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Head of Microsoft’s Israel branch to step down after inquiry into dealings with Israeli military
The inquiry came after the Guardian revealed Israel used company technology to support mass surveillance of Palestinian phone calls The head of Microsoft’s Israeli subsidiary will step down in the wake of an inquiry that has scrutinised its business dealings with the Israeli military. Microsoft ordered the inquiry last year in response to a Guardian…
Is Big Brother watching you shop? – podcast
From supermarkets to corner shops, live facial recognition could be coming to retailers near you. Jessica Murray on the AI systems increasingly used by the police and stores Live facial recognition is being hailed as a powerful new frontier in the fight against crime, not only by police but by private companies too. Retailers from…
Texas accuses Netflix of spying on children in new lawsuit
Ken Paxton accuses streamer of designing addictive platform and falsely representing data collection practices Texas sued Netflix on Monday, accusing the streaming company of spying on children and designing its platform to be addictive. Ken Paxton, the Texas attorney general, said Netflix has for years falsely represented to consumers that it did not collect or…
Row over ‘virtual gated community’ AI surveillance plan in Toronto neighbourhood
Rosedale residents considering car licence plate-scanning Flock system in bid to tackle property crime A row has broken out in one of Canada’s wealthiest neighbourhoods over plans to use an AI-powered surveillance system to create the country’s first “virtual gated community” to combat surging property crime. Crime rates in Toronto as a whole are dropping…
Silicon Valley city to give residents doorbells equipped with cameras
Milpitas approves measure to distribute smart doorbells and says residents can upload footage to police database A Silicon Valley city will offer its residents free wireless doorbells equipped with cameras to help police collect video evidence. The city council of Milpitas, a suburb north of San Jose, California, recently approved $60,000 to provide these devices…
‘Invasive’ AI-led mass surveillance in Africa violating freedoms, warn experts
Countries across the continent have spent more than $2bn on Chinese tracking technology that is not ‘necessary or proportionate’, new report finds The rapid expansion of AI-powered mass-surveillance systems across Africa is violating citizens’ right to privacy and having a chilling effect on society, according to experts on human rights and emerging technologies. At least…
US funding for global internet freedom ‘effectively gutted’
Programme that funds groups building tech to evade oppressive government controls under serious threat For nearly two decades, the US quietly funded a global effort to keep the internet from splintering into fiefdoms run by authoritarian governments. Now that money is seriously threatened and a large part of it is already gone, putting into jeopardy…
The problem with doorbell cams: Nancy Guthrie case and Ring Super Bowl ad reawaken surveillance fears
Many people bought the devices thinking they would do little more than protect their delivery packages What happens to the data that smart home cameras collect? Can law enforcement access this information – even when users aren’t aware officers may be viewing their footage? Two recent events have put these concerns in the spotlight. A…
‘Orwellian’: Sainsbury’s staff using facial recognition tech eject innocent shopper
Man misidentified by London supermarket using Facewatch system says: ‘I shouldn’t have to prove I am not a criminal’ A man was ordered to leave a supermarket in London after staff misidentified him using controversial new facial recognition technology. Warren Rajah was told to abandon his shopping and leave the local store he has been…
How Amazon turned our capitalist era of free markets into the age of technofeudalism | Yanis Varoufakis
Amazon Web Services owns the basic infrastructure for other businesses to operate online, turning even governments into its serfs. But now some people are fighting back For the past six years, every Black Friday – that made-up carnival of consumption – Amazon workers and their allies have mobilised across the world in coordinated strikes and…