WASHINGTON — The federal government is making progress on developing a surveillance system that would pair computers with video cameras to scan crowds and automatically identify people by their faces, according to newly disclosed documents and interviews with researchers working on the project. The Department of Homeland Security tested a crowd-scanning project called the Biometric Optical Surveillance System — or BOSS — last fall after two years of government-financed development. Although the system is not ready for use, researchers say they are making significant advances. That alarms privacy advocates, who say that…
Read MoreDay: August 25, 2013
Prop 35 Court Date [updated with audio]
Prop. 35 case has a court date on September 10 at the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The topic is whether the current preliminary injunction was properly granted. More information / documents Sept 9: Court to Hear Arguments on Right to Anonymous Speech in Prop. 35 Case September 9 / EFF: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco will hear oral arguments Tuesday in Doe v. Harris, EFF’s challenge to California’s Proposition 35, which requires registered sex offenders to turn over all of their Internet identifiers and service…
Read MoreFacebook’s Zuckerberg: Web access a ‘human right’ -vs- Facebook Terms of Service
Facebook’s Zuckerberg: Web access a ‘human right’ It’s easy to get behind the intentions of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to bring the Web to billions of people. The language he’s using to sell it may be a bit more contentious: the social media giant called Internet access “a human right.” Full Article – vs – Facebook Statement of Rights and Responsibilities 4. Registration and Account Security Facebook users provide their real names and information, and we need your help to keep it that way. Here are some commitments you make…
Read MoreN.Y. County Outsources The Job Of Monitoring Sex Offenders
NPR – A suburban county on Long Island, N.Y., is taking a novel approach to monitoring sex offenders: It’s giving the job to a victims’ advocacy group. The measure was approved unanimously earlier this year; lawmakers call it a cost-effective way to keep citizens safe. But a local lawyer calls it a “vigilante exercise,” and convicted sex offenders are organizing to challenge the legislation. ____ ____, 42, a convicted sex offender, is among those who object to the methods of Parents for Megan’s Law, the advocacy group hired by Suffolk County. ____,…
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