't just violate privacy rights; it’s a major security risk.
Guidance on Filing Sealed Documents
Don't just file the document unsealed, and then ask for sealing
Facial Recognition Programs Are Getting Better at Recognizing Masked Faces
Time to add a hat and sunglasses!
Feds Propose Even More Surveillance of Your Banking Habits
By lowering the “travel rule” threshold to $250, the government could access more of our financial data.
Michigan Voters Demand That Police Get Warrants for Electronic Data
Constitutional amendment overwhelmingly passes.
Need Proof That Encryption Backdoors Lead to Hacking? It Happened to Our Own Government.
The National Security Agency arranged for security systems to be secretly compromised. Then the Chinese government allegedly found its way in.
Surprise: DOJ Is Not a Big Fan of Privacy-Preserving Cryptocurrencies
Privacy is a right, not a “high risk” and “possibly criminal” activity
Court Revives Wiretap Target's Attempt to Get Information About the Wiretap
In 2014, more than half of all California wiretaps (and one sixth of all the wiretaps in the U.S.) were authorized by one judge in Riverside County.
Eighth Circuit Seals Published (Printed) Opinion, Later Grants Our Motion to Unseal
An attempt to protect litigant privacy meant that binding precedent was vanished from Westlaw.
Cryptography vs. Big Brother: How Math Became a Weapon Against Tyranny
Part two of a four-part series on the history of the cypherpunk movement
Should Facebook Have a Duty to Report Us to the Police for Felonies Potentially Revealed in Our Posts?
An Ohio judge suggests the answer should be "yes," and an Ohio statute seems to require that when Facebook employees learn of specific felonies revealed by posts that they might be monitoring for some reason.
The #FinCENFiles Shine a Spotlight on How Banks Are Ordered to Snoop on You
Why does media coverage conclude the problem is that the government hasn’t done a good enough job of spying?
NSA Ruling Reminds Us That Sacrificing Civil Liberties in the Name of National Security Is a Bipartisan Impulse
A federal appeals court concludes that the agency's mass collection of phone records was illegal and probably unconstitutional.
In New Tests, Facial Recognition Products Are Consistently Thwarted by Masks
Defeating surveillance is a powerful argument for covering your face.
Mike Godwin, the Creator of Godwin's Law, Is Suing Trump Over His TikTok Executive Order
"I know what moral panics look like; they look kind of like this."
Pandemic Restrictions Are Eroding Our Freedom To Travel
Officials have never liked it when people are free to move about—and beyond their reach.
Not All COVID-19 Tracking Apps Respect Privacy, But Some Pass the Test
New apps can work as surveillance techniques for the government. They can also serve as anonymous health tools for people hoping to return to normal life.
Court Rejects Lawsuit for Sending Gruesome Photos to NRA Lobbyist's E-Mail Address
The Eleventh Circuit threw out a lawsuit brought by former NRA President Marion Hammer.
Serbia's Surveillance Cameras Can Recognize Faces, License Plates
Huawei’s Safe City security system is undergoing a massive expansion across Belgrade.
A Pandemic of Surveillance
Americans are increasingly monitored, and COVID-19 health concerns aren’t improving the situation.
How China's Clamp Down on Hong Kong Could Affect the Global Internet
Will tech companies resist orders to cooperate with demands for information to root out dissidents?
Robert Kraft and Florida Massage Workers Are Still Fighting Unconstitutional Surveillance Video
"Supreme Court jurisprudence...is heavily weighted against you," an appeals judge told state prosecutors last week.
Senators Propose a Cool New Contest To Destroy Your Online Privacy
A new, terrible anti-encryption bill with a twist
Russia Lifts Ban on Telegram App
Two years of rule-flouting by elites and ordinary citizens show the unsustainability of top-down prohibition.
New Louisiana Law Will Let Doctors Decide When Marijuana Is Right for Their Patients
While there are still numerous barriers to access in Louisiana's medical marijuana system, a specific list of "qualifying conditions" will no longer be one of them.
Public and Private Sectors Clash on Contact Tracing
Apple and Google’s API promises to put privacy first. State health authorities have other ideas.
Federal Aircraft Accused of Tracking Protesters
Plus: Breonna’s Law bans no-knock raids in Kentucky, Amazon's third-party problem, new findings on metabolism, and more...
Surveillance Bill Yanked After Trump Tweets Veto Threat. Will It Be Changed for Better or Worse?
Weak reforms to the government’s power to secretly snoop on Americans wasn’t enough for the president. What happens next?
House May Blow Its Chance To Protect Americans' Browser History From Federal Snooping
Sen. Wyden withdraws support for amendment due to fears it has been weakened too much.
Amendment Revived to Protect Americans' Internet Search Records From Warrantless Collection
The House will consider a surveillance reform proposal that failed in the Senate by just one vote.
Sen. Ron Wyden Wants To Stop the Government From Spying on Your Internet Searches
The Wyden-Daines Amendment would've prohibited warrantless monitoring of web activity, but it lost by one vote in the Senate. Will Nancy Pelosi bring it back in the House?
Judge to FBI: You Should've Gotten a Warrant Before Turning On That Phone
Plus: Virginia decriminalizes marijuana, it's not Trump's call whether we close the country again, and more…
Justice Department Attempts To Blame Encryption for Terrorist Attack Feds Failed To See Coming
The FBI and attorney general want to ruin everybody's data security and draft Apple into compromising your safety.
COVID-19 Contact Tracers or Cootie Cops?
Tracing where people have been and who they’ve met can be effective for battling disease. But, oh boy, does it lend itself to abuse.
