The Electronic Frontier Foundation has weighed in on the recent Appellate Court ruling that cleared the way for a class action lawsuit against Facebook. The lawsuit alleges that Facebook gathered biometric information from users without achieving proper consent. The facts of the case haven’t changed since earlier reports, but the EFF’s breakdown does help explain…
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is raising red flags over the Transportation Security Administration’s plans to expand its use of biometrics at US airports. The EFF’s warnings, outlined in a new blog post, come in response to the TSA Biometrics Roadmap for Aviation Security and the Passenger Experience published in October. The document laid out a…
“Essentially, the court will decide whether the law should concern the unauthorized collection of biometric data alone, or whether alleged victims of malfeasance should have to prove that they have actually been somehow injured or wronged through the collection of such data.” The Illinois Supreme Court is poised to make a major ruling on how…
The Department of Homeland Security is working on a secretive project aimed at dramatically expanding its biometric surveillance powers – and the Electronic Frontier Foundation is arguing it it must be stopped. The project is dubbed HART, for Homeland Advanced Recognition Technology, and it entails the collection of a wide range of data – not…
A sheriff’s office in Minnesota may be compelled to publicly disclose how it uses biometric technology, depending on the outcome of a case before the state’s Supreme Court. The suit was first filed by Tony Webster, a web developer and researcher, in 2015, and is backed by the Electronic Frontier Foundation and a MuckRock campaign,…
Legislators in Montana are considering a new bill that would establish new regulations around biometric data in the state, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation is throwing its support behind it. House Bill 518 would require companies to obtain written consent before collecting biometric information from individuals, to store it securely, and to destroy it when…
Privacy rights advocates are battling the Hennepin County Sheriff Office in court over records pertaining to police authorities’ use of biometric identification technology. It’s the result of an Electronic Frontier Foundation campaign to help concerned citizens file information requests from local government and law enforcement agencies. One participant, Tony Webster, sent such a request to…
The Electronic Frontier Foundation has officially filed its comments to the FBI on its request to exempt its biometric Next Generation Identification (NGI) program from certain provisions of America’s national Privacy Act. The EFF has some objections. In a post on its NGI exemption comments, the civil liberties advocacy group says the NGI has been…
Biometric identification technology is increasingly prominent among California law enforcement agencies, according to an investigative report from the Electronic Frontier Foundation and MuckRock. The privacy advocates have made numerous requests to a number of police organizations in the state about their use of biometric technology. So far, nine police organizations have responded, and according to EFF and…
A civil rights advocacy group is putting a spotlight on police use of biometric technology. The Electronic Frontier Foundation’s main line of inquiry revolves around public records requests, mostly with respect to the San Diego Police Department. In a blog post, EFF researcher Dave Maass explains that recent media stories about police using biometric recognition…