Submission to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission Written by Dr Johnny Ryan of the Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL) on behalf of ICCL, Open Markets Institute, and the Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue 21 November 2022 — ICCL, the Open Markets Institute, and the Trans Atlantic Consumer Dialogue, a forum of 75 NGOs, have sent the U.S. Federal…
State attorneys general ask FTC to regulate online data collection practices
Over on his excellent newsletter, Risky Biz News, Catalin Cimpanu reports: A coalition of 33 state attorneys general have urged the US Federal Trade Commission to pass regulation around online data collection practices. AGs said they are “concerned about the alarming amount of sensitive consumer data that is amassed, manipulated, and monetized,” and that they regularly…
NCLA Files Class-Action Against Massachusetts for Auto-Installing Covid Spyware on 1 Million Phones
From the New Civil Liberties Alliance, information on a case that was filed on November 14: Case Summary: The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) worked with Google to auto-install spyware on the smartphones of more than one million Commonwealth residents, without their knowledge or consent, in a misguided effort to combat Covid-19. Such brazen…
Security firms are turning NYC’s street trees into surveillance posts for guards
Jake Offenhartz reports: New York City’s security companies are embracing a new tool in their mission to protect private property: public trees. In recent months, security contractors have quietly drilled electronic “tokens” into the trunks of city street trees. Guards scan the trackers with their phones, providing real-time data on the status of their patrols….