U.S. Privacy And World Privacy News
MIT, other universities sue Department of Defense over research funding cuts
MIT, other universities sue the Energy Department over research funding cuts
New rules allow VA doctors to refuse to treat Democrats, unmarried veterans
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/jun/16/va-doctors-refuse-treat-patients
Republican bill would defund medical schools that ‘force’ DEI on students
https://www.thecollegefix.com/federal-bill-would-defund-medical-schools-that-force-dei-on-students/
Judge Rules Some NIH Grant Cuts Illegal, Saying He's Never Seen Such Discrimination In 40 Years
https://apnews.com/article/nih-research-trump-cuts-dei-rfk-4fec9f308f3ff427185a12e88f260c81
Musk To Fix Grok After AI Disagrees With Him On Right-Wing Violence
“Since 2016, data suggests right-wing political violence has been more frequent and deadly, with incidents like the January 6 Capitol riot and mass shootings (e.g., El Paso 2019) causing significant fatalities,” Grok wrote.
Tesla's ‘Robotaxi’ has a ‘safety monitor’ in the front seat
https://electrek.co/2025/06/20/tesla-releases-details-robotaxi-launch-safety-monitor-front-seat/
Musk’s meltdown era is here
https://www.salon.com/2025/06/19/musks-meltdown-era-is-here/
New Report Reveals Trump’s Crusade to Erase Black History and Culture
EPIC Urges Appeals Court to Rule Kids Privacy Law Doesn’t Violate Constitution
https://epic.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/EPIC-Amicus-NetChoice-v.-Bonta-CAADC-9th-Cir-Round-2.pdf
Protecting Minors Online Must Not Come at the Cost of Privacy and Free Expression
Fired ABC News journalist stands by his post criticizing Trump and adviser
https://www.theguardian.com/media/2025/jun/17/abc-news-journalist-trump-adviser
Trump’s Corporate Oligarchs: Billionaires Cash In While Working People Pay the Price
"Over ten billionaires have secured powerful positions in the Trump administration, leading agencies and making decisions that affect us all. Trump’s cabinet is currently the rich- est in U.S. history, with a collective net worth of $460 billion."
https://populardemocracyinaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Trump-Corporate-Oligarchs.pdf
WTF? Nearly 70,000 People Have Signed Up For $5M 'Trump Card' Investor Visa
Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick suggested the Trump Card could eventually replace the existing EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program, which allows foreigners to apply for a green card by investing at least $1.05 million—or $800,000 in designated high-unemployment or rural areas—and creating at least 10 full-time U.S. jobs.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/howard-lutnick-says-nearly-70-104530985.html
Trump Launches a Gold Plated "47 Plan” Cell Phone
"Trump Mobile is going to change the game, we’re building on the movement to put America first, and we will deliver the highest levels of quality and service. Our company is based right here in the United States because we know it’s what our customers want and deserve," Donald Trump Jr. said
https://www.trump.com/media/trump-mobile-launches-a-bold-new-wireless-service
Trump's gold-plated made-in-US iPhone competitor is really made in China
Trump Launches Self-Branded Plates, Sheets And Watches
https://www.semafor.com/article/06/16/2025/home-goods-companies-prepare-new-trump-linked-products
I Tried Pre-Ordering the Trump Phone. The Page Failed and It Charged My Credit Card the Wrong Amount
https://www.404media.co/trump-mobile-phone-preorder-fail/
Tech billionaires and cabinet secretaries celebrated the “The Executive Branch” club co-founded by Donald Trump Jr
"From the Trump administration, crypto and AI czar David Sacks, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent were spotted, as well as Attorney General Pam Bondi, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem."
https://nypost.com/2025/06/14/us-news/dcs-new-500k-private-club-the-executive-branch-launches/
A Billionaire Island Where Bezos and Jared Kushner Are Fighting Over Sewage
The bridge from the mainland to the island is closed to the public and protected by armed guards and a sophisticated security system. However, if the island is almost entirely cut off from the rest of humanity, the island’s inhabitants still seem intent on sharing one thing with members of the outside world: their piss and shit.
Amazon's Rebuilt Spying Alexa Using a ‘Staggering’ Amount of AI Tools
ChatGPT will analyze Gmail emails
https://x.com/btibor91/status/1933200103399182567
10 real estate trade groups spent $7M on tax lobbying
Trump's War on Nonprofits
https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-war-on-nonprofits
Zero-Click iMessage Exploit Infected iPhones with Paragon Spyware
Apple, Facebook, Google Involved In 16 Billion Password Leak - What It Could Mean
What We Know So Far About the ‘Mother of All Data Breaches’
https://gizmodo.com/what-we-know-so-far-about-the-supposed-mother-of-all-data-breaches-2000618423
Apple and Google Host Chinese VPNs Tied to Surveillance Risks
WhatsApp to show users ads based on personal data from their Facebook and Instagram accounts
https://about.fb.com/news/2025/06/helping-you-find-more-channels-businesses-on-whatsapp/
Webinar "Stolen Credentials: The New Front Door to Your Network"
https://www.scworld.com/cybercast/stolen-credentials-the-new-front-door-to-your-network
DuckDuckGo’s scam blocker now covers fake ecommerce sites
Zoomcar Data Breach Affected 8.4M People
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1854275/000121390025054319/ea0245724-8k_zoomcar.htm
Aflac data breach
https://www.cnn.com/2025/06/20/tech/aflac-cyberattack
ProPublica Sued the FDA for Withholding Records About the Safety of Generic Drugs
https://www.propublica.org/article/propublica-fda-lawsuit-drug-safety
The FDA has given more than 20 foreign factories a special pass to continue sending drugs to the U.S.
https://www.propublica.org/article/fda-drug-loophole-sun-pharma
80-year-old man forced to bag groceries to pay off wife’s $80K medical bills four years after she died
https://www.yahoo.com/lifestyle/articles/utah-man-80-now-bagging-182700406.html
WTF Moment: Ohio doctor acquitted of murdering 14 patients tried to sue hospital that provided incontrovertible evidence CANNOT be used
Brain surgeon's clash with UnitedHealthcare shows insurer's hardball tactics
Episource health data breach affected 5.5M people
https://response.idx.us/episource/
HealthEC fined $5.50M for data breach that affected 4.6M people
https://www.netsec.news/healthec-settlement-end-data-breach-lawsuit/
Eyecare tech firm Ocuco data breach affected 240K people worldwide
https://www.scworld.com/brief/over-240k-impacted-by-ocuco-breach
Asheville Eye Associates data breach affected 150K people
https://ashevilleeye.com/2024-data-security-incident/
State & Local Privacy News
Healthcare exchanges in NV, ME, MA and RI shared users’ sensitive health data with companies like Google and LinkedIn.
VT- Governor signs Kids Code into law, faces legal challenges
NH- The Senate’s anti-DEI provisions would ban taxpayer support for programs to help people with disabilities
MA- Advocates push for juvenile fingerprint data sharing to end, as ICE detains Chelsea teens
MA- Courts send people to correctional-run facilities for involuntary addiction treatment
MA- Why our state has one of the largest systems of involuntarily committing people for substance use disorder treatment
MA- State Police union fighting accusations after Karen Read verdict
NY- Sen. Fahy Introduces Legislation to Shine a Light on Dark Money in State & Local Elections
NY- State Legislature Bans Anonymous Child Welfare Reports
https://www.propublica.org/article/new-york-bans-anonymous-child-welfare-reports
TN- Metro Nashville paid $16M in lawsuits over the past 2 years
https://www.openthebooks.com/fox17-metro-nashvilles-lawsuit-payouts/
GA- Forest Park police to purchase 2 addiotional license plate readers for a total of 6
https://www.forestparkreview.com/2025/06/10/license-plate/
OH- Lawmakers reconsider bill that would limit public access to police records
IL- DOJ says gun ban unconstitutional
TX- Judge invalidates Biden rule protecting privacy for abortions
TX- Appeals court denies Houston cop immunity for rear-ending a vehicle stopped at a red light
https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/first-court-of-appeals/2025/01-24-00440-cv.html
TX- Del Rio police accepting bids for 8 license plate readers
https://media.governmentnavigator.com/media/bid/1749244783_2025-06-06_2025-066.pdf
CA- Senate Bill 690’s “Commercial Business Purpose Exemption” Could Crumble CIPA Lawsuits
WA- Seattle City Council approves police GPS launchers
World Privacy News
Paravision ai and Fortinus Golbal work together to expand their role in global biometric border control programs
Spyware (Pegasus, Predator, Candiru and Graphite) and state abuse: The case for an EU-wide ban
https://edri.org/our-work/spyware-and-state-abuse-the-case-for-an-eu-wide-ban-position-paper/
Microsoft lays out data protection plans for European cloud customers
Amazon refuses to send executives to Parliament hearing on warehouse working conditions
Europe fast-tracks its Big Tech privacy cases
https://www.politico.eu/article/europe-lands-law-to-fast-track-big-tech-privacy-cases/
Netherlands- The Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service to use IDEMIA Smart Identity for asylum seekers
Switzerland- All political parties want national digital ID program
Germany- Lufthansa airlines to use BigBear ai facial recognition to ID passengers
Austria- Government to use spyware to read citizens encrypted messages
France- Telegram Founder Pavel Durov Blasts Digital Services Act
https://cointelegraph.com/news/telegram-durov-warns-france-societal-collapse
France- Government wants Reddit, Mastodon, and Bluesky to use digital ID verification
https://www.politico.eu/article/x-bluesky-reddit-france-crosshairs-porn-clampdown/
UK- ICO fined 23andMe £2.31M over data breach
UK- ICO: Your household smart products must respect your privacy – including your air fryer
UK- Parliament votes to decriminalize abortion amid concern about the prosecution of women
https://apnews.com/article/abortion-rights-britain-debate-2f1fad9c048b5798abc9f11ed65644df
UK- Gender Recognition Certificate applications triple in five years
China- Government Imprisoning People Trying To Beat Facial Recognition
“The verdict from the lower court demonstrates the judiciary’s firm stance on protecting personal rights and serves as a warning to anyone seeking to illegally sell or provide facial recognition data,” the Supreme People's Court said.
https://global.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202506/13/WS684b76e2a310a04af22c5f9b.html
Thailand- World uses 11 business partners to capture the Irises of citizens
Israel- IRONY: Government Claims Iran Is Hacking Security Cameras for Spying
Saudi Arabia- Human rights organizations call for and end mistreatment of elderly prisoners
https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/06/17/saudi-arabia-prisoner-70-dies-after-medical-neglect
Afghanistan- The Taliban have stripped women and girls of their fundamental rights
Afghanistan- The Taliban has banned a lot of things ... but chess?
https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/06/17/g-s1-72309/chess-ban-afghanistan-taliban
Togo- Authorities must investigate allegations protesters were tortured and end crackdown on dissent
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2025/06/togo-protesters-tortured/
AU- Government's Social Media Ban Moves Closer
Canada- Under Pressure From Pro-Israel Groups, Cities Are Restricting Protest
Canada- Officials defend the Strong Borders Act that would force hospitals, banks, hotels to hand over data
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/government-border-bill-denfence-1.7565775
Canada- Privacy commissioner says University of Waterloo facial recognition vending machines violates students privacy rights
Brazil- Government forcing stadiums to use facial recognition to ID fans
Argentina- Intelligence service uncovers Russian spy ring behind disinformation campaigns