Congrats, People Of Montana: Your Governor Is About To Blow A Ton Of Taxpayer Money On An Unconstitutional TikTok Ban

Congrats, People Of Montana: Your Governor Is About To Blow A Ton Of Taxpayer Money On An Unconstitutional TikTok Ban

Except, of course, he’s done no such thing. He’s trampled on the 1st Amendment rights of Montanans and put their data at much greater risk. That’s because the law will require geographic tracking by TikTok, Apple, and Google to a much more significant degree than exists currently, just to figure out who is in Montana and who is not. So, by setting up this ban, he’s forcing these companies to collect more data than they otherwise would, putting that data at much greater risk.

On top of that, if China wants that data, they can just buy it from American data brokers, because we have basically nothing in place to stop them. Banning TikTok does literally nothing to help here, other than rile up some brainwashed boomers who think that China is spying on Americans through an app kids use to share dance moves.

Recommended video: TikTok Banned in Montana

TSA is testing facial recognition at more airports, raising privacy concerns

BALTIMORE (AP) — A passenger walks up to an airport security checkpoint, slips an ID card into a slot and looks into a camera atop a small screen. The screen flashes “Photo Complete” and the person walks through — all without having to hand over their identification to the TSA officer sitting behind the screen.

TSA is testing facial recognition at more airports, raising privacy concerns

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TSA Confirms Biometric Scanning Soon Won’t Be Optional Even For Domestic Travelers

[12-2022] TSA Quietly Deploying Facial Recognition Scanners At Major US Airports

US developed AI tool to battle Russian disinformation Blinken

The Ukraine Content Aggregator is used to catch fake news and share data on it with foreign partners, the secretary of state says

US developed AI tool to battle Russian disinformation Blinken

H/T: Emil Cosman

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Secretary Antony J. Blinken at Freedom House 2023 Annual Awards Ceremony

The third thing I wanted to highlight. While we’re working to promote access to the internet for all, we’re also working to address threats to human rights that come with an open internet, including online harassment, abuse, disinformation.

Now, online abuse doesn’t, of course, target only human rights defenders. Instead, the internet and digital technologies are often used to amplify attacks on vulnerable groups – women, the LGBTQI community, marginalized ethnic or religious groups – and undermine our broader fight for human rights. So this year, we launched what is now at least a 12-country Global Partnership for Action on Gender-Based Online Harassment and Abuse. We’re encouraging private sector to become engaged with us as well.

We’re also working to address the massive challenge of online misinformation and disinformation – again, something familiar to everyone in this room. To cite one example, of course, Russia continues to push a steady, relentless stream of disinformation about its war of aggression against Ukraine, to lie about and cover up horrific abuses it’s committed, to try to justify committing others.

In response, the State Department has developed an AI-enabled online Ukraine Content Aggregator to collect verifiable Russian disinformation and then to share that with partners around the world. We’re promoting independent media and digital literacy. We’re working with partners in academia to reliably detect fake text generated by Russian chatbots.

Sixth Circuit Reverses Conviction For Man Talked Into Criminal Acts By Undercover FBI Agents

The FBI’s penchant for self-ownership dates back to its reinvention as a counter-terrorism agency, a move that followed a bunch of power and budget expansions for any federal agencies that might help George W. Bush avenge his father’s loss in the 1992 election.

Sixth Circuit Reverses Conviction For Man Talked Into Criminal Acts By Undercover FBI Agents

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Cleveland man indicted for attempted plot to kidnap law enforcement

The Kids Online Safety Act is Still A Huge Danger to Our Rights Online

Congress has resurrected the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), a bill that would increase surveillance and restrict access to information in the name of protecting children online. KOSA was introduced in 2022 but failed to gain traction, and today its authors, Sens. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), have reintroduced it with slight modifications. Though some of these changes were made in response to over 100 civil society organizations and LGBTQ+ rights groups’ criticisms of the bill, its latest version is still troubling. Today’s version of KOSA would still require surveillance of anyone sixteen and under. It would put the tools of censorship in the hands of state attorneys general, and would greatly endanger the rights, and safety, of young people online. And KOSA’s burdens will affect adults, too, who will likely face hurdles to accessing legal content online as a result of the bill.

The Kids Online Safety Act is Still A Huge Danger to Our Rights Online