Digital Ethics

In summer 2019, FPF's education privacy project held a special webinar series with privacy experts outside of education with lessons that can be applied to student privacy. The third webinar topic was facial recognition, with some discussion of how this technology in schools and the privacy issues that are raised. The webinar featured Evan Selinger, Professor in the Department of Philosophy at the Rochester Institute of Technology; and Brenda Leong, a Senior Counsel at FPF working on biometrics and AI. The webinar was held on August 6, 2019.

'Washington Post' tech columnist Geoffrey Fowler talks about how web browsers, phone apps, and smart speakers are tracking users, even when they're asleep. Fowler listened to four years' worth of audio that Amazon had captured and stored from his Alexa smart speaker — and was surprised by what he found.Soraya Nadia McDonald reviews the final season of Netflix's 'Orange is the New Black,' set in a immigration detention center.

The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) has asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate HireVue, an AI tool that helps companies figure out which workers to hire.

Just heard about a student who got a free report from 23&me, contingent on participation in a months-long survey about their clinical depression.This is creepy AF that they're doing research privately, without ethical oversight.Oh and 23&me is basically a google operation.— Terry McGlynn (@hormiga) November 7, 2019

For years, Mark Zuckerberg was perceived in Silicon Valley as a bold and erudite leader who could outmaneuver anyone. Now the tables have turned—but not for the reasons you might think.

Wanted posters, the distracted boyfriend meme, #ThugThursday. Police departments have discovered how Facebook makes negative or extreme content go viral. Experts say it ruins people’s trust in cops.

An explosive new study reveals that political misinformation is running rampant on Facebook as the 2020 election approaches. In the first ten months of 2019, "[p]olitically relevant disinformation was found to have reached over 158 million estimated views, enough to reach every reported registered voter in the US at least once," according to the report.

Hello from 20 Minutes into the Future. This week’s letter is 901 words, a 3 1/2 minute read. Happy Black History Month. Tonight we’ll be taking a critical look at inclusion in big tech. What's working, what's not working, and what could be next. Let's start with a clarifying quote:

Short-term rental guests expect a modicum of privacy when they message hosts or stay in an apartment or vacation rental booked through Airbnb or Expedia's Facebook shut down Airbnb Guests Blacklist. Facebook is investigating Airbnb Host Community with an eye toward removing any postings that violate Facebook's policies.

An interview with this specialist in human rights, technology and freedom of expression to discuss how today’s societies are advancing to the drumbeat of “digital colonialism”.

Facial recognition: A solution in search of a problem?

The company can't avoid damaging democracy.

What won’t the company do to earn a profit?

Many of the drones are made in China or use Chinese parts

Apple Watch and HomePod have the highest rate of inadvertent recordings, a whistleblower says.

You know those “anonymous surveys” you may have filled in? They don’t tell anyone it was you. Or do they?

.@kimgoodwin showing just how possible it would be for Facebook to measure better things, & be better, if they chose to #CanUX pic.twitter.com/wUCVZNfkKK— Cyd Harrell (@cydharrell) November 2, 2019

An analysis of Alexa Answers data conducted by VentureBeat shows that questionable questions and answers are accepted and served to Alexa users.

Thread: A bipartisan group of Senators led by @johnthune has introduced the Filter Bubble Transparency Act. https://t.co/25mvFWhK8o Here’s why people like @shoshanazuboff and me support it: 1/10— Eli Pariser (@elipariser) November 1, 2019

When my phone died I couldn’t prove that I had bought a bus ticket with Apple Pay

In an exclusive global series, the Guardian lays bare the tech revolution transforming the welfare system worldwide – while penalising the most vulnerable

Facebook Inc said Tuesday it has data sharing partnerships with at least four Chinese companies including Huawei, the world's third largest smartphone maker, which has come under scrutiny from U....

A recent literature review of 80 app safety studies details a laundry list of shortcomings.

Microsoft committed to protecting democratic freedoms. Then it funded an Israeli facial recognition firm that secretly watched West Bank Palestinians.

Digitalization is rapidly taking over all aspects of society, but still there are parts of the population who have to struggle for access to, and to be able to use, the digital resources. Design pr ...

A new interview with the campaign's digital director reveals how the campaign got help straight from Facebook.

In information societies, operations, decisions and choices previously left to humans are increasingly delegated to algorithms, which may advise, if not decide,...

System analyses body language and word choice, but polling suggests public are opposed

The idea that skull shapes and facial features determine a person's character or social identity is enjoying a worrying renaissance, thanks to facial recognition.

Fueled by fears of school shootings, the market has grown rapidly for technologies that monitor students through official school emails and chats