As noted last week, the US/UK CLOUD Act Agreement, which enables law enforcement agencies in both countries to access digital data and evidence stored within each other’s borders, was released earlier this month. For an in-depth explanation of its provisions, see Theodore Christakis’s paper.
Professor Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and Human Rights, published a new report concerning the digital welfare state. Among other things, the report considers the consequences of state agencies using algorithms for resource allocation.
In response to American, Australian and British officials’ open letter to Facebook vis-a-vis end-to-end messaging encryption, more than 100 civil society organizations have signed onto a separate letter in support of Facebook’s planned encryption. Similarly, Edward Snowden made his support of end-to-end encryption known in a Guardian article.
An official Chinese governmental app called “Study the Nation” allows for spying via a backdoor. According to the BBC, “use of the app is mandatory among party officials and civil servants” and is tied to the acquisition of press cards for journalists.
Berkeley’s city council unanimously voted to ban government use of facial recognition technology.
The Washington, DC police department is using GPS data culled from the ankle monitors of people placed on parole or probation for investigations and lead-finding. Additionally, the ankle monitors appear to have two-way audio capabilities which the police department says are not currently in use, although there have been allegations to the contrary.
(compiled by Stav Zeitouni)