FTC Rightfully Acts Against So-Called “AI Weapon Detection” Company Evolv

The Federal Trade Commission has entered a settlement with self-styled “weapon detection” company Evolv, to resolve the FTC’s claim that the company “knowingly” and repeatedly” engaged in “unlawful” acts of misleading claims about their technology. Essentially, Evolv’s technology, which is in schools, subways, and stadiums, does far less than they’ve been claiming.  The FTC alleged […]

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The U.S. National Security State is Here to Make AI Even Less Transparent and Accountable

The Biden White House has released a memorandum on “Advancing United States’ Leadership in Artificial Intelligence” which includes, among other things, a directive for the National Security apparatus to become a world leader in the use of AI. Under direction from the White House, the national security state is expected to take up this leadership […]

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How Many U.S. Persons Does Section 702 Spy On? The ODNI Needs to Come Clean.

EFF has joined with 23 other organizations including the ACLU, Restore the Fourth, the Brennan Center for Justice, Access Now, and the Freedom of the Press Foundation to demand that the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) furnish the public with an estimate of exactly how many U.S. persons’ communications have been hoovered […]

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California Attorney General Issues New Guidance on Military Equipment to Law Enforcement

California law enforcement should take note: the state’s Attorney General has issued a new bulletin advising them on how to comply with AB 481—a state law that regulates how law enforcement agencies can use, purchase, and disclose information about military equipment at their disposal. This important guidance comes in the wake of an exposé showing […]

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Prosecutors in Washington State Warn Police: Don’t Use Gen AI to Write Reports

The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which handles all prosecutions in the Seattle area, has instructed police in no uncertain terms: do not use AI to write police reports…for now. This is a good development. We hope prosecutors across the country will exercise such caution as companies continue to pedal technology – generative artificial intelligence […]

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You Really Do Have Some Expectation of Privacy in Public

Being out in the world advocating for privacy often means having to face a chorus of naysayers and nihilists. When we spend time fighting the expansion of Automated License Plate Readers capable of tracking cars as they move, or the growing ubiquity of both public and private surveillance cameras, we often here a familiar refrain: […]

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Atlanta Police Must Stop High-Tech Spying on Political Movements

The Atlanta Police Department has been snooping on social media to closely monitor the meetings, protests, canvassing–even book clubs and pizza parties–of the political movement to stop “Cop City,” a police training center that would destroy part of an urban forest. Activists already believed they were likely under surveillance by the Atlanta Police Department due […]

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