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TSA Visited Apple and Google to Discuss Collaboration for Digital ID
The U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is continuing collaboration with Big Tech concerning the use of biometric surveillance technology, but also the development of digital IDs for passengers.
On its site, the TSA revealed that its officials traveled to California recently where they met with representatives of Apple and Google to talk about continuing work on implementing digital ID on people’s phones. The TSA delegation to Silicon Valley, led by Administrator David Pekoske, referred to Apple and Google as their “innovation partners.” The goal is to continue with yet another example of “public-private” aka, government-Big Tech “partnership.”
Interestingly, in March, the Biden White House said there were effectively new rules that would allow travelers to opt out of TSA’s facial recognition process, “without losing their place in line.”
The reality on the ground, however, can be quite different, as Senator Jeff Merkley, a Democrat, found out when he tried to avoid facial recognition at a Washington airport last year. Reports the newspaper: “(Markley) was pressured by a TSA officer who told the senator to step aside while others were allowed to bypass him. The senator published a video showing the TSA officer’s actions on his website.”
Maine High Court Says EMS Board Had Authority to Impose Vaccine Mandate
Maine’s highest court has ruled a state board overseeing emergency medical service workers had the authority to impose a COVID-19 vaccine mandate. That decision from the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, released Thursday, upheld a Superior Court judge’s decision to dismiss a lawsuit brought against the Maine EMS Board.
A group of EMS workers had sued the board claiming it lacked the authority to impose a mandate requiring COVID-19 and influenza vaccines.
The modified vaccine mandate survived numerous lawsuits and was ultimately upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.
The state, in September 2023, reversed course and lifted the vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, though still requiring vaccinations against other diseases such as measles, mumps and tuberculosis.
Stop Using Your Face or Thumb to Unlock Your Phone
Last week, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in California released a ruling that concluded state highway police were acting lawfully when they forcibly unlocked a suspect’s phone using their fingerprint. You probably didn’t hear about it. The case didn’t get a lot of coverage, especially because the courts weren’t giving a blanket green light for every cop to shove your thumb to your screen during an arrest.
But it’s another toll of the warning bell that reminds you to not trust biometrics to keep your phone’s sensitive info private. In many cases, especially if you think you might interact with the police (at a protest, for example), you should seriously consider turning off biometrics on your phone entirely.
The ruling in United States v. Jeremy Travis Payne found that highway officers acted lawfully by using Payne’s thumbprint to unlock his phone after a drug bust. The three-judge panel said cops did not violate Payne’s 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination nor the 4th Amendment’s protections against unlawful search and seizure for the “forced” use of Payne’s thumb (which was more to say unlocking his phone was coerced, rather than physically placed on the screen by a third party). The court panel admitted from the outset “neither the Supreme Court nor any of our sister circuits have addressed whether the compelled use of a biometric to unlock an electronic device is testimonial.”
The 9th Circuit’s ruling was narrow and doesn’t necessarily create a new precedent, but it points out that the arguments surrounding the 5th Amendment and biometrics are still unsettled. The ruling was also complicated by the fact that Payne was on parole at the time, back in 2021, when he was stopped by California Highway Patrol where he allegedly had a stash of narcotics including fentanyl, fluoro-fentanyl, and cocaine. He was charged with possession with intent to sell.
Health Insurance Giant Kaiser Will Notify Millions of a Data Breach After Sharing Patients’ Data With Advertisers
U.S. health conglomerate Kaiser is notifying millions of current and former members of a data breach after confirming it shared patients’ information with third-party advertisers, including Google, Microsoft and X (formerly Twitter).
In a statement shared with TechCrunch, Kaiser said that it conducted an investigation that found “certain online technologies, previously installed on its websites and mobile applications, may have transmitted personal information to third-party vendors.”
Kaiser said that the data shared with advertisers includes member names and IP addresses, as well as information that could indicate if members were signed into a Kaiser Permanente account or service and how members “interacted with and navigated through the website and mobile applications, and search terms used in the health encyclopedia.” Kaiser said it subsequently removed the tracking code from its websites and mobile apps.
Kaiser is the latest healthcare organization to confirm it shared patients’ personal information with third-party advertisers by way of online tracking code, often embedded in web pages and mobile apps and designed to collect information about users’ online activity for analytics. Over the past year, telehealth startups Cerebral, Monument and Tempest have pulled tracking code from their apps that shared patients’ personal and health information with advertisers.
FTC Awarding More Than $5 Million in Refunds to Ring Customers Over Privacy Settlement
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) began distributing more than $5 million in refunds to Amazon Ring customers Tuesday, enforcing a settlement with the tech giant over claims that Ring failed to protect consumer privacy.
The FTC claimed in a 2023 complaint that Ring allowed employees and contractors improper access to records from the company’s security cameras, potentially putting customers’ privacy at risk. Ring allegedly used such footage to train algorithms without consent, among other purposes. The agency called the lapses “egregious violations of users’ privacy.”
Amazon, which owns Ring, settled the claims last year and agreed to pay $5.6 million in refunds to Ring customers. The company separately settled a second privacy claim over its Alexa voice assistant for $25 million.
The FTC said it will send refunds to more than 115,000 customers who owned certain Ring devices, including indoor cameras, via PayPal. The refunds perpetuate public concerns about Ring camera data privacy. The company announced in January that it would no longer share video with law enforcement, following criticism from customers.
ByteDance Says It Won’t Sell TikTok Business in U.S.
TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, said it will not sell the popular video sharing app to continue its business in the U.S., despite facing a potential ban under a law President Biden signed Wednesday.
The bill, included in a foreign aid package Biden signed, gives ByteDance up to a year to sell TikTok or be banned from operating in the U.S. The proposal was fueled by national security concerns raised by the supporters, who argued the Chinese government could compel TikTok to share U.S. user data.
“Foreign media reports that ByteDance is exploring the sale of TikTok are untrue,” ByteDance said in the statement. “ByteDance doesn’t have any plan to sell TikTok,” it continued.
The other route for TikTok to remain active in the U.S. is through a successful court case. TikTok announced Wednesday, immediately after Biden signed the law, that it would challenge it in court.
YouTube Delivers $8.1 Billion in Quarterly Ad Revenue, Beating Wall Street Expectations
The Hollywood Reporter reported:
The Google-owned video platform on Thursday reported advertising revenue of $8.1 billion in Q1 2024, up more than 20% from $6.7 billion in the Q1 quarter a year ago. Wall Street estimates were for YouTube ad revenue of $7.7 billion.
Q1 is often a soft one for advertising, in Q4 (which is usually the best quarter for ads), YouTube had ad revenue of $9.2 billion. Both quarters were up by more than $1.2 billion from a year ago.
YouTube parent company Alphabet reported revenue of $80.5 billion, and net income of more than $23.6 billion. The bulk of that revenue is still from Google search.
