Olives @olives@qoto.org

https://www.theverge.com/2024/1/17/24041859/samsung-smart-galaxy-ring-unpacked One ring to rule them all and in the darkness bind them.

"Samsung just announced that it’s working on a smart ring. The ring, called the Galaxy Ring, was teased at the very end of today’s Unpacked showcase, and the company briefly described it as a “powerful and accessible” health and wellness device."

This sounds like the sort of thing that would be sending data to a remote server. #privacy

https://themarkup.org/gentle-january/2024/01/16/stop-tiktok-from-suggesting-your-account-to-others

"I started to regularly get recommended users that were a bit too close for comfort: an old friend’s mom, a high school teacher, and even someone I couldn’t quite trace my relationship to—until realizing I had saved their contact to coordinate a Craigslist purchase. Other users have shared similar reports.

That’s why I recommend reviewing your social media privacy settings. Apps, including TikTok, all have different ways of recommending your profile to others and recommending others’ profiles to you. If you have TikTok and don’t want your profile suggested to anyone whose number you have saved, stop the app from suggesting your account to contacts and Facebook friends."

#privacy

https://themarkup.org/privacy/2024/01/17/each-facebook-user-is-monitored-by-thousands-of-companies-study-indicates

"Using a panel of 709 volunteers who shared archives of their Facebook data, Consumer Reports found that a total of 186,892 companies sent data about them to the social network. On average, each participant in the study had their data sent to Facebook by 2,230 companies. That number varied significantly, with some panelists’ data listing over 7,000 companies providing their data."

#privacy

"cloud analytics" more or less means "we are tracking you". #privacy

https://web.archive.org/web/20230617125824/https://www.iot-now.com/2023/06/17/131689-audi-joins-peachtree-corners-to-advance-c-v2x-deployment-pathways-aimed-at-improving-roadway-safety/

"Peachtree Corners and Audi of America Inc., announced a collaboration to advance cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) practical deployment pathways as part of the city’s Curiosity Lab ecosystem.

Both Audi and Peachtree Corners see this as an opportune time to further deployment of C-V2X applications that allow vehicles to communicate with city-owned streets, traffic signals, crosswalk signals and other infrastructure, as well as with vulnerable road users (VRUs). With Audi having recently received a waiver from the Federal Communications Commission to deploy this advanced technology, both intend to fine-tune strategies to expand connectivity on public roadways for increased roadway safety, increased traffic efficiency and more."

#privacy #SmartCities

https://web.archive.org/web/20240118215527/https://www.iot-now.com/2023/12/27/141515-tomtom-and-microsoft-introduce-next-gen-ai-for-in-vehicle-experience/

"TomTom has announced that, together with Microsoft, it is bringing the benefits of generative artificial intelligence (#AI) to the global automotive industry. Using Microsoft’s advancements in AI, TomTom has developed a fully integrated, AI-powered conversational automotive assistant that enables more sophisticated voice interaction with infotainment, location search and vehicle command systems. Drivers can converse naturally with their vehicle and ask the AI-powered assistant to navigate to a certain location, find specific stops along their route, and vocally control onboard systems to, for instance, turn up the temperature, open windows, or change radio stations."

"TomTom started working with Microsoft in 2016, with TomTom powering Azure Maps location services and the companies later expanding their partnership to mapping data and services for Microsoft’s first-party maps. As a natural evolution of their relationship, the companies are now collaborating on automotive solutions, driving innovation for generative AI-powered automotive solutions and developing an in-vehicle digital cockpit and infotainment solution with cloud analytics."

#privacy

https://www.tomshardware.com/networking/your-washing-machine-could-be-sending-37-gb-of-data-a-day I suppose #Smart Washing machines are a thing now...? I don't really see the point in it though...

It's just wasting resources for no real good reason. Maybe, there is also a #privacy / security story in there somewhere.

While concerns about security, privacy, and the free expression rights of adults and minors (including one case where a bill was described by a judge as being an "unbelievably blunt instrument") get mentioned a lot, another problem with "age verification" is that it always winds up creating points of centralization.

https://qoto.org/@olives/111776493875055997 Referring to a narrower one, not the one Elizabeth tore apart here, although still might be relevant.

https://reason.com/2024/01/17/the-cops-are-watching-you/

"For anybody concerned about #privacy and surveillance, and interested in how the use of such technologies is implemented and regulated, EFF's Street Level Surveillance hub offers a handy resource. Instead of wondering just what biometric surveillance is, you can quickly look it up and be simultaneously informed and creeped out by discovering that it "encompasses a collection of methods for tracking individuals using physical or biological characteristics, ranging from fingerprint and DNA collection to gait recognition and heartbeat tracking.""

It'd be interesting to see international versions of this pop up, not just one for the U.S. (although, this is still important work).

https://reason.com/2024/01/17/want-to-use-social-media-utah-wants-you-to-hand-over-your-id/

"Last week, the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE), a First Amendment nonprofit, launched a lawsuit against the state of Utah, challenging a new state law requiring invasive age verification for social media users.

The law, The Utah Social Media Regulation Act, was passed last March and aims to restrict minors' access to social media and the kind of content they can encounter once online. The law will require all social media users to verify their age through privacy-invading methods such as a facial scan, uploading their driver's license, or giving the last four digits of their social security number. Additionally, minors will be required to obtain parental permission before they can create a social media account. Once online, the law forces social media companies to severely restrict minors' ability to find new content and accounts, and limit when they can message others on the platforms."

"FIRE's lawsuit argues that the law violates the First Amendment, pointing out that it forces social media companies to restrict users' access to protected expression. The complaint claims that the law's age verification requirements amount to a prior restraint on expression that limits "all Utahns' ability to access important sources of information and social interaction.""

#privacy #FirstAmendment

https://reason.com/2024/01/17/ai-fraud-act-could-outlaw-parodies-political-cartoons-and-more/

"Mixing new technology and new laws is always a fraught business, especially if the tech in question relates to communication. Lawmakers routinely propose bills that would sweep up all sorts of First Amendment-protected speech. We've seen a lot of this with social media, and we're starting to see it with artificial intelligence. Case in point: the No Artificial Intelligence Fake Replicas And Unauthorized Duplications (No AI FRAUD) Act. Under the auspices of protecting "Americans' individual right to their likeness and voice," the bill would restrict a range of content wide enough to ensnare parody videos, comedic impressions, political cartoons, and much more."

"Salazar and Dean say the bill balances people's "right to control the use of their identifying characteristics" with "First Amendment protections to safeguard speech and innovation." But while the measure does nod to free speech rights, it also expands the types of speech deemed legally acceptable to restrict. It could mean way more legal hassles for creators and platforms interested in exercising their First Amendment rights, and result in a chilling effect on certain sorts of comedy, commentary, and artistic expression."

#AI

Then again, that is not the only thing which can explain how they behave (perhaps, there are multiple reasons).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Law_of_the_instrument This feels like Big Tech and surveillance, even when surveillance really doesn't make sense in whatever they're doing. #privacy

https://edri.org/our-work/the-right-to-pay-in-cash-approaches-of-european-countries-mapped/

"Whether it’s tickets for public transport, parking, or buying refreshments on the train or cinema – if you’re a person in Czech Republic wanting to avail of any of these services and pay with cash, you could be at a significant disadvantage. In some cases, cash payment would not be possible at all, leaving citizens unable to access services. EDRi member IuRe is monitoring such cases and has pushed for a fine for services refusing cash payment in 2021."

#privacy

https://edri.org/our-work/encryption-discussion-during-the-8-december-trial-from-myth-to-reality/ A troubling precedent. #privacy