A federal judge on Tuesday refused to bring back a class action lawsuit alleging four auto manufacturers had violated Washington state’s privacy laws by using vehicles’ on-board infotainment systems to record and intercept customers’ private text messages and mobile phone call logs.
Court rules automakers can record and intercept owner text messages
H/T: Steve Lehto
A shocking new report in the Texas Tribune reveals that state health officials illegally turned over 800 infant blood samples to a federal DNA database to be used not for medical research but forensic crime fighting.
Texas secretly gave newborns’ blood to federal DNA database
H/T: Steve Lehto
Previously:
Without informed consent from newborns’ parents, officials must destroy blood samples, lawsuit says
Civil rights group sues New Jersey to stop secret storage, use of baby blood spots
Former diplomat-turned-whistleblower Craig Murray is in Switzerland, appealing for United Nations (UN) protection after British police informed the human rights activist that he is the subject of a counter-terrorism investigation.
Craig Murray seeks UN protection in Switzerland against British police-state persecution
Related:
Dueling Digital Dollar Bills Debated in Congressional Hearing on U.S. CBDC
Will Citizens’ Distrust of Government Surveillance Stop CBDCs?
But the eNaira launch came nine months after the CBN effectively banned cryptocurrencies, which were used to fund anti-police brutality protests that swept the country in late 2020. The CBN claimed crypto jeopardized the financial system and could be used to fund terrorism and froze protestors’ bank accounts.
For all the (mostly misleading) talk of the US government having too much say in content moderation decisions, this move would literally put US government officials effectively in control of content moderation decisions for TikTok. Apparently the thinking is “welp, it’s better than the Chinese government.” But… that doesn’t mean it’s good. Or constitutional.
…
Honestly, what this reads as is the moral panic over China and TikTok so eating the brains of US officials that rather than saying “hey, we should have privacy laws that block this,” they thought instead “hey, that would be cool if we could just do all the things we accuse China of doing, but where we pull the strings.”
…
So, look, if we’re going to talk about US government influence over content moderation choices, why aren’t we talking much more about this?
Related:
TikTok and U.S. rekindle negotiations, boosting app’s hopes for survival
CFIUS monitoring agencies, including the departments of Justice, Treasury and Defense, would have the right to access TikTok facilities at any time and overrule its policies or contracting decisions. CFIUS would also set the rules for all new company hires, including that they must be U.S. citizens, must consent to additional background checks and could be denied the job at any time.
A Draft Of TikTok’s Plan To Avoid A Ban Gives The U.S. Government Unprecedented Oversight Power
Records from the Department of Homeland Security show it sought to expand undercover operations online despite pushback from Facebook
Revealed: how US immigration uses fake social media profiles across investigations
Related:
Meanwhile, social media surveillance continues uninterrupted. The documents show CBP is still allowed to create fake profiles to passively monitor public Facebook posts. ICE can go a bit further. It has been given explicit permission to create fake accounts to engage in undercover investigations as long as the tactics used online are somewhat analogous to undercover activities carried out in the real world.
So, we’ve been talking a lot about age verification of late, as governments around the world have all (with the exception of Australia?!?) seemed to settle on that as a solution to “the problem” of the internet (exactly what that problem is they cannot quite identify, but they’re pretty sure there is one). Of course, as we’ve explained time and time again, age verification creates all sorts of problems, including undermining both privacy and speech rights.
You Can’t Wish Away The 1st Amendment To Mandate Age Verification
Related:
The Moral Panic Over Internet Porn Can’t Overrule the First Amendment
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is throwing $22 million in taxpayer money at developing clothing that records audio, video, and location data.
U.S. Spy Agency Dreams of All-Seeing “SMART ePANTS”
Related:
The United Nations has called for an investigation into the forced stripping of five Palestinian women by Israeli soldiers during a raid on their home in the southern West Bank city of al-Khalil as the move also draws condemnation from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
OIC, resistance groups condemn Israeli forces’ strip-search of Palestinian women as UN urges investigation
Related:
‘Most victims don’t speak up’: Israeli soldiers ‘regularly’ strip-search Palestinian women
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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