Mathew Guariglia of EFF writes: The Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General has released a troubling new report detailing how federal agencies like Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Secret Service have conducted surveillance using cell-site simulators (CSS) without proper authorization and in violation of the law. Specifically, the office of the Inspector General…
Category: U.S.
FTC says online counseling service BetterHelp pushed people into handing over health information – and broke its privacy promises
Lesley Fair writes: In the hierarchy of confidential data, health information ranks right up there. And in the hierarchy of health information, details about a person’s mental health may be among the most confidential. But according to the FTC, that’s not how online counseling service BetterHelp viewed it. The FTC says the company repeatedly pushed…
Reddit Asks Court to Protect Users’ Anonymity in Third-Party Piracy Lawsuit
There’s an update on a court case that involves requests to unmask anonymous commenters. As TorrentFreak reported weeks ago: Filmmakers have obtained a subpoena to reveal the identities of Redditors who commented on piracy-related topics. The comments can provide relevant evidence in support of a repeat infringer lawsuit against ISP RCN, the companies argue. Reddit…
Texas Republican wants ISPs to block a wide range of abortion websites
Jon Brodkin reports: A proposed state law in Texas would force Internet service providers to block websites containing information on how to obtain an abortion or abortion pill. Republican lawmaker Steve Toth, a member of the state House of Representatives, introduced the bill last week. Texas already has several laws that heavily restrict access to abortion, but the new…