“White House officials are asking tech companies for more insight into our social networks and travel patterns,” reports Wired, noting that Facebook even “created a disease mapping tool that tracks the spread of disease by aggregating user travel patterns.”
And Clearview AI “says it is in talks with public officials to use its software to identify anyone in contact with people who…
Tag: justice
As Coronavirus Spreads, 6 San Francisco-Area Counties Ordered To Shelter In Place
Six counties in the San Francisco Bay Area will be placed under a shelter-in-place directive by public health officials in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, a move that will close virtually all businesses and direct residents to remain at home for the next three weeks. Los Angeles Times reports: San Mateo Mayor Joe Goethals said he believed…
Two Men Used Drones to Smuggle Drugs, Cell Phones Into Prison
“The United States Department of Justice has charged two New Jersey men with using drones to sneak drugs and other contraband into a federal prison…” reports CNN: The two men, Nicolo Denichilo, 38, and Adrian Goolcharran, 35, smuggled items including marijuana, steroids, cell phones, SIM cards, and syringes into the prison in Fort Dix, New Jersey, according to the US Attorney’s…
Split Verdict Given For CIA Programmer Charged In Massive Leak
An anonymous reader quotes a report from The Wall Street Journal: A federal jury couldn’t reach a verdict on whether a former software engineer for the Central Intelligence Agency was responsible for leaking a trove of classified documents to WikiLeaks, convicting him instead on lesser charges stemming from the leak (Warning: source paywalled; alternative source). Joshua Schulte, 31 years old, was…
US Homeland Security Official Charged with Stealing Confidential Government Software, Databases
An anonymous reader quotes ZDNet: In a press release Friday, the U.S. Department of Justice charged a former Acting Inspector General for the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) with the theft of proprietary software and confidential government databases. The indictment named Charles K. Edwards, a former DHS Acting Inspector General between 2011 to 2013, but also his former aid, 54-year-old…
Are Tesla’s Cameras a Threat To Our Privacy?
“I love that my car recorded a hit-and-run on my behalf,” writes a technology columnist at the Washington Post. “Yet I’m scared we’re not ready for the ways cameras pointed inside and outside vehicles will change the open road…” Long-time Slashdot reader Strudelkugel shared the Post’s report:
It’s not just crashes that will be different. Once governments, companies and parents get their…
Oregon Engineer Proved Right About Traffic Lights
“Mats Järlström’s emotions were clearly visible Friday morning. After years of arguing red light traffic cameras are flawed, the official Journal of the Institute of Transportation Engineers said he was right,” reports a local news station in Portland, Oregon:
The ITE sets traffic policy recommendations for the United States — and they said cities should be using his formula. “It is a…
Bernie Sanders Has an Audacious — and Hugely Expensive — Climate Plan
Senator Bernie Sanders, the front-runner for the Democratic nomination in this year’s presidential election, has put forth the most audacious climate plan among the contenders. But there are doubts about the political and economic feasibility of his sweeping vision, as well as the wisdom of some of his particular technical proposals. From a report: Notably, the plan restricts tools that could…