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The Privacy Flaw Threatening U.S. Democracy

Wired reported:

One of the primary tools authoritarian leaders around the world use to control their citizens is mass surveillance. Neil Richards, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis, says Congress needs to pass legislation that protects the privacy of Americans so existing surveillance mechanisms can no longer be abused.

“We need a robust federal privacy law, we need robust enforcement mechanisms, we need to somehow rein in the commercial surveillance apparatus because that’s a key component in authoritarian regimes. … They co-opt the existing cameras and sensors,” Richards says. “It used to be that it would be a fascist’s dream to have a camera and a speaker in every home, and of course, we did it to ourselves.”

Woodrow Hartzog, a law professor at Boston University, says any privacy laws that Congress passes need to be written with the understanding that a future president could try to find ways to get around these privacy protections.

Congress is working on data privacy legislation known as the American Data Privacy Protection Act, but critics have claimed that it doesn’t go far enough to protect people’s privacy. The Federal Trade Commission is also reportedly working to create new rules for how large tech companies handle people’s data, and Hartzog says those rules could theoretically provide a helpful check on an authoritarian government because it would have less ability to “co-opt our own devices against us.”

Medical Experts Weigh in on Continued COVID School Measures: ‘There Is No Place for Universal Mandates’

Fox News reported:

Medical experts weighed in on the advancement of school COVID-19 mask mandates and other pandemic-related measures for the upcoming academic year, at odds over whether the science makes sense.

Several schools have surprised parents with announcements that they’ll keep pandemic-related policies in place in the case of high transmission rates. The BA.5 Omicron subvariant of the virus is surging, but current vaccines continue to offer protection against hospitalization for severe disease and death.

Frustrated parents have the backing of experts who say the time for mandates has long expired. “Children continue to be the most vulnerable to harsh COVID restrictions,” Fox News medical contributor Nicole Saphier told Fox News Digital. “The CDC has begun moving towards risk-based recommendations yet they are not speaking out when mask and vaccine mandates are still being instituted.

“Adults are able to congregate in bars, concerts, airplanes and other settings without masks, yet kids have proven over and over again to be the lowest risk for severe COVID and over 90% of which have already had COVID, are being forced to mask up.”

‘Move Over Freedom’: Actor Russell Brand Warns About Amazon’s New Convenient Way to Pay

The Daily Wire reported:

Superstar Russell Brand warned about Amazon‘s new palm payment convenience system the company launched in California and Texas and said it’s one step closer to giving away our freedom.

​​During the 47-year-old actor’s “Awakening with Russell” show Monday, Brand highlighted the fact that Whole Foods stores were installing palm-scanning payment systems and all it takes is a “wave of the hand” to pay for one’s groceries. In the video titled “It’s Happening,” the host talked about the “nefarious nature of big tech” and asked if this kind of biotech is like another “snitch” from the company which he said has a history of “stealing your data” and giving it law enforcement.

He added that the “mentality behind these ideals, behind these advances often includes data capture, increased power for companies like Amazon.”

Scanning Students’ Homes During Remote Testing Is Unconstitutional, Judge Says

Ars Technica reported:

As the pandemic unfolded in spring 2020, an Educause survey found that an increasing number of students — who had very little choice but to take tests remotely — were increasingly putting up with potential privacy invasions from schools. Two years later, for example, it’s considered a common practice that some schools record students throughout remote tests to prevent cheating, while others conduct room scans when the test begins.

Now — in an apparent privacy win for students everywhere — an Ohio judge has ruled that the latter practice of scanning rooms is not only an invasion of privacy but a violation of the Fourth Amendment’s guaranteed protection against unlawful searches in American homes.

The decision came after a Cleveland State University student, Aaron Ogletree, agreed to a room scan before a chemistry exam, even though his teacher had changed their policy, and he did not expect it to happen before the test.

After the test, Ogletree sued Cleveland State for violating his Fourth Amendment rights, and Ohio judge J. Philip Calabrese decided yesterday that Ogletree was right: Room scans are unconstitutional.

Met Opera Drops Vaccine Requirement, Still Mandates Masks

Associated Press reported:

The Metropolitan Opera is dropping its vaccination requirement for audiences next season but still will mandate the wearing of masks.

The decision announced Tuesday differentiates the Met from Broadway theaters, which loosened restrictions in July by making mask-wearing optional. In May, most Broadway theaters lifted the requirement that audience members provide proof of vaccination to enter venues.

Six Months After the Freedom Convoy, Trudeau’s Lies and Cowardice Are Clearer Than Ever

Newsweek reported:

It’s been six months since Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau cracked down on one of the largest labor protests in recent history. In February, thousands of Canadian truck drivers joined what became known as the Freedom Convoy, driving to Ottawa and parking their rigs in the capital city in protest of Trudeau’s vaccine mandates. I was one of them.

But rather than meet with truckers, Trudeau demonized us as extremists and then invoked the never-before-used Emergencies Act, meant to be used during times of war or terrorism, granting the government extraordinary powers they do not normally have.

Six months later, it’s clearer than ever just how unjustifiable Trudeau’s actions really were. In a recent report, the CBC, Canada’s federal public broadcaster, found that at the time Trudeau invoked the Emergencies Act, an agreement for truckers to leave the city’s residential streets had already been reached between the City of Ottawa and Convoy organizer Tamara Lich and other organizers. The Emergencies Act meant that the agreement wasn’t given time to play out before the government took such a draconian move.

“This is a black mark on Canadian history,” Dean French, who organized the agreement, told the CBC of Trudeau’s actions. “History will show this was a total overreaction.”

Queensland Teachers and Staff to Get Pay Docked for ‘Failing to Comply’ With COVID Vaccine Mandate

ABC News reported:

Queensland’s Education Department is docking the pay of 900 school staff who did not get the COVID vaccine, saying that ignoring the mandate put others at risk.

Staff members including teachers, teacher aides, administration staff, cleaners and school officers will have a “small-scale temporary reduction of one increment of pay” for 18 weeks, the department said.

A direction from the state’s Chief Health Officer required school staff to be vaccinated against COVID from November last year, but the decision was revoked in June and staff have since returned to the workplace.

Germany Tightens COVID Rules for Travel During Fall, Winter

Associated Press reported:

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s Cabinet approved legislation Wednesday that ensures basic protective measures against the coronavirus pandemic are continued during the fall and winter when more virus cases are expected.

The presentation of the rules — which also include the new obligation to wear N95-type face masks during all long-distance travel by train and bus as well as on planes — coincided with the publication of photos showing the chancellor and German Economy Minister Robert Habeck flying to Canada earlier this week without wearing masks.

The pictures triggered strong public criticism of an alleged double standard for politicians and regular people. Currently, medical face masks are mandatory on planes and public transport though N95-style masks are recommended.

Microchipping Kids? They’re Not Pets

The Spectator Australia reported:

Society should adopt a general rule: if the World Economic Forum thinks something is a good idea, we do the opposite.

As part of its Davos 2022 thought-fest, an article appeared on the World Economic Forum site penned by Kathleen Philips, Vice President of R&D for imec and General Manager of its Eindhoven site in the Netherlands, regarding the topic of transhumanism. Included in this article was the casual suggestion that we might one day consider microchipping children ‘for their safety.’

Pretty much every dangerous and terrible idea is ‘for our safety’ these days, but even the pro-bubble-wrap helicopter parents stopped and lofted an eyebrow. While they don’t mind fitting their kids with backpacks that have a leash hanging off which they use to walk their children like dogs — at least the backpacks can be taken off.

Once we start talking about altering humanity out of choice, rather than medical necessity, civilization needs to have a different conversation.

TikTok’s Comin’ for Your Location, Tests ‘Nearby’ Feed

Gizmodo reported:

TikTok users may soon have access to a third section in their feed that would show local content, as the platform is experimenting with a third feed called “Nearby.”

The feature is currently being tested in Southeast Asia, and users who are part of the test will see this new tab beside the ‘For You’ and ‘Following’ page, a TikTok spokesperson told TechCrunch. The spokesperson also told TechCrunch that this new feed is also being tested with a feature that would allow users to tag locations in their videos and that this feature is being gradually rolled out to all users.

A feature based on location like this ‘Nearby’ feed would likely require users to share their location with TikTok, so you’d be likely to see popular restaurants, parks, hiking trails, etc. nearby.

Snap Agrees to $35 Million Settlement in Illinois Privacy Lawsuit

TechCrunch reported:

Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, has reached a $35 million settlement in a class-action lawsuit in Illinois. The suit alleges that Snapchat’s filters and lenses violated Illinois’ Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), which is a powerful state measure that has tripped up tech companies in recent years. The news was first reported by the Chicago Tribune.

Snapchat users in Illinois who used the app’s lenses and filters between November 17, 2015, and the present may be eligible to receive a cut of the settlement. The Chicago Tribune reports individual payouts are estimated to be between $58 and $117. Although the settlement amount still needs to go through a final approval hearing in November, users who think they may be eligible can submit a claim online.

A spokesperson for Snap told TechCrunch in an email that the social media company denies that Lenses violate BIPA, noting that Lenses don’t collect biometric data that can be used to identify a specific person.

The Illinois privacy law has tangled up other tech giants as well, including Facebook, TikTok and Google. Most recently, a federal judge in Illinois granted final approval for a $92 million class-action lawsuit settlement with TikTok. The lawsuit alleged that TikTok violated both federal law and Illinois’ BIPA by unlawfully collecting users’ biometric data and sharing it with third parties.