Category «Civil Liberties»

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, January 24, 2026

Via LLRX – Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, January 24, 2026 – Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Courts, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Education, Legal Research, Privacy

Your Wi-Fi name can expose more information than you think

MakeUseOf: “When you set up your home Wi-Fi network, your router’s name—technically called the SSID (Service Set Identifier)—might seem like an innocent detail. After all, it’s just the name you see when looking for available networks, right? Not quite. That simple network name is actually a privacy minefield, and the information it reveals might shock …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Internet, Privacy

House Democrats propose QR code ID requirement for ICE, CBP agents

Biometricupdate.com: “House Democrats introduced legislation that if passed would force federal immigration enforcement agents to wear a public-facing identification in the form of a clearly visible and scannable QR code during enforcement actions. The measure, H.R. 7233, was introduced last week by Rep. Ritchie Torre, a Democrat from New York, and referred to the House …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Anthropic’s warning to the world about risk of AI

Axios – Behind the Curtain: “Anthropic’s warning to the world Why it matters: In a new essay, Dario Amodei cautions of the imminent “real danger” that super-human intelligence will cause civilization-level damage absent smart, speedy intervention…” Quartz: “In a sprawling, 38-page essay, “The Adolescence of Technology: Confronting and Overcoming the Risks of Powerful AI,” posted …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Economy, Education, Financial System, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

The FBI Has Gained Access to the Washington Post Newsroom – Press Freedom?

Gizmodo: “The FBI raided the home of The Washington Post reporter and “federal government whisperer” Hannah Natanson last week. The agency seized her private laptop, work laptop, work phone, a 1 TB portable hard drive, a Garmin running watch, and a voice recorder she uses for work, according to newly released court documents. For the …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, E-Records, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation, Privacy

12 ways the Trump administration dismantled civil rights law and the foundations of inclusive democracy in its first year

Via LLRX – 12 ways the Trump administration dismantled civil rights law and the foundations of inclusive democracy in its first year – Spencer Overton, Professor of Law, George Washington University, homes in on how after Donald Trump’s second inauguration, a pattern emerges. Across dozens of executive orders, agency memos, funding decisions and enforcement changes, the …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

‘I will not be intimidated’: Jack Smith says

Former Special Counsel Jack Smith testified in front of Congress for more than three hours, January 22, 2026 [Video]. “If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today, I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Democrat or Republican. No one should be above the law in …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Congress, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

ICE, Immigrants, Volunteers, Humanity and Violence – Minnesota

The New York Times Gift Article – this is now America – Volunteers in Minnesota Deliver Groceries So Immigrants Can Hide at Home. “…As thousands of federal agents have flooded streets in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area to round up and deport undocumented immigrants, Mr. Amezcua, 46, has mobilized his church and organized free grocery deliveries …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Economy, Education, Food and Nutrition, Free Speech, Government Documents, Legal Research

Surveillance and ICE Are Driving Patients Away From Medical Care, Report Warns

Wired [no paywall]: “A new EPIC report says data brokers, ad-tech surveillance, and ICE enforcement are among the factors leading to a “health privacy crisis” that is eroding trust and deterring people from seeking care. When immigration agents enter hospitals and private companies are allowed to buy and sell data that reveals who seeks medical …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Courts, E-Records, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Medicine, Privacy

Immigration officers assert sweeping power to enter homes without a judge’s warrant

“AP Federal immigration officers are asserting sweeping power to forcibly enter people’s homes without a judge’s warrant, according to an internal Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo obtained by The Associated Press, marking a sharp reversal of longstanding guidance meant to respect constitutional limits on government searches. The memo authorizes ICE officers to use force to …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation

Feds Create Drone No Fly Zone That Would Stop People Filming ICE

404 Media [no paywall] – “The Federal Aviation Administration put a drone no fly zone within 3,000 feet of “Department of Homeland Security facilities and mobile assets,” according to a notice to airmen posted by the government. The no fly zone is the same type that the U.S. uses to restrict consumer drones over military …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy

Administration admits DOGE accessed personal Social Security data

Politico: “Trump administration concedes DOGE team may have misused Social Security data. Some DOGE personnel had more access to data than previously acknowledged, according to a court filing. Two members of Elon Musk’s DOGE team working at the Social Security Administration were secretly in touch with an advocacy group seeking to “overturn election results in …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, E-Records, Government Documents, Legal Research, Legislation, Privacy