U.S. Privacy And World Privacy News

Israeli officials deny approving sale of spyware firm Paragon to US investors

https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/us-israeli-officials-deny-approving-sale-israeli-spyware-firm-us-investors-2024-12-20/

Judge finds Israel's NSO Group liable for hacking in WhatsApp lawsuit

https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/us-judge-finds-israels-nso-group-liable-hacking-whatsapp-lawsuit-2024-12-21/

The CDC Hasn’t Asked States to Track Deaths Linked to Abortion Bans

https://www.propublica.org/article/abortion-ban-deaths-cdc-maternal-health-care

BS WARNING: Bipartisan House Task Force on Artificial Intelligence

Report barely discusses AI discrimination and privacy concerns

https://www.speaker.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/AI-Task-Force-Report-FINAL.pdf

Peter Thiel Reveals How Scared Oligarchs Are Of The People (Health Insurance CEO Brian Thompson's Murder)

https://caitlinjohnstone.com.au/2024/12/17/peter-thiel-reveals-how-scared-oligarchs-are-of-the-people/

EPIC Tells Court that Privacy Protections Don’t Violate the First Amendment

https://epic.org/epic-tells-court-that-privacy-protections-dont-violate-the-first-amendment/

Bill Extends Funding for the Government's Global Engagement Center Accused of Censorship

https://reclaimthenet.org/stopgap-spending-bill-government-shutdown-global-engagement-center-extension-controversy

https://reason.com/2024/12/19/the-spending-bill-would-fund-censorship/

Senators John Cornyn and Chris Murphy proposed an amendment to keep the GEC open

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/10/28/global-engagement-center-reauthorization-fight-00185592

Judge Rejects Meta's Attempt to Seal Various Information About Censoring Practices

https://reason.com/volokh/2024/12/17/judge-rejects-metas-attempt-to-seal-various-information-about-moderating-practices/

Another judge withdraws from Musk lawsuit over advertising on X

https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/another-judge-withdraws-musk-lawsuit-over-advertising-x-2024-12-20/

Marc Andreessen Warns About AI Censorship

"My concern is that the censorship and political control of AI is a thousand times more dangerous than censorship and political control of social media -- maybe a million times more dangerous," Andreessen, a prime innovator of artificial intelligence, told Weiss. "The thing with AI is, I think AI is going to be the control layer for everything in the future -- how the health care system works, how the education system works, how the government works. So that if AI is woke, biased, censored, politically controlled, you are in a hyper-Orwellian, China-style, social credit system nightmare."

https://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2024/12/13/free_speech_why_a_tech_titan_backed_trump_152082.html

Silencing Nonprofit Speech Would Be Another Giveaway to Corporate Power

https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/nonprofit-v-corporate-speech

AI Chatbots Can Be Jailbroken to Answer Any Question Using Very Simple Loopholes

https://gizmodo.com/ai-chatbots-can-be-jailbroken-to-answer-any-question-using-very-simple-loopholes-2000541157

LexisNexis Unit Launches AI News, Intellectual Property Products

https://www.lexisnexis.com/community/pressroom/b/news/posts/lexisnexis-invests-in-ai-and-ip-news-with-mlex-launches

Banks Spying on Customers: Debanking and the Return of Operation Choke Point

https://www.wsj.com/opinion/debanking-and-the-return-of-operation-choke-point-finance-money-government-8d507083

Feds Warn SMS Authentication Is Unsafe After ‘Worst Hack in Our Nation’s History’

https://gizmodo.com/feds-warn-sms-authentication-is-unsafe-after-worst-hack-in-our-nations-history-2000541129

FBI says Hikvision, D-Link CCTV cameras and DVRs have malware installed in them

https://www.ic3.gov/CSA/2024/241216.pdf

Tracker firm Hapn exposed names of thousands of GPS tracking customers

https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/18/tracker-firm-hapn-spilling-names-of-thousands-of-gps-tracking-customers/

Big Mama VPN Lets Anyone Use Your Internet Connection. What Could Go Wrong?

https://www.wired.com/story/residential-proxy-network-cybercrime-vpn/

New real estate app lets homebuyers check their neighbors’ political affiliations

https://nypost.com/2024/12/16/real-estate/real-estate-platform-lets-residents-check-neighbors-political-affilitations/

Trump Will Likely Kill a Federal Reporting Rule That Revealed the Staggering Number of Tesla Crashes

https://gizmodo.com/trump-will-likely-kill-a-federal-reporting-rule-that-revealed-the-staggering-number-of-tesla-crashes-2000538714

Pray.com and Palantir Partner on AI Applications for Faith-based Nonprofits

https://investors.palantir.com/news-details/2024/Pray.com-and-Palantir-Partner-on-AI-Applications-for-Faith-based-Nonprofits-Highlighting-Versatility-of-Palantirs-OSDK-Offering/

Forget Chrome—Google Starts Tracking All Your Devices In 8 Weeks

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2024/12/21/forget-chrome-google-will-start-tracking-you-and-all-your-smart-devices-in-8-weeks/

BS WARNING- Google asks judge to take ‘caution’ while crafting monopoly remedy

https://www.courthousenews.com/google-asks-federal-judge-to-take-caution-while-crafting-monopoly-remedy/

DISGUSTED- Google urges federal judge to toss data privacy suit by health care patients

https://www.courthousenews.com/google-urges-federal-judge-to-toss-data-privacy-suit-by-health-care-patients/

UnitedHealthcare and Corporate Rule

"UnitedHealth Group is a massively profitable corporation. From 2021 to 2023 it took in nearly $1 trillion in revenue and nearly $60 billion in profits. Last quarter it generated over $100B in revenue and $6B in profits. It ranks fourth on the Fortune 500 list of top U.S. companies."

https://consortiumnews.com/2024/12/16/unitedhealthcare-corporate-rule/

The US is the only advanced economy with no robust universal health coverage

https://www.statista.com/chart/33668/share-of-out-of-pocket-spending-in-total-per-capita-health-spending-per-country/

Ascension St. John data breach affected 5.6M people

https://www.reuters.com/technology/cybersecurity/us-hospital-operator-ascension-says-56-million-affected-medical-data-breach-may-2024-12-20/

Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso data breach affected 1.4M people

https://www.kcbd.com/2024/12/17/filing-ttuhsc-lubbock-data-breach-affected-650000-individuals/

ConnectOnCall Data Breach Affected Nearly 1M People

https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/16/called-your-doctor-after-hours-connectoncall-hackers-may-have-stolen-your-medical-data/

Regional Care Data Breach Affected 225,000 People

https://cybernews.com/news/rci-healthcare-data-breach-exposed-thousands/

AG sues Change Healthcare, two other companies after data breach

https://nebraskaexaminer.com/2024/12/16/ag-sues-change-healthcare-two-other-companies-after-data-breach-hits-at-least-575000-nebraskans/

State & Local Privacy News

NH- Youth Services Center Suspect Buskey Fired As Cop After Lying About Bad Checks

https://patch.com/new-hampshire/across-nh/right-know-ydc-suspect-buskey-fired-cop-after-lying-bad-checks

RI- Personal Data of Residents Breached in Large Cyberattack

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/14/us/cyberattack-rhode-island-ribridges-snap-medicaid.html

RI- Governor urges residents to take precautions to protect personal data

https://rhodeislandcurrent.com/2024/12/14/governor-urges-rhode-islanders-to-take-precautions-to-protect-personal-data/

CT- Washington police install speed cameras

"Washington, with its mostly white population and reputation as a woodsy retreat for wealthy New Yorkers, had an easier time showing that its placement of cameras would not burden any marginalized communities, selectman Josh Brinton acknowledged. In addition to Baldwin Hill Road, the two other sites selected by the town are on rural stretches of Old Litchfield Road. The town only has one stop light, which Brinton says officials opted not to enforce with cameras."

https://www.newstimes.com/connecticut/article/washington-ct-first-speed-camera-program-rollout-19975687.php

NY- Watchdog urges NYC schools to withdraw $1.9M proposal for AI reading tutor

https://www.chalkbeat.org/newyork/2024/12/17/ai-reading-tutor-eps-learning-nyc-schools-comptroller-brad-lander/

NJ- Governor Signs Law Making Book Bans More Difficult, Shields Librarians From Civil Suits

https://www.techdirt.com/2024/12/18/new-jersey-governor-signs-law-making-book-bans-more-difficult-shields-librarians-from-civil-suits/

DE- Lawsuit Against Wilmington’s Predatory Impound Practices Ends after City Makes Reforms

https://ij.org/press-release/lawsuit-against-wilmingtons-predatory-impound-practices-ends-after-city-makes-reforms/

MD- Frederick police will more than double license plate readers

https://www.fredericknewspost.com/news/crime_and_justice/cops_and_crime/frederick-police-will-more-than-double-license-plate-readers/article_e7b04be4-1b79-5f7c-b4e6-cf3612d56993.html

OH- Judges don’t control public document access: County court clerk

https://www.courthousenews.com/municipal-judges-dont-control-public-document-access-county-court-clerk/

OH- The Casino Control Commission now accepts digital IDs

https://casinocontrol.ohio.gov/home/news-and-events/all-news/occc-ohio-mobile-id-press-release

MN- State Supreme Court to decide if protections apply to journalists accused of trespassing in Dakota Access Pipeline case

https://legalnewsline.com/stories/666915388-minn-sc-to-decide-if-protections-apply-to-journalists-accused-of-trespassing-in-dakota-access-pipeline-case

MI- 56 clergy — including 48 priests — accused of sexual abuse dating back to the 1950s

https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2024/12/16/ag-nessel-releases-report-of-alleged-abuse-at-diocese-of-lansing

MI- Senate Passes Michigan Personal Data Privacy Act

https://epic.org/michigan-senate-passes-michigan-personal-data-privacy-act/

TX- AG Launches Investigation into 15 Tech Companies

https://www.huntonak.com/privacy-and-information-security-law/texas-attorney-general-launches-investigation-into-15-tech-companies

CO- Appeals Court finds insufficient evidence to convict Tina Peters of contempt for recording in court

https://www.courthousenews.com/colorado-court-of-appeals-finds-insufficient-evidence-to-convict-tina-peters-of-contempt-for-recording-in-court/

AZ- State's Charter School Curriculum Will Be Taught by AI, No Teachers

https://www.kjzz.org/education/2024-12-18/new-arizona-charter-school-will-use-ai-in-place-of-human-teachers

https://gizmodo.com/arizona-schools-curriculum-will-be-taught-by-ai-no-teachers-2000540905

CA- San Diego police get more control over streetlight CCTV cameras, license plate readers

https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/sdpd-gets-more-control-over-surveillance-systems/3703267/

WA- Spokane County Sheriff’s Office to use AI to review body cam footage

https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2024/dec/17/spokane-county-sheriffs-office-to-use-ai-to-review/

WA- Renton police have installed 24 Flock Camera License Plate Readers

https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/license-plate-reading-cameras-up-renton/LMJK2L2MA5CZVHJN7KB2EBAKGU

World Privacy News

Human Rights Watch: Israel Deliberately Depriving Palestinians in Gaza of Water

https://www.hrw.org/report/2024/12/19/extermination-and-acts-genocide/israel-deliberately-depriving-palestinians-gaza

Israel media report accuses troops of indiscriminate killing of Gaza civilians

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/israel-media-report-accuses-troops-123401408.html

Israel is demolishing northern Gaza and fortifying military positions

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/israel-is-demolishing-northern-gaza-and-fortifying-military-positions-imagery-shows/ar-AA1wnc0i

UN General Assembly to Adopt Controversial Cybercrime Treaty, Ignoring Privacy and Free Speech Concerns

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2024/12/still-flawed-and-lacking-safeguards-un-cybercrime-treaty-goes-un-general-assembly

Coalition Sends Letter to European Union to Prosecute Illegal Hacking of Journalists and Activists in Serbia

https://edri.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Spyware-Serbia-EDRi-Open-letter-3.pdf

Signicat launches capability to add data to any digital IDs

https://www.signicat.com/blog/signicat-launches-capability-to-add-data-to-any-digital-identity-wallet

RyanAir fined €450M for mandatory facial recognition that IDs every passenger

https://cybernews.com/news/ryanair-faces-fine-gdpr-violations/

https://noyb.eu/en/want-book-ryanair-flight-prepare-face-scan

Meta fined $263M over 2018 security breach that affected 3M people

https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/17/meta-fined-263m-over-2018-security-breach-that-affected-3m-eu-users/

Authorities abroad use phone-cracking tools to install spyware

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2024/12/16/authorities-abroad-use-phone-cracking-tools-install-spyware-report-says/

Serbian police used Cellebrite to unlock, then plant spyware, on a journalist’s phone

https://www.amnesty.org/en/documents/eur70/8813/2024/en/

Russia- Government Orders ISPs to Hand Over Names of VPN Users

https://www.techradar.com/pro/vpn/russia-blocks-almost-200-vpn-services-but-the-kremlin-still-wants-to-use-them

Poland- Coalition Urges The Polish Presidency To Prioritize Action Against Spyware Misuse

https://cdt.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Letter-to-the-Polish-Presidency-on-Spyware.pdf

Georgia- Police committing shocking human rights violations amid ongoing crackdown on protesters

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2024/12/georgia-police-committing-shocking-human-rights-violations-amid-ongoing-crackdown-on-protesters/

Latvia- Labs of Latvia wants more people to use digital IDs

https://labsoflatvia.com/en/news/most-of-latvias-residents-are-unaware-of-the-digital-identity-wallet

Netherlands- The Data Protection Authority fined Netflix $5M for not properly informing customers about data use

https://www.reuters.com/technology/dutch-watchdog-fines-netflix-not-properly-informing-customers-about-data-use-2024-12-18/

Switzerland- Banks are encouraging customers to use digital IDs

https://www.swissbanking.ch/en/news-and-positions/news/insight-4-24-en-digital-wallets-far-more-than-just-money

Germany- Data Protection Company orders World (Worldcoin) to delete personal data

https://www.euronews.com/next/2024/12/19/german-watchdog-orders-sam-altmans-biometric-id-project-world-to-delete-data

Italy- Data Protection Authority fined OpenAI 15 million euros over ChatGPT privacy rules breach

https://www.reuters.com/technology/italy-fines-openai-15-million-euros-over-privacy-rules-breach-2024-12-20/

UK- Welsh police introduce intrusive facial recognition app

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5y7gn0gddpo

UK- Big Brother Watch Video Discusses "Nothing To Hide, Nothing To Fear Argument"

UK- Ofcom finalizes first set of rules for Online Safety law

https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/16/uks-internet-watchdog-finalizes-first-set-of-rules-for-online-safety-law/

UK- Government's Online Censorship Law Drives Small Websites to Shut Down

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/12/17/hundreds-of-websites-to-shut-down-under-chilling-internet/

SCT- Officials bans WhatsApp on government phones

https://www.politico.eu/article/scotland-uk-bans-whatsapp-on-government-phones/

Philippines- 91 million people forced to sign up for national digital ID program

https://philsys.gov.ph/national-id-registers-91-million-filipinos-nears-target-registration/

China- Zetrix and Astron-Xinghuo BIF launch enhanced digital IDs

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/zetrix-and-astron-launch-enhanced-china-digital-ids-to-combat-online-identity-fraud-302328849.html

India- C-DOT and Trois Infotech to Develop Facial Recognition Drones

https://government.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/technology/c-dot-trois-infotech-sign-agreement-to-develop-face-recognition-using-drone-under-ttdf-scheme/116391087

Pakistan- National Database and Registration Authority to use facial recognition to ID elderly pensioners

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/1263492-nadra-to-launch-facial-recognition-system-for-elderly

Cyprus- Cyta telecommunications to use digital IDs to verify customers identities

https://cyprus-mail.com/2024/12/20/cyta-adopts-digital-id-verification-process

Egypt- Asylum Bill Threatens Refugee Rights

https://www.hrw.org/news/2024/12/17/egypt-asylum-bill-threatens-refugee-rights

Iran- Authorities Implement Biometric Surveillance System to Track Afghan Migrants

https://en.irna.ir/news/85691594/Official-says-Iran-conducting-biometric-tests-to-identify-illegal

UAE- Government to use Virgin Mobile facial recognition to ID tourists

https://www.arabianbusiness.com/resources/virgin-mobile-uae-simplify-esim-activation-for-tourists-with-new-facial-recognition-technology

Morocco- Government launches E-Police biomteric platform

https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2024/12/367065/moroccos-dgsn-launches-e-police-digital-portal-to-simplify-public-services

Republic of Malawi- Government distributes 3M national biometric ID cards

https://www.maravipost.com/national-identity-card-distribution-boosts-malawis-national-identification-system/

South Africa- OR Tambo International Airport facial recognition has problems IDing passengers

https://businesstech.co.za/news/lifestyle/804484/more-bad-news-for-flyers-at-or-tambo-international-airport/

AU- The Department of Home Affairs extends IDEMIA's facial recognition at airports for 10 years

https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/idemia-public-security-secures-a-10-year-extension-of-its-agreement-with-the-australian-department-of-home-affairs-to-enable-biometric-technology-and-continue-to-support-the-upgraded-smart-gates-and-kiosks-at-australias-airports--302333178.html

AU- Facebook-parent Meta settles with AIC over Cambridge Analytica lawsuit

https://www.reuters.com/technology/meta-pay-32-mln-it-settles-facebook-quiz-apps-privacy-breach-2024-12-17/

AU- Acquittal for woman charged as hacker after blowing whistle on prolific child abuser

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/dec/20/yolanda-borucki-ashley-griffith-computer-hacking-charge-not-guilty-ntwnfb

Canada- Future of creating the country's first wrongful conviction commission far from certain

https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/2024/12/13/future-of-wrongful-conviction-commission-far-from-certain

Guatemala- Authorities rescue 160 minors from extremist orthodox Jewish group following abuse allegations

https://www.dailysabah.com/world/americas/guatemala-rescues-160-minors-from-jewish-sect-over-abuse-reports