08-14-2020, 12:22 PM
08-14-2020, 05:32 PM
Report: Workplace Coronavirus Tracing Apps Institute Dystopian Mass Surveillance by Default
More than 50 apps, wearables and other technologies marketed as workplace surveillance tools to combat COVID-19 have been released since the pandemic began, and they pose an alarming threat to worker privacy, a new report from Public Citizen found. These new surveillance and contact tracing technologies institute intrusive mass surveillance, forcing workers to either accede to dystopian levels of surveillance or risk losing their jobs.
“The default setting of most workplace surveillance apps is mass surveillance by design,” warned Burcu Kilic, digital rights program director for Public Citizen and author of the report. “The speed at which these new privacy-shredding technologies have been unleashed is alarming, especially given that none of them have been proven to be effective at mitigating the spread of COVID-19.”
The report found that these new technologies are currently being used by at least 32 employers to track at least 340,000 workers, and they are available to as many as 14,000 additional employers with nearly 4 million additional workers. These technologies are putting workers’ rights in jeopardy by tracking, monitoring and collecting personal data – including health data – and sharing it with employers, creating new cybersecurity risks.
For example, Microsoft and UnitedHealth Group’s ProtectWell app sends COVID-19 diagnostic test results directly to the employer, bypassing the worker. Other apps don’t treat workers’ data as being subject to the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), meaning the data does not have to be securely handled and protected in accordance with HIPAA’s health information privacy provisions.
“In a work setting, where activities are governed by a contractual or power relationship, many workers must either accept the new high-tech workplace surveillance or risk losing their jobs,” the report reads. “Without sufficient government regulation and guidelines, employers using these technologies are invading workers’ privacy to varying degrees.”
The report also describes what the apps are and how they work, highlighting specific privacy concerns. It concludes with a checklist of best practices for employers as they consider whether to introduce surveillance technologies into their workplaces.
Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization founded in 1971 to represent consumer interests in Congress, the executive branch and the courts.
Sourced from CommonDreams.org
More than 50 apps, wearables and other technologies marketed as workplace surveillance tools to combat COVID-19 have been released since the pandemic began, and they pose an alarming threat to worker privacy, a new report from Public Citizen found. These new surveillance and contact tracing technologies institute intrusive mass surveillance, forcing workers to either accede to dystopian levels of surveillance or risk losing their jobs.
“The default setting of most workplace surveillance apps is mass surveillance by design,” warned Burcu Kilic, digital rights program director for Public Citizen and author of the report. “The speed at which these new privacy-shredding technologies have been unleashed is alarming, especially given that none of them have been proven to be effective at mitigating the spread of COVID-19.”
The report found that these new technologies are currently being used by at least 32 employers to track at least 340,000 workers, and they are available to as many as 14,000 additional employers with nearly 4 million additional workers. These technologies are putting workers’ rights in jeopardy by tracking, monitoring and collecting personal data – including health data – and sharing it with employers, creating new cybersecurity risks.
For example, Microsoft and UnitedHealth Group’s ProtectWell app sends COVID-19 diagnostic test results directly to the employer, bypassing the worker. Other apps don’t treat workers’ data as being subject to the requirements of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), meaning the data does not have to be securely handled and protected in accordance with HIPAA’s health information privacy provisions.
“In a work setting, where activities are governed by a contractual or power relationship, many workers must either accept the new high-tech workplace surveillance or risk losing their jobs,” the report reads. “Without sufficient government regulation and guidelines, employers using these technologies are invading workers’ privacy to varying degrees.”
The report also describes what the apps are and how they work, highlighting specific privacy concerns. It concludes with a checklist of best practices for employers as they consider whether to introduce surveillance technologies into their workplaces.
Public Citizen is a national, nonprofit consumer advocacy organization founded in 1971 to represent consumer interests in Congress, the executive branch and the courts.
Sourced from CommonDreams.org
08-16-2020, 11:39 AM
Report: Government Tracking Software Inside Hundreds of Mobile Phone Apps
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/08/rep...-apps.html
TED Talk On How Your Smart Devices Know and Share Everything About You — Everything
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/08/ted...thing.html
IEEE Promotes Smart Devices for Utility Data Collection and Usage Regulation Despite Problems with Smart Meters
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/08/iee...eters.html
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/08/rep...-apps.html
TED Talk On How Your Smart Devices Know and Share Everything About You — Everything
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/08/ted...thing.html
IEEE Promotes Smart Devices for Utility Data Collection and Usage Regulation Despite Problems with Smart Meters
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/08/iee...eters.html
08-19-2020, 12:49 PM
NSA Warns Location Tracking Settings on Mobile Devices Are Difficult If Not Impossible to Turn Off
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/08/nsa...n-off.html
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/08/nsa...n-off.html
08-20-2020, 06:22 PM
Police Are Buying Your Data From Private Companies To Avoid Getting A Warrant
By John Vibes
It is now pretty much common knowledge that everything we do online and on our smartphones is being tracked and cataloged by various government agencies and international corporations; but there are a lot of people who take comfort in the fact that their information is being stored with trusted entities, and that authorities would not be able to spy on them personally without a warrant.
However, warrants for surveillance are not very difficult to obtain, and in some cases, law enforcement agencies have been caught purchasing social media information from data companies to avoid going through the courts.
A company called Babel Street has millions of dollars worth of contracts with US law enforcement agencies for their surveillance product called “Locate X” which allows police to draw a digital fence around an address or area, pinpoint mobile devices that were within that area, and see where else those devices have traveled, going back months, according to Protocol.
Babel is not the only company providing data to law enforcement either; it appears that different agencies and local police departments are purchasing large troves of data that they would not be able to obtain legally otherwise and using it for their investigations. According to the Wall Street Journal, border and immigration agents have been purchasing data from a company called Venntel Inc.
Police are not allowed to use most of the information that they obtain through these companies in court, but it is often used as a shortcut when narrowing down suspects.
The companies are currently being investigated by US Senator Ron Wyden, who has promised to introduce legislation to prevent law enforcement from buying data that they would otherwise need a warrant to obtain.
In a statement to MotherBoard, Wyden said,
IMAGE FEATURED: welcomia
John Vibes is an author and journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture, and focuses solutions-oriented approaches to social problems. He is also a host of The Free Your Mind Conference and The Free Thought Project Podcast. Read More stories by John Vibes
By John Vibes
It is now pretty much common knowledge that everything we do online and on our smartphones is being tracked and cataloged by various government agencies and international corporations; but there are a lot of people who take comfort in the fact that their information is being stored with trusted entities, and that authorities would not be able to spy on them personally without a warrant.
However, warrants for surveillance are not very difficult to obtain, and in some cases, law enforcement agencies have been caught purchasing social media information from data companies to avoid going through the courts.
A company called Babel Street has millions of dollars worth of contracts with US law enforcement agencies for their surveillance product called “Locate X” which allows police to draw a digital fence around an address or area, pinpoint mobile devices that were within that area, and see where else those devices have traveled, going back months, according to Protocol.
Babel is not the only company providing data to law enforcement either; it appears that different agencies and local police departments are purchasing large troves of data that they would not be able to obtain legally otherwise and using it for their investigations. According to the Wall Street Journal, border and immigration agents have been purchasing data from a company called Venntel Inc.
Police are not allowed to use most of the information that they obtain through these companies in court, but it is often used as a shortcut when narrowing down suspects.
The companies are currently being investigated by US Senator Ron Wyden, who has promised to introduce legislation to prevent law enforcement from buying data that they would otherwise need a warrant to obtain.
In a statement to MotherBoard, Wyden said,
Quote:It is clear that multiple federal agencies have turned to purchasing Americans’ data to buy their way around Americans’ Fourth Amendment Rights. I’m drafting legislation to close this loophole, and ensure the Fourth Amendment isn’t for sale.Source: Truth Theory
IMAGE FEATURED: welcomia
John Vibes is an author and journalist who takes a special interest in the counter culture, and focuses solutions-oriented approaches to social problems. He is also a host of The Free Your Mind Conference and The Free Thought Project Podcast. Read More stories by John Vibes
08-21-2020, 12:50 PM
Big Bro: Michigan College To Track Students At All Times
A Michigan college is requiring students to download a phone application that tracks their location and private health data at all times in an attempt to protect them from the coronavirus.
Albion College, located in Albion, Mich., is one of the first schools in the country to tackle contact tracing. The school is working to create a “COVID-bubble” on campus, and asking students stay within the school’s 4.5-mile perimeter for the entire semester; if a student leaves campus, the app will notify the administration, and the student could be temporarily suspended.
The move comes as universities grapple with how to reopen safely amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Several schools including Harvard University have shut down their campuses entirely, while the University of California system will provide the majority of classes online with a selection of hybrid options. Other schools, such as Boston University, are resuming in-person learning with masks and social distancing guidelines alongside virtual learning supplements for those who don’t feel comfortable returning.
Albion’s reopening plan has sparked blowback from students and parents who are expressing concern about what they view as an invasion of privacy. A father of an Albion student said that he is upset that he must choose between keeping his daughter home from school or signing off on a university-sanctioned “invasion of privacy.”
“The school wants my daughter to sign a form consenting to specimen collection and lab testing,” he told the Washington Free Beacon on condition of anonymity. “I have a ton of concern with that…. Why is the state of Michigan’s contact tracing not enough?”
Read more: Big Bro: Michigan College To Track Students At All Times
A Michigan college is requiring students to download a phone application that tracks their location and private health data at all times in an attempt to protect them from the coronavirus.
Albion College, located in Albion, Mich., is one of the first schools in the country to tackle contact tracing. The school is working to create a “COVID-bubble” on campus, and asking students stay within the school’s 4.5-mile perimeter for the entire semester; if a student leaves campus, the app will notify the administration, and the student could be temporarily suspended.
The move comes as universities grapple with how to reopen safely amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Several schools including Harvard University have shut down their campuses entirely, while the University of California system will provide the majority of classes online with a selection of hybrid options. Other schools, such as Boston University, are resuming in-person learning with masks and social distancing guidelines alongside virtual learning supplements for those who don’t feel comfortable returning.
Albion’s reopening plan has sparked blowback from students and parents who are expressing concern about what they view as an invasion of privacy. A father of an Albion student said that he is upset that he must choose between keeping his daughter home from school or signing off on a university-sanctioned “invasion of privacy.”
“The school wants my daughter to sign a form consenting to specimen collection and lab testing,” he told the Washington Free Beacon on condition of anonymity. “I have a ton of concern with that…. Why is the state of Michigan’s contact tracing not enough?”
Read more: Big Bro: Michigan College To Track Students At All Times
08-26-2020, 08:24 AM
Police Requests To Access data from Smart Speakers Are Up 72% Since 2016
Amazon said it had received more than 3,000 requests for smart speaker user data from police earlier this year, according to a new article from Wired. Even more stunning, Amazon complied with the police’s requests on more than 2,000 occasions, forking over recordings and data that give law enforcement an ear into someone’s household.
This number marks a 72% increase in these types of requests from the same period in 2016 – the first time Amazon disclosed the data. The number of requests are up 24% year over year.
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/08/pol...-2016.html
Amazon said it had received more than 3,000 requests for smart speaker user data from police earlier this year, according to a new article from Wired. Even more stunning, Amazon complied with the police’s requests on more than 2,000 occasions, forking over recordings and data that give law enforcement an ear into someone’s household.
This number marks a 72% increase in these types of requests from the same period in 2016 – the first time Amazon disclosed the data. The number of requests are up 24% year over year.
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/08/pol...-2016.html
08-27-2020, 01:59 PM
The WHO is monitoring online conversations and emotions, using “social listening” to change COVID narratives.... by Cindy Harper
Machine learning analysis is being used on people's conversations.
The World Health Organization is collaborating with an analytics company to scan people’s social media conversations for “coronavirus misinformation;” something the WHO calls “social listening.”
The global health organization says that it’s not only fighting the pandemic but also the conversations people are having about it.
According to the WHO, there’s an “infodemic” – an overload and spread of misleading information, so much so that it decided that to tackle misinformation, it needs to employ various tools, including social listening, with machine learning monitoring.
“Countering fake news or rumors is actually only responding or mitigating when it’s too late,” said Tim Nguyen, a technology expert helping the WHO’s unit titled Information Network for Epidemics (EPI-WIN). “What we’ve put in place in the beginning of the pandemic is what we call a social listening approach.”
The company has been creepily scanning more than 1.6 million social media posts each week to monitor online conversation. It then uses machine learning to classify information into four topics; cause, illness, interventions, and treatments. The WHO’s aim is to learn the coronavirus topics that are gaining popularity so that it can then create its own content to counteract and attempt to change the narrative.
The WHO’s “social listening” goes beyond analyzing people’s conversations for content, it also tries to analyze their emotions. Through language analytics, the technology detects emotions such as sadness, acceptance, denial, and anxiety. With such insights, the WHO hopes to come up with effective strategies to adjust coronavirus narratives.
“What we’ve learned now, after two and a half months of doing this kind of analysis, is that there are recurring themes and topics that are coming back over and over again,” Nguyen explained. “What that means to us is that we need to re-push information at different times. People may not understand it the first time when we push it, but when the questions and issues come up later, it means it’s time to push it out again.”
The health organization recognizes that not everyone has access to social media. So, it is working with the UN Global Pulse to use AI and big data to apply social listening to radios, which are the most common source of information for people without access to the internet. The UN Global Pulse is already applying social listening in Uganda, where they try to tackle rumors that coronavirus can be treated with natural remedies.
“You need to have a certain degree of good information out there to reach populations so that they are inoculated and not susceptible to fake news or disinformation. We believe we need to vaccinate 30% of the population with ‘good information’ in order to have a certain degree of ‘herd’ immunity against misinformation,” Nguyen said.
Machine learning analysis is being used on people's conversations.
The World Health Organization is collaborating with an analytics company to scan people’s social media conversations for “coronavirus misinformation;” something the WHO calls “social listening.”
The global health organization says that it’s not only fighting the pandemic but also the conversations people are having about it.
According to the WHO, there’s an “infodemic” – an overload and spread of misleading information, so much so that it decided that to tackle misinformation, it needs to employ various tools, including social listening, with machine learning monitoring.
“Countering fake news or rumors is actually only responding or mitigating when it’s too late,” said Tim Nguyen, a technology expert helping the WHO’s unit titled Information Network for Epidemics (EPI-WIN). “What we’ve put in place in the beginning of the pandemic is what we call a social listening approach.”
The company has been creepily scanning more than 1.6 million social media posts each week to monitor online conversation. It then uses machine learning to classify information into four topics; cause, illness, interventions, and treatments. The WHO’s aim is to learn the coronavirus topics that are gaining popularity so that it can then create its own content to counteract and attempt to change the narrative.
The WHO’s “social listening” goes beyond analyzing people’s conversations for content, it also tries to analyze their emotions. Through language analytics, the technology detects emotions such as sadness, acceptance, denial, and anxiety. With such insights, the WHO hopes to come up with effective strategies to adjust coronavirus narratives.
“What we’ve learned now, after two and a half months of doing this kind of analysis, is that there are recurring themes and topics that are coming back over and over again,” Nguyen explained. “What that means to us is that we need to re-push information at different times. People may not understand it the first time when we push it, but when the questions and issues come up later, it means it’s time to push it out again.”
The health organization recognizes that not everyone has access to social media. So, it is working with the UN Global Pulse to use AI and big data to apply social listening to radios, which are the most common source of information for people without access to the internet. The UN Global Pulse is already applying social listening in Uganda, where they try to tackle rumors that coronavirus can be treated with natural remedies.
“You need to have a certain degree of good information out there to reach populations so that they are inoculated and not susceptible to fake news or disinformation. We believe we need to vaccinate 30% of the population with ‘good information’ in order to have a certain degree of ‘herd’ immunity against misinformation,” Nguyen said.
08-28-2020, 09:29 AM
Libraries, Town Halls And DMVs To Use Facial Recognition/Thermal Imaging Kiosks
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/08/lib...iosks.html
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/08/lib...iosks.html
09-02-2020, 06:12 PM
Apple And Google Now Modifying Phones To Include Full Contact Tracing
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/09/app...acing.html
https://www.activistpost.com/2020/09/app...acing.html