Free Republic

A hospital in Maine is apologizing after the state's Human Rights Commission said workers had created a “wall of shame” ridiculing disabled patients and incorporating confidential medical information, according to CNN. MyKayla McCann, an employee who was treated at St. Mary's Regional Medical Center in Lewiston, said that at least two co-workers looked at her medical records and that after she returned from a leave of absence she believed they were treating her differently. In September 2016, she reported her discomfort and the “wall of shame,” which included details of patients’ sexual activity, bodily functions and private parts, according to...

What was We thinking? That’s the only question worth asking now about the clowncar start-up known as The We Company, the money-burning, co-working behemoth whose best-known brand is WeWork. ......................................................... Much will be written in the coming weeks about how WeWork failed investors and employees. But I want to spotlight another constituency. WeWork’s fundamental business idea — to cram as many people as possible into swank, high-dollar office space, and then shower them with snacks and foosball-type perks so they overlook the distraction-carnival of their desks — fails office workers, too.

“The UPI would facilitate the vast data-sharing permitted without consent under HIPAA,” said Twila Brase, president and co-founder of CCHF. “This national patient ID would enable government and other third parties to link every piece of data in every medical record of every patient into one longitudinal digital dossier, leaving patients with no options for keeping their data, their personal lives, and their medical conditions confidential. As troubling as the privacy implications, this federal ID card would also become mandatory for patient access to care. In short -- no card, no care.”

Two months ago, after much lobbying by the biggest satellite company in North America, DigitalGlobe, the US government relaxed restrictions to allow for commercially available satellite imagery up to 25 cm resolution—twice as detailed as the previous limit of 50 cm. Now, the first commercial satellite set to capture these high-res images, DigitalGlobe's Worldview-3, will launch this Wednesday. The extra sharp images from Worldview-3 will greatly increase the maps' level of detail to the point where it can make out 10-inch objects, which means Google will soon be able to see “manholes and mailboxes” from its hired eyes in the...

SAN FRANCISCO, September 5, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) – As the preliminary hearing for charges against pro-life investigators David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt continues, Twitter temporarily barred the pro-life Center for Medical Progress (CMP) from live-tweeting the proceedings – based on a misrepresentation of the tweets from Planned Parenthood’s attorneys, CMP claims. CMP has been locked in legal battles with Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation (NAF) since the summer of 2015, when their undercover videos revealed abortion industry insiders expressing interest in profiting off organs from aborted babies, which is illegal. The abortion groups accuse the pro-life investigators of breaking...

It is your Constitutional right to refuse to grant Law Enforcement access to see what’s on your phone. Technology often outpaces the law, but in this case, our tried and true Constitution has your back regarding police access to your cell phone. Courts have decided that TWO Constitutional amendments protect you from being incriminated by your phone. The Fourth Amendment protects your privacy, and the U.S. Supreme Court ruling Riley v. California in 2014... https://tully-weiss.com/remain-silent-dont-unlock-your-phone-for-police/

MISSOULA, Mont. — Governor Steve Bullock is set to sign an executive order Wednesday, establishing Big Sky Connect as Montana's health information exchange. The governor will also announce funding for the exchange. Supporters say the exchange lets doctors, nurses and health officials access and share medical records, to improve care, eliminate duplicative treatments, and cut costs.

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Huawei has launched its own operating system — the HongmengOS, known in English as the HarmonyOS, said the CEO of the Chinese tech giant’s consumer division, Richard Yu, on Friday. Speaking at the Huawei Developer Conference in the Chinese city of Dongguan, Yu said the operating system can be used across different devices from smartphones to smart speakers and even sensors. It’s part of Huawei’s play in the so-called Internet of Things, which refers to devices connected to the internet. HarmonyOS will first be used on “smart screen products,” such as televisions, later this year. Over the next three years,...

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has voted to approve fining Facebook approximately $5 billion as a penalty for the company's privacy violations in the Cambridge Analytica scandal, The Guardian reported. According to the Washington Post, an anonymous source familiar with the issue said Friday that the settlement was approved 3-2, and that the Justice Department is expected to approve the move. In addition to the fine, which would be the highest ever levied by the FTC against a technology company and the highest ever levied for a privacy violation, Facebook will reexamine how it handles user data. The Washington Post...

The Federal Trade Commission announced a settlement with Facebook over the company's 2018 Cambridge Analytica scandal. The fine represents the largest ever imposed by the FTC against a tech company. The FTC began probing Facebook in March 2018 following reports that political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica had improperly accessed the data of 87 million Facebook users. Facebook co-founder, Chairman and CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill April 11, 2018 in Washington, DC. Yasin Ozturk | Anadolu Agency | Getty Images The Federal Trade Commission approved an...

With growing concerns over online privacy and securing personal data, more people than ever are considering alternatives to Google products. After all, Google’s business model essentially revolves around data collection and advertisements, both of which infringe on your privacy. More data means better (targeted) ads and more revenue. The company pulled in over $116 billion in ad revenue last year alone – and that number continues to grow. A growing number of people are seeking alternatives to Google products that respect their privacy and data. This guide aims to be the most exhaustive resource available for documenting alternatives to Google...

A new bill in the U.S. Senate could cause the internet as we know it to cease to exist by holding major tech companies like Facebook or YouTube liable for anything posted on their platforms. On Wednesday, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced controversial legislation that would amend Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA). Known as the Ending Support for Internet Censorship Act, it has caused bipartisan backlash on how it would affect tech companies, content creators, and everyday users. Tech companies like Twitter or YouTube currently have protection under Section 230 against being held liable for what users...

Poor governance and privacy concerns have knocked Facebook out of an influential ethics index that tracks socially responsible companies.  Standard & Poor's Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Index said that it had booted Facebook after the company scored poorly for social responsibility and governance, achieving 22 and 6, respectively, out of 100.  Facebook's disappointing results were due to a number of privacy concerns at the social network in recent years including “a lack of transparency as to why Facebook collects and shares certain user information”, said Reid Steadman, S&P's social and governance chief.  This includes allowing more than 150 companies...

Here’s A Proposal To Hurt Big Tech When It Censors Conservative Users https://dailycaller.com/2019/06/17/sears-big-tech/

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $99.4 billion HHS appropriations bill with several amendments including reversing a longtime ban on developing a national patient identifier, money for hospital emergency departments dealing with opioid overdoses, and a nod to the anti-vaccination controversy. For decades, Congress has prohibited HHS from funding the development or promotion of any national program where patients would receive permanent, unique identification numbers. Lawmakers previously argued such a program could violate privacy issues or raise security concerns, while the medical community and insurers claimed the ban kept them from properly matching patients with the correct medical information....

The Wall Street Journal reported that the price of facebooks stocks have plunged following revelations that internal emails by Company CEO Mark Zuckerberg show that he may have been aware of the problematic privacy practices at the company that have led to a string of scandals...

There was no conceivable reason for border agents to be suspicious when “Charles” flew from Brazil to Chigaco, with a final destination of Denver. But that didn’t stop them from searching his luggage, searching him, and finally searching his phone. Customs and Border Protection has been ramping up their searches of the electronics of travelers to the United States. Over 30,000 people had their electronics searched at a U.S. airport last year while traveling to or from the United States. In this interview, Charles tells me about his ordeal with the United States Customs and Border Protection. He was traveling...

Red pill or blue pill? You decide.Twenty years after the Wachowskis’ iconic 1999 film, The Matrix, introduced us to a futuristic world in which humans exist in a computer-simulated non-reality powered by authoritarian machines—a world where the choice between existing in a denial-ridden virtual dream-state or facing up to the harsh, difficult realities of life comes down to a red pill or a blue pill—we stand at the precipice of a technologically-dominated matrix of our own making.We are living the prequel to The Matrix with each passing day, falling further under the spell of technologically-driven virtual communities, virtual realities and virtual conveniences managed by...

A database containing records of tens of millions of users of various dating apps has been found publicly accessible, according to a researcher who says it remains unclear who amassed the data. In a blog Wednesday, security researcher Jeremiah Fowler said he discovered the database and that it was not protected by so much as a password. The 42.5 million records, which appeared to belong to multiple apps, were stored on a U.S.-based server and largely contained the IP addresses and location data of American users. The apps to which the data belongs include Cougardating, Christiansfinder, Mingler, Fwbs (friends with...