Category: Government
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FTC Targets Facebook: Is Your Family’s Data Building Unsafe AI Worlds for Your Child?
Children’s data and AI FTC opens 6(b) inquiry into AI companion chatbots September 11, 2025 The Federal Trade Commission issued compulsory 6(b) orders to seven firms that run consumer AI chatbots, seeking details on testing for youth harms, guardrails for teen use, data handling, and monetization practices. Sources are listed at the end of this…
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DOGE copied a Social Security mega-database to a private cloud, whistleblower says
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If you wanted to design the perfect identity-theft jackpot, you would build a single file that stores names, SSNs, dates of birth, citizenship, parent names, and more. That file exists inside the Social Security Administration. It is called NUMIDENT. A whistleblower says DOGE-affiliated officials created a cloud copy of it with weaker protections than normal,…
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What Is a Social Media Footprint and Why It Matters
Definition of Social Media Footprint A social media footprint is the sum of all the activity, content, and data linked to your presence on social platforms. Every comment, like, share, video upload, private message, profile update, and even your connections contribute to this footprint. Some of it is public and easy for others to find.…
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AI Photo Geo-location: A Dangerous Precedent for Public Privacy
Artificial intelligence is advancing rapidly, and one of its latest uses is raising serious questions about safety and privacy. Tools like GeoSpy can analyze a single photo and determine its location in seconds, even if all metadata has been stripped away. For investigators, this may seem like a powerful tool. For the public, it represents…
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ID Verification on YouTube (2025): What It Is, Why It’s Here, and How Australian & UK Laws Are Driving It
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TL;DR – YouTube is expanding age checks for viewers and tightening identity checks for creators. The UK’s Online Safety Act and Australia’s new under-16 social-media rules are the big levers forcing platforms toward “highly effective age assurance” (read: ID, credit card, or selfie verification). Read on for details about the changes, and how you can…
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Meet the Airline-Owned Data Broker Selling Over 50% of Flight Data to ICE
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Delta, United, and American Airlines have probably sold your itinerary, credit card info, and your movements to Homeland Security and ICE. Major U.S. airlines are acting as data brokers, selling your data to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). 404 Media acquired a contract that indicated an airline-owned data…
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How Public Personal Info Helped the Minnesota Shooter Target His Victims
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On June 14, 2025, Minnesota witnessed a harrowing act of political violence when Vance Luther Boelter, a 57-year-old former gubernatorial appointee, fatally shot State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and wounded State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. Boelter, disguised as a police officer, carried out these attacks at the victims’ homes…
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Threat Detection Theatrics: Aaron Cohen’s AI Surveillance “Tool” and Domestic Spy Machines
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Update – September 2025 Aaron Cohen had another Fox News appearance a few days ago, echoing the same claims – America’s first AI-first threat detection system (excluding the entire existing industry; SocialNet, Flock Safety, Clearview AI, Veritone, Dataminr First Alert etc.). This time, the messaging leveraged the recent Minneapolis School Shooting to try and sell…
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How to Mass Delete Stack Exchange Posts
Your Stack Exchange account can reveal a lot about your interests, technical background, and even past opinions. Whether you’re cleaning up old posts, hiding outdated questions, or protecting your privacy, Redact.dev gives you the tools to delete your Stack Exchange history in bulk, quickly and effectively. Please note – mass deleting your Stack Exchange messages…
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Meta Begins Training AI on EU User Data Through GDPR Loophole
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Meta (the parent company of Facebook and Instagram) has begun roll out of its AI features in the EU. Meta says this will improve tools like Meta AI and Imagine, as well as future integrations across WhatsApp, Messenger, and Threads. Watchdogs are on the defensive, with NOYB sending a cease and desist and widespread criticism…