Jeff Schreiber reports: A federal class action claims a suburban school district has been spying on students and families through the “indiscriminant use of and ability to remotely activate the webcams incorporated into each laptop issued to students,” without the knowledge or consent of students or parents. The named plaintiffs say they learned that Big…
Category: Surveillance
TSA to swab airline passengers’ hands in search for explosives
Jeanne Meserve and Mike M. Ahlers report: To the list of instructions you hear at airport checkpoints, add this: “Put your palms forward, please.” The Transportation Security Administration soon will begin randomly swabbing passengers’ hands at checkpoints and airport gates to test them for traces of explosives. Previously, screeners swabbed some carry-on luggage and other…
Mobile Spy Web-site Shuts Down Among Privacy Concerns, Crime Allegations
Tamar Khurtsia reports: Mobile spyware web-site www.shpioni.ge was withdrawn by its owner Saturday after young lawyers warned that using the service is a violation of privacy and thus a crime. Shpioni.ge offered widely-used smartphone spy software which allows you to silently record SMS text messages and GPS locations. It can be downloaded from its webpage…
Thoughts on the Oral Argument in the Third Circuit Cell-Site Records Case
Over on The Volokh Conspiracy, Orin Kerr blogs about oral arguments in a case before the Third Circuit in which the government wants cell phone location data to be made available to it without any warrant: The Third Circuit held oral argument today in the case on the legal standard for historical cell-site information. I…