News
Google agreed to a $350 million settlement over a lawsuit related to a security lapse that exposed Google Plus users’ data, amidst other legal challenges for privacy and competition law violations.
The FTC has issued proposed settlements to ban the sale of sensitive geolocation data by data brokers, marking a significant step in addressing privacy concerns and emphasizing the need for informed consumer consent.
Apple is reportedly considering acquiring the German AI startup Brighter AI to integrate its Precision Blur and Deep Natural Anonymisation technologies into the Vision Pro, aiming to enhance privacy by anonymizing faces and license plates in photos and videos.
The EU requires large tech platforms like TikTok, X, and Facebook to identify AI-generated content to safeguard the upcoming European election against disinformation.
Nightshade v1.0 ‘poisons’ AI models by embedding imperceptible pixel-level changes into images to prevent unauthorized use of artworks for AI training, with some critics labeling the tool as a form of ‘illegal’ hacking.
A new report criticizes state privacy laws as being significantly weakened by the tech industry’s influence, with most states enacting ineffective legislation that fails to protect consumer data adequately or offer meaningful enforcement.
After over two years of development, the EU’s Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) is nearing approval, with the latest text offering a final compromise on high-risk AI systems, General Purpose AI, and governance and enforcement mechanisms; however, critiques note that last-minute concessions may limit its protective potential, especially due to industry lobbying and the possibility of insufficient enforcement resources.
An investigation into Microsoft’s design practices across Windows 10 and 11, Edge, and Bing reveals the company’s use of harmful design techniques—such as coercive, manipulative, and deceptive patterns—to push users towards using Edge browser, leading to potential consumer, social, and market harms. The report concludes that Microsoft’s practices distort user choice and undermine trust in technology, advocating for the cessation of these practices and regulatory intervention if necessary.
A Nigerian man has been arrested and charged with various offenses, including child pornography and attempted extortion, following the suicide of a Canadian teen, who fell victim to an online sextortion scheme.
US police departments are attempting to use facial recognition on 3D models of suspects’ faces generated from DNA evidence, despite concerns from civil liberties groups and experts who argue that this practice is based on unproven science and could lead to wrongful identification, as shown in a controversial case by the East Bay Regional Park District Police Department.
Bumble has introduced an AI-powered feature called “Deception Detector” to its dating app, designed to identify and block fake profiles, scams, and spam, reducing member reports of such issues by 45% during initial testing and supporting a 95% success rate in blocking undesirable accounts.
Events
The Workshop for Junior Scholars on March 11, 2024, at MIT Stata Center, organized by Aniket Kesari and Sarah Scheffler, aims to build a community and provide guidance for early-career individuals in Law and Computer Science. The half-day event includes panels on academic and non-academic careers, mentoring sessions, and discussions on conducting interdisciplinary research, followed by dinner. Registration is available online. It precedes another conference: ACM Symposium on Computer Science and Law (CSLAW 2024).
There is an open application for a two-year residential postdoctoral program at Harvard Law School aimed at developing scholars early in their careers who have a primary interest in private law, including common law subjects and statutory areas like intellectual property. Selected from recent graduates, academics, and practitioners, Fellows focus on their research, contribute to the Project on the Foundations of Private Law, mentor students, present and attend workshops, help with events, and engage in blogging.
(Compiled by Student Fellow Rebecca Kahn)