technology

American Authorities Considering Personal Electronics Ban for UK Flights

"The Guardian has revealed that the Trump administration is contemplating a laptop ban on US-bound passengers traveling from UK airports. If imposed, this new ban would mean that travelers headed to the US from the United Kingdom would be unable to bring laptops and possibly other electronic devices into the cabin as part of their carry-on luggage. However, these bans have been met with widespread criticism by professionals within the technology sector." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerican Authorities Considering Personal Electronics Ban for UK Flights

Bose accused of spying on end users, data mining via headphone app

"According to plaintiff Kyle Zak, the spying began when Bose released a mandatory Bose Connect application that all users must install to 'fully operate its wireless products.' What Bose didn’t draw much attention to, according to the suit, is that Bose Connect collects data on all the musical content or audio books that you listen to on its headphones. As the suit notes, this is a major invasion of privacy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBose accused of spying on end users, data mining via headphone app

British visitors to US to be ‘asked’ for passwords and phone contacts at airports

"British visitors to the US may be asked for social media usernames and passwords and their phone’s address book under new border checks being considered at US airports. The Trump administration is considering 'extreme vetting' scenarios in which even tourists from US allies such as the UK, France and Germany are subject to intense security checks, according to the Wall Street Journal. 'We will do it when we think there’s a reason to do it,' US Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly told a US Senate committee hearing last week." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBritish visitors to US to be ‘asked’ for passwords and phone contacts at airports

New York: Facebook Can’t Challenge Demands for User Data, Or Gag Orders

"Facebook is not allowed to tell their users that law enforcement is taking their data. And Facebook is not allowed to challenge these orders on behalf of their users. So in true kangaroo court fashion, the only people able to challenge the government are those forbidden from being told that the government is investigating them. Well isn’t that convenient for prosecutors. How are gag orders even Constitutional? You would think things like free speech and the right to know your accuser might cover that. But again, the government plays by no rules." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew York: Facebook Can’t Challenge Demands for User Data, Or Gag Orders

New Bill Would Outlaw Warrantless Border Phone Searches Of U.S. Citizens

"Four privacy-minded lawmakers have introduced legislation requiring law enforcement officials to obtain a warrant before searching phones belonging to US citizens, and prohibiting them from barring entry to Americans who decline to share their passwords at the border. 'Americans’ Constitutional rights shouldn’t disappear at the border,' Senator Ron Wyden said in statement to BuzzFeed News." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Bill Would Outlaw Warrantless Border Phone Searches Of U.S. Citizens

IRS Targets Cancer Survivor for Donations that Saved Her Life

"While the cancer is in remission, Charf is still struggling with the deadly disease – and is now being pursued by an equally deadly and persistent stalker, the Internal Revenue Service. A few weeks ago, the IRS sent Charf – who is now a mother – a notice claiming that the donations that had paid for her treatment were considered income, and demanding more than $15,000 in back taxes and more than $3,500 in penalties." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS Targets Cancer Survivor for Donations that Saved Her Life

Trump Administration Suspends Expedited H-1B Visa Approvals

"The H-1B non-immigrant visa allows U.S. companies to employ graduate-level workers in several specialized fields, including information technology, medicine, engineering and mathematics. USCIS said that during the suspension period, individuals still can request expedited consideration, but must meet certain criteria, such as humanitarian reasons, an emergency situation or the prospect of severe financial loss to a company or said individual. The United States currently caps H-1B visas at 65,000 a year, with an additional 20,000 allowed for those who have earned advanced college degrees in the United States." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTrump Administration Suspends Expedited H-1B Visa Approvals

1 in 4 voters believe robots would make better politicians

"Findings from the report reveal that consumers would entrust the running of the country to robots. 66 percent of UK citizens expect that robots will be working within the government by 2037, with 16 percent believing this could happen in the next one to two years. A further finding which may cause concern for Number 10 is that one in four think robots will make better decisions that elected government representatives, mainly in regards to the economy." Continue reading →

Continue Reading1 in 4 voters believe robots would make better politicians

American Citizens: U.S. Border Agents Can Search Your Cellphone

"Data provided by the Department of Homeland Security shows that searches of cellphones by border agents has exploded, growing fivefold in just one year, from fewer than 5,000 in 2015 to nearly 25,000 in 2016. According to DHS officials, 2017 will be a blockbuster year. Five-thousand devices were searched in February alone, more than in all of 2015. 'That's shocking,' said Mary Ellen Callahan, former chief privacy officer at the Department of Homeland Security. She wrote the rules and restrictions on how CBP should conduct electronic searches back in 2009. 'That [increase] was clearly a conscious strategy, that's not happenstance.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAmerican Citizens: U.S. Border Agents Can Search Your Cellphone

The Trump Laptop Ban and What It Means for Air Travel

"Middle East airports and passengers are grappling with new U.S. and British rules barring laptops and other electronic gadgets in carry-on luggage. Both governments prohibited large electronic devices in the cabins of flights headed to their countries. In announcing the rules, officials cited security reasons but didn’t supply many specifics." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Trump Laptop Ban and What It Means for Air Travel