"A Texas teenager’s attorney told RT on Friday that her refusal to wear an ID badges with a GPS tag has led to her being ostracized from all school activities. 'She’s not being treated equally,' said John Whitehead, who is representing Andrea Hernandez in an upcoming trial next week. 'If she doesn’t have the chip, she can’t access the library, cafeteria, she was told she couldn’t vote for the homecoming king and queen.'" Continue reading →
"On day one of the 'Opt Out And Film The TSA' campaign, Dan Dicks of Press For Truth and Ashley Jessica went to the Buffalo International airport to help raise awareness about the intrusive and invasive TSA procedures. We were immediately surrounded by members of the TSA and also the Buffalo Transit Police who tried various intimidation tactics on us but ultimately failed to deter us from taking part in this important campaign." Continue reading →
"The conference, organized by the UN’s International Telecommunication Union’s (ITU) has reignited a fierce debate over who should control the Web. Google has remained unequivocal in its stance that the closed-door meeting a power grab aimed at ending public control of the Internet and strangling free speech. Google, which has consistently taken a self-regulatory approach to the Internet, called the Dubai conference the'wrong place' to make decisions on the future of the Internet." Continue reading →
"In a single second, law enforcement agents can match a suspect against millions upon millions of profiles in vast detailed databases stored on the cloud. It’s all done using facial recognition, and in Southern California it’s already occurring. Imagine the police taking a picture: any picture of a person, anywhere, and matching it on the spot in less than a second to a personalized profile, scanning millions upon millions of entries from within vast, intricate databases stored on the cloud. It’s done with state of the art facial recognition technology, and in Southern California it’s already happening." Continue reading →
"The letter, sent on November 13, informs her father that the Smart ID program, which was phased in with the new school year, is now in 'full implementation' and requires all students to comply by wearing the location-tracking badges. Since Andrea Hernandez has refused to wear the badge, she is being withdrawn from the magnet school and her program at the Science and Engineering Academy, and instead will have to attend William Howard Taft HS, which is not currently involved in the ID scheme, unless she changes her position." Continue reading →
"Bitcoin and similar digital currencies make FinCEN’s currency reporting rules, and their expansion to encompass TPADs, obsolete before they’re even finalized. But don’t think for a minute that technological innovation will prevent these rules from coming into effect. Whether the initiative actually accomplishes anything is much less important than whether it appears to be accomplishing something. And it’s simply inconceivable to ask whether the wars are worth fighting at all, and if we should simply allow individuals to move their assets anywhere in the world, as they see fit, without government imposed restrictions." Continue reading →
"Commissioner Elizabeth Denham opened her inquiry after receiving a number of requests from concerned members of the public. She focused on determining whether use of cameras to track and store license plate data from all passing vehicles, even when their occupants were not suspected of any crime, was permissible under Canada's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA)." Continue reading →
"A public health proposal suggests that tobacco smokers should be required to apply and pay for a 'smoker’s license' in order to continue buying cigarettes, writing that it could discourage young people from picking up the habit. In a controversial move, the smartcard would allow the government to limit how many cigarettes a smoker could buy. Professor Chapman suggests 50 per day averaged over two weeks to accommodate heavy smokers." Continue reading →
"Government surveillance of their citizens’ online lives is rising sharply around the world, according to Google’s latest report. The US accounted for the most requests, as it has consistently since the report was launched. US authorities asked for private details of Google users on 7,969 occasions, up from 6,321 in the last reporting period. The number is more than a third of the 20,938 requests for users’ details worldwide. Google fully or partially complied with 90% of those requests. Over the six months, Google was asked to remove seven YouTube videos criticising local and state agencies, police and other public officials." Continue reading →
"A homeowners association in Colorado has set up a radar system and begun issuing tickets to speeders. Drivers caught violating the max. 30 mph speed limit in the community will be subject for fines from anywhere from $15 to $100, depending on how fast they are driving. If the violating driver is a visitor of the subdivision, their ticket will be given to whichever homeowner they are visiting at the time." Continue reading →