GAO released two reports this week on the Secure Flight program and what TSA could/should do to strengthen privacy protections. The recommendations included providing job-specific privacy refresher training for Secure Flight staff, and developing a mechanism to document and track key Secure Flight privacy issues and decisions. DHS reportedly concurred with GAO’s recommendations. SECURE FLIGHT: Additional Actions…
Category: Govt
Yelp Pays FTC $450K After Child Privacy Violation
Chris Crum reports: Yelp reached a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over the violation of child privacy law. The company had enabled kids under 13 (some even 9 and under reportedly) to sign up for its service, collecting their email addresses with parental consent. This apparently went on from 2009 to 2013. Yelp…
Obama administration forcing new gun buyers to declare race, ethnicity
Kelly Riddell reports: The Obama administration quietly has been forcing new gun buyers to declare their race and ethnicity, a policy change that critics say provides little law enforcement value while creating the risk of privacy intrusions and racial profiling. With little fanfare, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) in 2012 amended its Form…
Justice Department Proposal Would Massively Expand FBI Extraterritorial Surveillance
Ahmed Ghappour A Department of Justice proposal to amend Rule 41 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure would make it easier for domestic law enforcement to hack into computers of people attempting to protect their anonymity on the Internet. The DOJ has explicitly stated that the amendment is not meant to give courts the power to issue warrants…