A Police Camera That Never Tires Stirs Unease at 1st Circuit
Technology has made surveillance easy and cheap — but when does the government’s high-tech snooping cross the line?
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Surveillance
US Charges Swiss ‘Hacktivist’ for Data Theft and Leaks
The Justice Department has charged a Swiss hacker with computer intrusion and identity theft, just over a week after the hacker took credit for helping to break into the online systems of a U.S. security-camera startup.
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Challenge to NSA Upstream Spying Program Returns to Fourth Circuit
The Wikimedia Foundation argued for the yearslong dispute over surveillance of international communications to be decided on its merits, but the appeals court hearing centered on whether the nonprofit has standing to bring its case.
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Judge Orders Cameras at 5 California State Prisons as Abuses Persist
A federal judge ordered more surveillance and remedial measures after finding that California’s prisons continue to violate disabled inmates’ civil rights.
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Full Fourth Circuit Split on Baltimore Aerial Police Surveillance
An ACLU lawyer urged the judges to find the program unconstitutional, while the city asked for the case to be sent back to a lower court for more discovery.
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German Court Blocks Surveillance of Far-Right Party
A German court on Friday ordered a temporary halt to plans by the domestic intelligence agency to spy on the far-right AfD party for posing a threat to democracy.
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Israeli Court Limits Use of Spy Agency to Track Virus Cases
Israel’s top court ruled Monday the government must curb its use of the domestic spy agency to track coronavirus infections, saying “draconian” surveillance constituted a blow to democracy.
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Apple to Crack Down on Tracking iPhone Users in Early Spring
Apple plans to roll out a new privacy control in the early spring to prevent iPhone apps from secretly shadowing people. That puts the feature on course to come out after a more than six-month delay aimed at placating Facebook and other digital services that depend on such data surveillance to help sell ads.
Read moreSurveillance Videos
A federal court in Florida ordered the destruction of “unlawfully obtained” surveillance footage of the Orchids of Asia Day Spa in Jupiter, Florida, recorded between Jan. 18 and Jan. 22, 2019. The order, requested on behalf of a John Doe, pertains to video that allegedly shows New England Patriots owner Rovert Kraft of engaging in paid sex acts. Prosecutors last year dropped charges against Kraft relating to the prostitution sting.
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Swedish Archaeologists Take to the Waves to Protect Baltic Wrecks
On a small boat on the choppy waters of Stockholm’s archipelago, four maritime archaeologists pulled on wetsuits and prepared to dive into the Baltic to survey a merchant ship that sank nearly 500 years ago.
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Big Brother Is Watching: Satellites Used to Survey Fishing in High Seas
New research revealed Friday has shed new light on the companies around the world that carry out fishing operations in Earth’s most unregulated waters, as satellite data revealed their activities amid concerns of violations of labor and environmental laws and overfishing.
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China’s Alibaba Pushed Software That Identifies Uyghurs: Report
China tech giant Alibaba offered face-recognition software that could enable users to identify Uighurs, a report said, making it the latest Chinese company embroiled in the country’s controversial treatment of the Muslim minority.
Read moreAmazon Surveillance
A class of Amazon Flex drivers claim the e-retailing giant spies on their private Facebook group to gather information about planned strikes and protests, unionizing efforts and warehouse and driving conditions.
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US Labor Board Challenges Google Moves Against Activist Employees
Google has been given two weeks to respond to a US labor board complaint accusing the internet giant of using surveillance, interrogation and other tactics to spy on activist employees.
Read moreCarter Page Surveillance
Carter Page, the former Trump campaign associate whom the FBI secretly surveilled as part of the Russia investigation, claims in a federal complaint that he was the victim of “unlawful spying.”
Read moreDevin Nunes
Congressman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., claims the Washington Post and one of its reporters defamed him in a November article suggesting he believed certain White House intelligence files would support his “baseless claims” the Obama administration spied on Trump Tower.
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Rights Activists Slam EU Plan for Access to Encrypted Chats
BERLIN (AP) — Digital rights campaigners on Monday criticized a proposal by European Union governments that calls for communications companies
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Telecoms Customers Take Fight Over NSA Spying Programs to Ninth Circuit
A Ninth Circuit judge laid out a catch-22 scenario Monday for five Verizon and AT&T customers fighting to revive a class action over what they claim is the government’s unlawful use of mass surveillance programs to spy on American citizens.
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Snowden and His Wife Seek to Be Russian-US Dual Nationals
Former U.S. security contractor Edward Snowden said Monday that he and his wife intend to apply for Russian citizenship without renouncing their U.S. citizenship.
Read moreUS Unmasks Secret Chinese Task Force That Targets Political Rivals
Two American citizens are among the five people arrested Wednesday morning, on the east and west coasts, charged with conspiring to help the Chinese government stalk, threaten and extradite a New Jersey resident.
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