Free Republic

Gaming companies are coordinating with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to root out so-called domestic violent extremist content, according to a new government report. Noting that mechanisms have been established with social media companies to police extremism, the report recommends that the national security agencies establish new and similar processes with the vast gaming industry. The exact nature of the cooperation between federal agencies and video game companies, which has not been previously reported, is detailed in a new Government Accountability Office report. The report draws on interviews conducted with five gaming and social media companies including Roblox,...

MOSCOW, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Russia's communications watchdog plans to block Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) from March 1 next year, a Russian senator for the ruling United Russia party said on Tuesday. Demand for VPN services soared after Russia restricted access to some Western social media after President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine in February 2022. Senator Artem Sheikin said an order from the Roskomnadzor watchdog would come into force on March 1 that would block VPNs. "From March 1, 2024, an order will come into force to block VPN services providing access to sites banned in Russia," Sheikin...

A national mass surveillance system boosted by artificial intelligence (AI) took root in another state. The town council of Jackson, Wyoming, agreed in a close vote last month to install the 30 solar-powered license plate recognition (LPR) cameras along their streets and traffic lights, which feeds into a centralized surveillance system managed by the private company Flock Safety. The town is the first in the state of Wyoming to install the cameras. Council members who agreed to the measure expressed reluctance with their decision. Councilman Jonathan Schechter indicated his belief that the cameras marked a negative trend down an undesirable...

Critics roundly condemned the White House after Press Secretary Jen Psaki revealed the Biden administration is working with Facebook to flag "problematic" posts that "spread disinformation" on COVID-19. On Thursday, Psaki was asked a question regarding the Biden administration’s request for tech companies to be more "aggressive" when policing what they referred to as "misinformation." Psaki revealed that the White House is "in regular touch with social media platforms" to handle it.

Over a million people changed their facebook profile pictures to a rainbow filter in support of gay marriage. New reports reveal that the “Celebrate Pride” tool may not have been the best idea… According to Daily Mail, this tool was actually Facebook’s way of performing psychological testing on their users. Cesar Hidalgo wrote on Facebook yesterday. “The question is, how long will it take for people to change their profile pictures back to normal.”

FORT LAUDERDALE— Tania Ouaknine is convinced the police are watching her. She's not paranoid — it says as much on the red sign painted along the side on the hulking armored truck that's been parked in front of her eight-room Parisian Motel for several days. "Warning: You are under video surveillance," reads the bold message on the side of the truck. From the front bumper of the menacing vehicle, another sign taunts: "Whatcha gonna do when we come for you?"

Facebook’s ubiquitous ‘like’ button found on countless websites accessible in Germany was declared in violation of the country’s strict privacy laws by a state data protection official on Friday. Hackers gather around the computer campfire (11 Aug 11) Thilo Weichert, who works for the data protection centre of the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, said the social network’s application allowing internet users to express their appreciation of something online, illegally cobbled together a profile of their web habits. “Facebook can trace every click on a website, how long I’m on it, what I’m interested in,” he said. According to Weichert,...

The FBI is giving significant new powers to its roughly 14,000 agents -- allowing them more leeway to search databases, go through household trash or use surveillance teams to scrutinize the lives of people who have attracted their attention. < SNIP > Some of the most notable changes apply to the lowest category of investigations, called an "assessment." The category, created in December 2008, allows agents to look into people and organizations "proactively" and without firm evidence for suspecting criminal or terrorist activity.

LAS VEGAS -- A Nevada newspaper says it has been served a federal grand jury subpoena seeking information about readers who posted comments on the paper's Web site. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported Tuesday that its editor, Thomas Mitchell, plans to fight the request, which the newspaper received after reporting on a federal tax fraud case against business owner Robert Kahre. The subpoena seeks the identities and personal information about people who posted comments on the story. The newspaper said prosecutors told the judge in the case that some comments hinted at acts of violence and the subpoena was issued...

ABC News will host an hour-long special on health care reform in the U.S. next Wednesday from the White House East Room -- a move that ABC is defending but critics are calling a surrender to the Obama administration's effort to control the debate. The prime time special -- called "Questions for the President: Prescription for America" by ABC News -- will be a nationally televised event during which President Obama will answer questions presented by audience members selected by ABC News. Participants will present a broad range of "divergent opinions in this historic debate," according to the press release...

Thousands of bloggers who operate behind the cloak of anonymity have no right to keep their identities secret, the High Court ruled today In a landmark decision, Mr Justice Eady refused to grant an order to protect the anonymity of a police officer who is the author of a blog called NightJack. The officer, Richard Horton, 45, a detective constable with Lancashire Constabulary, had sought an injunction to stop The Times from revealing his name. *snip* Mr Horton has now deleted his website and received a written warning from his force. *snip* Coming down in favour of freedom of expression,...

Household computers are under threat from a UK government scheme. But the programme, which involves trading in personal computers for low-tech access points and relying on network-based applications for everything from playing video games to doctoring holiday snaps, could help to save the planet in return. The UK government has announced that it will be launching a pilot project for the scheme in Manchester in 2008. Details are still fuzzy, but the basic idea is to replace PCs in tens or hundreds of households with simple access points, perhaps in TV-top boxes, and establish a system of central servers to...

LOS ANGELES, CA – When Clif Bar & Co. was devising its new organic energy bar for kids in early 2004, product developers at the Berkeley, Calif.-based health food manufacturer turned to California Senate Bill 19 for direction. The “Z-Bar,” launched in June 2004, was fashioned to meet the 2001 state law’s recommended limits on calories from fat and sugar for snack food sold outside meals at schools. Clif Bar stamped an “SB19 compliant” logo on the bar’s wrapper and declared it the first snack to conform to the legislation, among the first state laws to address the childhood obesity...

A desperate motorist tried to escape a speeding fine by blowing up the roadside camera which snapped him, a court heard on Wednesday. Engineer Craig Moore, 28, took the drastic action because he feared he would lose his job as a result of the ticket. He returned to the roadside camera in the Manchester area and used explosive material, once used to make bombs and now common in the welding industry, to destroy the device. But the motorist didn't realise his actions were recorded by the camera itself. It is understood that pictures recovered from the camera hard disk show...

A Florida company wants to implant its Radio Frequency Identification tags in immigrants and guest workers so they can be identified at the workplace. Scott Silverman, chairman of the Delray Beach-based VeriChip Corporation, said in a "Fox & Friends” TV interview that its RFID implant could be used to register workers at the border, and then verify their identities on the job. Illegal immigrants could then be readily distinguished from those who registered. Silverman said: "We have talked to many people in Washington about using it.” The VeriChip RFID tag is about the size of a large grain of rice...

I heard today as I was getting ready to leave work that as of today, it is illegal in the state of Arkansas to smoke in a private vehicle with a minor or on the premises of any business establishment frequented by minors. Does anybody have any more detailed information on this? If true, this is an outrage! Not unexpected, but an outrage nevertheless. Before we know it, we will have to have prior government approval to use a public restroom.

We used to fingerprint felons -- now, we're "inking" traffic scofflaws. Run a couple of mph over the speed limit in the state of Kansas (or even fail to "buckle up for safety") and you'll be duly entered into the Kansas Bureau of Investigation's electronic fingerprint database -- a privilege once reserved for actual criminals, not ordinary citizens who commit minor violations of the motor vehicle code. KBI, authorized by the state government, will be "testing out" 60 automated fingerprint readers throughout the state beginning this month -- all of it funded by a $3.6 million grant from the Department...

Don't look now, but camera is watching Privacy: The video eye is almost everywhere these days, but the view isn't like they portray on crime shows By Bob Mims The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake Tribune 2004-08-13 00:25:49.959 On a plane, train or bus, strolling a mall or park, using an ATM, riding an elevator, pumping gas, feeding coins into a tollbooth, in class or even your doctor's examining room - someone could be watching.     Are you a store clerk? Your cash register may be the star attraction of a security cam. So may be the hallways at...

By MICHAEL J. SNIFFEN, Associated Press Writer WASHINGTON - The Pentagon (news - web sites) is developing an urban surveillance system that would use computers and thousands of cameras to track, record and analyze the movement of every vehicle in a foreign city. AP Photo   Dubbed "Combat Zones That See," the project is designed to help the U.S. military protect troops and fight in cities overseas. Police, scientists and privacy experts say the unclassified technology could easily be adapted to spy on Americans. The project's centerpiece is groundbreaking computer software that is capable of automatically identifying vehicles by size,...