Maddie Stone Gizmodo Oh, good. A Department of Justice-proposed rule change that would make it way easier for FBI agents to obtain warrants to hack a computer from basically anywhere was just approved by a US Court committee. Which is to say, we’re one step closer to having our digital privacy rights eviscerated in the name of…
By The Detroit News Editorial Board If Americans had no civil liberties, it would be a snap to keep the country safe and secure. Police states are highly effective at dissuading criminal activity and rooting out threats. But as inconvenient as it often is for law enforcement, we do have a Bill of Rights that…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com A license-plate scanning system designed to combat drug trafficking and other crimes has raised serious privacy questions because of the technology’s ability to snap photographs of drivers and their passengers, the ACLU said, reports Bloomberg. The concern is that authorities will combine the photographs with facial-recognition software. “This adds a whole…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The FBI’s new facial recognition system is now fully operational, the bureau announced Monday. The Next Generation Identification System also will replace the FBI’s fingerprint identification system. “The IPS facial recognition service will provide the nation’s law enforcement community with an investigative tool that provides an image-searching capability of photographs associated…
By Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The militarization of local law enforcement has become a hot button topic since police in Ferguson employed their weapons during the recent protests, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. What’s not getting as much attention is surveillance equipment that some police forces are getting from federal law enforcement. In Tacoma, Wash., police were using…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com As the FBI prepares to begin using a controversial facial recognition system later this year, more than 30 privacy groups are urging the Justice Department to conduct a long-pledged audit of the database, the National Journal reports. Groups are worried about the privacy of American citizens and said the lack of oversight…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The full-body scanners that revealed nude images to the TSA at airports now have a new home. Time reports that most of the 171 scanners have ended up in jails nationwide. Privacy advocates blasted the scanners, saying they were too revealing. The federal government let go of the scanners for much less…
Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com The owner of a California gun parts store is refusing to release the names of customers to federal agents, the Washington Times reports. Dimitrios Karras, who owns Ares Armor in Oceanside, insisted it was an invasion of privacy to hand over the identities of 5,000 customers who purchased gun parts. “They said…
