Activists Say Ring Cameras Are Being Used by ICE

Futurism: “As US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents wreak havoc on American communities, big tech companies have been making themselves indispensable to the increasingly tyrannical state. Among them is Amazon subsidiary Ring, the company behind those AI doorbell cameras that have exploded in popularity over the last few years. Back in October, Ring announced that …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Records, Legal Research, Privacy

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

Hold Fast, Harvard

Via LLRX – Hold Fast, Harvard – Since 2025 the Secretary of Education Linda McMahon has engaged in battles with major American institutions of higher education and research. Using the Trump administration’s Compact for Academic Excellence in Higher Education, McMahon demands strict adherence to “educational principles” that include elimination of ‘DEI’ programs to quality for ‘preferential federal …

Subjects: Censorship, Economy, Education, Financial System, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research, Medicine

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

New Report Highlighting Trump Family Corruption, Launch of Trump Digital Grift Tracker

[January 20, 2026] “Rep. Robert Garcia, Ranking Member of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, released a new report identifying how President Donald Trump has accepted digital kickbacks from foreign and criminal interests as President of the United States. The investigation by Oversight Democrats has found that President Trump and his family are exploiting …

Subjects: Congress, Cryptocurrency, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research

This Script Removes the AI Features From Chrome, Edge, and Firefox

Lifehacker: “Tech companies are getting increasingly pushy with their large language models—prominent buttons for these AI features coat every surface designers can think of, including in three of the most prominent browsers: Chrome, Edge, and Firefox. If you want these AI features to go away, and stay away, there’s a script for that. JustTheBrowser is …

Subjects: AI, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines

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