Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery With Daily Postings Since 2002
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 …
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 …
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 …
PC Mag: “If bad actors get their hands on your personally identifiable information (PII), they can use it to swindle, impersonate, or even endanger you on the internet—and in the real world. One of the prime places to find PII is on Google, and while Google can’t stop that info from appearing on other websites, …
Forbes: “Google has now confirmed the biggest upgrade to Gemini we have seen. This is the culmination of recent iterations, and sees AI link all your Google platforms together to personalize its offering. For some this is a game-changer. For others, it’s terrifying. This upgrade comes first to Google’s AI subscribers in the U.S., but …
‘ELITE’: The Palantir App ICE Uses to Find Neighborhoods to Raid: “Palantir is working on a tool for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that populates a map with potential deportation targets, brings up a dossier on each person, and provides a “confidence score” on the person’s current address, 404 Media has learned. ICE is using …
Android Headline: “Google has released Personal Intelligence for Gemini, a new beta feature that lets the AI give you personalized answers by securely linking to your Gmail, Photos, and YouTube history. Gemini 3 enables the chatbot to think across several data sources to answer hard questions and tailor them for you. The feature is rolling …
ZDNET: ” Many of us would have preferred a few slow news days easing into 2026, but the year is off to a particularly volatile start. With widespread protests erupting across the globe, concerns turn once again to how we can demonstrate safely in a surveillance-heavy world. You have the right to protest, but you …
MakeUseOf: “I use Google for almost everything. Search, email, maps, videos, documents, even my calendar. The biggest advantage here is convenience. I don’t have to create dozens of accounts and manage them separately. But it also means I’m giving way too much data to a single company. That’s not exactly a smart thing to do …
“The FBI executed a search warrant Wednesday morning at a Washington Post reporter’s home as part of an investigation into a government contractor accused of illegally retaining classified government materials. The reporter, Hannah Natanson, was at her home in Virginia at the time of the search. Federal agents searched her home and her devices. The …
Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, January 10, 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 increasingly complex and …
Follow on to ICE boosts weapons spending 600% Via EFF: “U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has a new budget under the current administration, and they are going on a surveillance tech shopping spree. Standing at $28.7 billion dollars for the year 2025 (nearly triple their 2024 budget) and at least another $56.25 billion over …
