Could facial recognition be a tool for dangerous mass surveillance?
Image iPhone face recognition works with statues_By_Alexander Baxevanis Used Under CC BY 2.0
An Amazon employee published an anonymous op-ed on Medium speaking out against the company’s decision to sell its facial recognition product, Rekognition, to police in the U.S. They believe it’s a system for dangerous mass surveillance, which reinforces existing bias as demonstrated in a test done by the American Civil Liberties Union in July. They also argue that other surveillance tools were used in the past “to target people who have done nothing wrong.” The op-ed mentions that a group of over 450 employees signed a letter to Jeff Bezos and other executives. However, the CEO answered publicly that Amazon will continue working with law enforcement. According to CNN, he compared the technology with books, which have been used for good and bad. “The last thing we’d ever want to do is stop the progress of new technologies,” said Bezos.
The discussion around facial recognition was also brought by Forbes in an article about FBI agents forcing an Apple iPhone X owner to unlock their device with their face. Even though the agents obtained a warrant, some people have raised concerns about the use of this kind of tactic.
Recently, we published about a case in the U.S. when prosecutors obliged a suspect to surrender the passcode to his smartphone. And on the facial recognition beat, we wrote about Facebook’s push for a facial recognition software in Canada and the European Union. Check it out!
Should Google be educating kids about being safe online?
Image Google Search Engine Browser Search_By_Simon Steinberger Used Under CC0 1.0
Google is promoting its kit called Be Internet Awesome as part of October’s National Cybersecurity Awareness and National Bullying Prevention Month in the U.S. The tool’s goal is to help parents teach their kids how to be safe online. In addition, they announced a partnership with National Parent Teacher Association and DonorsChoose.org to promote workshops and fund school projects. However, a New York Times article said that critics questioned Google’s position as a trusted authority on digital citizenship, since the company is under scrutiny for bad digital conduct. This includes concerns for storing location data even when this setting is disabled, and promoting a censored version of its search app to Chinese users. Critics also pointed out that Google isn’t properly talking about the privacy concerns regarding the collection of users’ personal data and information by large corporate entities like Facebook and Google themselves.
Find out more about data protection on the Protect section of our website.
How is Facebook responding to security breaches?
Image Facebook Internet Network Social_By_geralt Used Under CC0 1.0
At the end of September, Facebook revealed an attack on its computer network that gained the status of largest security breach in the company’s history. Two weeks later, Facebook published an update providing more details. They explained that of the 50 million accounts thought to be affected, only about 30 million actually had their tokens stolen. Users can check whether they were affected by accessing the Help Center. The security breach has provoked a global scrutiny of the company’s practices. For instance, Reuters reported that the Japanese government challenged Facebook to be more proactive and transparent in order to improve users’ security. Their request is for more monitoring of third party apps, commitment to tell users if any issue happens, and to update the government of any changes on security infrastructure.
This hasn’t been an easy year for Facebook. The company is still dealing with the consequences of the Cambridge Analytica case, another public scandal that came up earlier this year. Mashable recently reported that, as a consequence, Canadian and UK lawmakers have summoned Mark Zuckerberg to testify on its role in spreading misinformation online. However, Zuckerberg rejected the request. You can find more information about how the Cambridge Analytica scandal happened and how it affects Canadians on our blog page.
Read our most recent blog posts:
- In the News: Researchers develop sonar technology to steal smartphone passcodes
- In the News: Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance: “Privacy is not Absolute”
- Intel Techniques Review
- In the News: France Implements Smartphone Ban in Schools
- In the News: Google Tracks Smartphones that Disabled Location Services
- In the News: Google Automatically Logs Users Into Chrome Browser on Google Sites
What’s happening in November:
Film Screening – In Pursuit of Silence
A meditative film about our relationship with sound and the impact of noise on our lives. The film is particularly timely as it inspires viewers to both experience silence and celebrate the world’s wonders in this constantly connected time.
When? Nov. 28, from 4:30 pm to 6:30 pm (PST)
Where? UBC Point Grey Campus – Green College, Coach House, 6201 Cecil Green Park Road
Workshop – Finding Canadian & International Microdata
When? Nov. 8, from 2 pm to 4 pm (EST)
Where? U of T St. George (Downtown) Campus – Map & Data Library
Workshop – 10 Days of Twitter: Join the Online Scholarly Conversation
When? In-person class on Nov. 12, from 12:10 pm to 1:00 pm (EST). Twitter practice from Nov. 13 to Nov. 23, 10 minutes/day
Where? U of T St. George (Downtown) Campus – Robarts Library, e-classroom, 4th floor, room 4033
When? Nov. 27, from 5 pm to 6:30 pm (EST)
Where? U of T St. George (Downtown) Campus – Rotman School of Management, Desautels Hall (second floor, south building)
Lecture – Echoes of Conflict and Solidarity in Cyberspace: How Social Media Shapes Immigrant Identity-Making
When? Nov. 29, from 12 pm to 2 pm (EST)
Where? U of T St. George (Downtown) Campus – Munk School of Global Affairs, 208N, North House, 1 Devonshire Place
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