Dell Cameron, Author at Gizmodo

Senator Demands Amazon Answer for Coronavirus-Linked ‘Price Gouging’

Citing “disturbing” reports of price-gouging on Amazon in connection with the global coronavirus outbreak, Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey on Wednesday asked the world’s largest online retailer to disclose its internal procedures for combating accounts of exorbitant markups on items such as masks and hand sanitizers. “As the world confronts the prospect of a serious and…

Tech Policy Dell Cameron

‘Frankly Frightening’: Dems Slam Trump’s Coronavirus Response, Urge Filling Long-Vacant Health Posts

House Democrats on Wednesday signed a letter urging President Trump to restore two teams within the national security apparatus dedicated to global health threats, calling the administration’s response to the outbreak of the new coronavirus “dangerously inadequate” and “frankly frightening.” “In the face of such a threat, the American people need to know that there…

Health Dell Cameron

Apple Disables Clearview AI’s App, Says the Face Recognition Firm Violated Its Rules

Embattled face recognition startup Clearview AI is topping off a week of intense scrutiny over its nebulous law enforcement partnerships with an even bigger dose of bad news: Apple has reportedly disabled the iOS version of Clearview’s app citing violations of its developer program. BuzzFeed first reported the news, saying Apple took action after learning…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Here’s The Paltry Sum Your Phone Company Could Pay for Illegally Sharing Your Location Data

Yesterday, Gizmodo reported that the FCC was planning to seek around $200 million in fines against major phone carriers accused of negligently sharing the real-time locations of its customers with a host of shady third-party firms without even the most basic safeguards in place to protect them. Today, the FCC made the actual figures public,…

Tech Policy Dell Cameron

We Found Clearview AI’s Shady Face Recognition App

A face recognition app used by thousands of law enforcement agencies, which has drawn considerable scrutiny in past weeks over its creator’s dubious data collection methods, contains code hinting at an unreported range of potential features, based on a version of the app discovered by Gizmodo. Reporters were able to download the most recent Android…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Phone Carriers to Face $200 Million in Fines After Illegally Sharing Phone Location Data

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is expected to seek a total of at least $200 million in fines from cellphone carriers accused of illegally sharing the location data of their customers, Gizmodo has learned. In 2018, the FCC’s enforcement bureau launched an investigation into the data sharing practices of several top carriers, including AT&T, Sprint,…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Data Breach at Controversial Face Recognition Firm Shows Company Can’t Be Trusted, Officials Say

A security breach at a face-recognition startup, already embattled over its unfettered collection of Americans’ personal data on behalf of its hundreds of law enforcement clients, further underscores the potential hazards faced by consumers at the hands of a controversial and largely-unregulated surveillance technology, federal officials said on Wednesday. Clearview AI, which has drawn criticism…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Sanders Rebuffs Alleged ‘Help’ From Moscow, Says None Needed From an ‘Autocratic Thug’

Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday responded to a report in the Washington Post stating U.S. officials had warned the Vermont senator that Russia was attempting to aid his presidential campaign as part of a larger effort to sow discord in the Democratic contest. “I don’t care, frankly, who Putin wants to be president,” Sanders said…

Tech News Dell Cameron

Sex Offenders on Tinder, Other Dating Apps, Spur Probe by House Members

House Democrats on Thursday revealed they are investigating reports of registered sex offenders across a slew of popular dating apps owned by Match Group, including Tinder, Plenty of Fish, and OkCupid, and are questioning whether Match Group is taking appropriate steps to protect users from sexual violence. “We are concerned Match Group does not conduct…

Tech Policy Dell Cameron

House Lawmaker Asks Amazon to Turn Over Ring’s Police Requests

A House subcommittee that oversees consumer protection and information security in the private sector is pursuing a deeper understanding of how Ring’s partnerships with local and state law enforcement agencies mesh with the constitutional protections Americans enjoy against unbridled police surveillance. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi, chairman of the House Oversight and Reform subcommittee on economic and…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Psychologist Finds Chelsea Manning’s Imprisonment Pointless as Lawyers Seek Her Release

Attorneys for imprisoned activist and former U.S. Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning have filed a new motion for her release from the Virginia jail that’s been holding her for almost a year. Manning, citing her contempt for the judge-less grand jury process and the judicial practice of imprisoning reluctant witnesses without charge, has racked up…

Tech News Dell Cameron

Facebook’s Twitter Account Just Got Hijacked (For Like 2 Seconds)

Facebook’s twitter account was temporarily taken over Friday night by a group of hackers that, mostly according to rumor, may be Saudi teens. Hacking crew OurMine, which only last month hijacked the accounts of 15 NFL football teams, and has previously taken over Mark Zuckerberg’s Pinterest and Twitter accounts, appears to have momentarily seized control…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Feds Find Fourth Amendment Workaround, Buy Phone Locations From Marketing Firms

Sidestepping the need to obtain a search warrant, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has reportedly been accessing phone location data belonging to millions of Americans by buying it straight from private marketing firms. The data is drawn from seemingly ordinary phone apps, including mobile games and weather apps, the Wall Street Journal reports. DHS…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Buggy Iowa Caucus App Is Buggy, Security Experts Say

The phone app at the center of the clown-shoe exercise in democracy known as the Iowa Caucuses was not only riddled with technical issues and potentially susceptible to being hacked, it appears to have been designed by a greenhorn programmer in the process of learning the code. That’s according to the analyses of several security…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Google Slaps Face-Recognition Firm Clearview With a Cease-and-Desist Letter

Clearview AI, a controversial face recognition start-up, whose customers include hundreds of U.S. law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, has been served cease-and-desist letters by Google and its subsidiary YouTube. The letters, which serve as a warning of impending civil action by Google, come in response to recent statements by Clearview CEO and founder Hoan…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Twitter Admits to Helping Spread Election Disinformation During Iowa Caucuses

The Washington Post’s Tony Romm reported on Monday night that Twitter has decided it will allow certain right-wing accounts to spread disinformation about the Iowa Democratic Caucuses, including tweets that suggest the results are being “rigged.” Trump campaign manager Brad Pascal tweeted on Monday, “Quality control = rigged?,” citing a second Trump campaign official who…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Ring Drops a Major App Update, Placing Privacy and Security Settings Front and Center

Ring has begun pushing out an update to its phone app with the aim of consolidating all of its security settings, a likely response to general privacy concerns, as well as more specific ones about “hackers” who’ve hijacked in-home camera feeds in recent months. The changes, teased at CES 2020, include implementation of a “Control…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

FCC Says ‘One or More’ Phone Carriers Illegally Shared Location Data, Fueling Black Market Sales

In letters addressed to oversight lawmakers on Friday, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced that his agency’s nearly two-year investigation into the unauthorized sale of consumers’ phone location data had finally come to an end. The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau has determined that “one or more wireless carriers” broke the law, the letters said. In apparent violations…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Elizabeth Warren’s Plan for Disinformation Pictures Big Tech and Government Sharing the Burden

Casting a spotlight on the U.S. government’s lack of preparedness for handling the deluge of disinformation circling the 2020 elections, White House hopeful Senator Elizabeth Warren on Wednesday released a 14-bullet-point plan for combating the spread disinformation on social media—should she win the day. The federal government, Warren said, has taken few, if any, real…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Campaign to Ban Face Recognition at U.S. Colleges Gathers Steam

An organized campaign against the use of biometric surveillance at universities and colleges in the U.S. is ratcheting up pressure on institutions it believes are currently using—or are likely soon to adopt—face recognition technology. Fight for the Future, one of the nation’s leading digital rights organizations, and Students for Sensible Drug Policy, a nonprofit advocacy…

Privacy & Security Dell Cameron

Dell Cameron

Senator Demands Amazon Answer for Coronavirus-Linked ‘Price Gouging’

‘Frankly Frightening’: Dems Slam Trump’s Coronavirus Response, Urge Filling Long-Vacant Health Posts

Apple Disables Clearview AI’s App, Says the Face Recognition Firm Violated Its Rules

Here’s The Paltry Sum Your Phone Company Could Pay for Illegally Sharing Your Location Data

We Found Clearview AI’s Shady Face Recognition App

Phone Carriers to Face $200 Million in Fines After Illegally Sharing Phone Location Data

Data Breach at Controversial Face Recognition Firm Shows Company Can’t Be Trusted, Officials Say

Sanders Rebuffs Alleged ‘Help’ From Moscow, Says None Needed From an ‘Autocratic Thug’

Sex Offenders on Tinder, Other Dating Apps, Spur Probe by House Members

House Lawmaker Asks Amazon to Turn Over Ring’s Police Requests

Psychologist Finds Chelsea Manning’s Imprisonment Pointless as Lawyers Seek Her Release

Facebook’s Twitter Account Just Got Hijacked (For Like 2 Seconds)

Feds Find Fourth Amendment Workaround, Buy Phone Locations From Marketing Firms

Buggy Iowa Caucus App Is Buggy, Security Experts Say

Google Slaps Face-Recognition Firm Clearview With a Cease-and-Desist Letter

Twitter Admits to Helping Spread Election Disinformation During Iowa Caucuses

Ring Drops a Major App Update, Placing Privacy and Security Settings Front and Center

FCC Says ‘One or More’ Phone Carriers Illegally Shared Location Data, Fueling Black Market Sales

Elizabeth Warren’s Plan for Disinformation Pictures Big Tech and Government Sharing the Burden

Campaign to Ban Face Recognition at U.S. Colleges Gathers Steam

Even the ‘Avatar’ Fighting Game Is Disrespecting ‘Legend of Korra’

Bluesky Has a New App, and It’s All About AI

Dammit, Jim, He’s a Doctor *And* an Action Figure!

Whatever Just Happened with ‘Fruit Love Island,’ Nobody Won

AMC Puts a Stake in ‘Talamasca’ After One Season

Aqara Smart Lock U400 Review: Hands-free Unlocking at Its Best

2027 Is Shaping Up to Be a Great Year for Big Sci-Fi RPGs

MSI Prestige 14 Flip AI+ Review: A Solid 2-in-1 Laptop With Some Glaring Flaws

Ahead of the SpaceX IPO, xAI Has Now Shed All 11 of Its Non-Elon Musk Founders

Do ‘Disclosure Day’ Prep With a Spielberg Sci-Fi Marathon

Sonos Play Review: Call It a Comeback

Sonos Era 100 SL Review: The Cheapest Way Into Wired Sonos Sound

Asus ROG’s Massive Swift OLED Gaming Monitor Epitomizes Excess in the Best Way

The Ikea Varmblixt Smart Lamp Fills a Donut Hole in My Life

Nothing Headphone A vs. Headphone 1: Which Pair of ANC Wireless Headphones Wins?

Asus ROG’s Cetra Open Wireless Gaming Earbuds Might Be Better Than Wearing a Headset

Nintendo’s Talking Flower Is Annoying as Hell. I Love It

Level Lock Pro Review: As Good as a Secret Smart Lock Gets

Apple Studio Display XDR Review: It Looks So Good, I Wish It Were an iMac

RayNeo Air 4 Pro Review: My Eyes Love These Video Glasses, but My Nose Disagrees

Dammit, Jim, He’s a Doctor And an Action Figure!