Privacy
Coverage of the way technology is changing the kinds of data state and local government collects about citizens, how it uses that data and the ethical and security implications of that. Includes stories about police body cameras, facial recognition, artificial intelligence, medical data, surveillance, etc., as well as privacy policy nationwide.
Law enforcement agencies statewide offer data collected via automated license plate readers to federal and out-of-state counterparts. But state Attorney General Rob Bonta has ordered agencies to safeguard that information.
Heritage Valley Health System will pay the federal government $950,000 to settle potential patient privacy violations after a ransomware attack in 2017 crippled the system's electronic medical records system.
After a seven-month investigation into automated license plate readers, Sacramento County's Grand Jury found the county Sheriff's Office and the Sacramento Police Department improperly shared data with out-of-state agencies.
Two local governments have taken steps to make residents aware of their digital rights. Experts argue that cities actually have a responsibility to do so.
City officials said Tuesday they had deployed the first 100 cameras; the other 300 are expected to be on the street by July. The devices, paid for by a $17 million state grant, are intended to take on organized retail theft.
Ruling that the Fourth Amendment protects a person’s right to privacy, a Norfolk Circuit Court has granted a defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained by city-owned license plate reader cameras, but without a search warrant.
Alarmed by the reach and rapid expansion of license plate cameras, privacy advocates have filed suit in Illinois, saying the cameras violate the Constitution’s protections against unreasonable search.
Los Angeles Unified School District is investigating claims that a user on the dark web posted student information including home address, homelessness status, disability status and contact information for relatives.
A bill introduced in the New York City Council last week would change the New York City Correction Department’s longtime practice of recording and keeping jail telephone calls. A court-ordered warrant or consent would be required.
Police in Anchorage, Alaska, began using body-worn cameras this year. Now, body cam video of a fatal officer-involved shooting could test a state position on releasing footage that could be evidence.
