surveillance

A group of police officers in tactical gear, wearing helmets and body armor, stand on a sidewalk. They are facing away, observing a scene or building. The environment appears urban, with trees and modern architecture visible. The photo is in black and white, creating a serious tone.

March 13, 2021

Greek police roll out new ‘smart’ devices with facial recognition

Greek authorities say the technology will make police checks more efficient, but critics are sounding the alarm about potential abuses.

Two people stand on a sidewalk gazing up at a brown brick wall adorned with numerous surveillance cameras aligned in rows and columns. A tall, narrow window and a black door are between the rows. The cameras face different directions, creating a striking visual pattern.

March 13, 2021

Hacked Surveillance Camera Firm Shows Staggering Scale of Facial Recognition

A hacked customer list shows that facial recognition company Verkada is deployed in tens of thousands of schools, bars, stores, jails, and other businesses around the country.

A close-up of a laptop on a desk, showing a partially visible screen displaying a grid of photos. The keyboard is prominent in the foreground, with a reflective touchpad. The background is slightly blurred, featuring another device or monitor.

March 12, 2021

Internet providers tracking sites we visit in secretive trial

Campaigners complain of ‘staggering lack of transparency’ around mass data collection experiment.

A person holds a smartphone displaying the home screen filled with various app icons, including Messages, Photos, and Settings. The wallpaper shows a beach scene with sand and waves. The time at the top is 9:42. The background is a plain, blurred, grayish color.

March 11, 2021

Flaws in Apple Location Tracking System Could Lead to User Identification

An adversary could perform a location correlation attack and access location history, thus de-anonymizing users.

A bronze statue of Lady Justice, blindfolded and holding balanced scales in her right hand, symbolizes impartiality and fairness. She wears a flowing robe against a neutral background, representing the justice system.

March 9, 2021

France seeks to bypass EU top court on data retention

Paris invoked a rarely used argument to ask the country’s highest administrative court not to follow the Luxembourg ruling.

March 1, 2021

Privacy Debated in Fight Over Google Chrome Browser History Tracking

Attorneys for Google battled it out with a group of plaintiffs who say the company violated their privacy by storing their web browsing history even though they took a specific step they believed would shield them from being tracked.

Silhouetted figures walk or stand in an airport terminal, with large windows showing an empty runway background. One person leans over luggage, while others move forward. The scene is backlit by daylight, creating distinct outlines against the glass.

March 1, 2021

Greece Moves Ahead with Biometric Border Management System

Greece is planning to implement a biometric border management system that will record all crossings at ports, airports and border check points.

Overhead view of people walking on a gray tiled floor in an indoor space. A cluster of individuals, including a person with a blue bag, are near a bright light source on the left. One person walks alone on the bottom right, while others in the group appear to be engaged with phones.

February 24, 2021

A patent shows how surveillance drones could ID you from above

An Israeli biometrics startup with a history of defense contracts has applied for a patent on technology that repositions drones to get a better shot of a person on the ground.

February 18, 2021

Tracker pixels in emails are now an ‘endemic’ privacy concern

Invisible pixels used to track email activity are now an “endemic” issue that breaches our privacy, analysts suggest. Critics suggest the practice is marketing gone too far.

Close-up of a convex security camera lens reflecting a distorted view of a building exterior. The lens is centered on a metallic, gray surface with subtle reflections and lighting. The camera's circular shape dominates the image, creating a wide-angle effect.

February 17, 2021

New EFF Report Shows Cops Used Ring Cameras to Monitor Black Lives Matter Protests

Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) sent at least one request—and likely many more—for Amazon Ring camera video of last summer’s Black-led protests against police violence.

A man with short hair and a slight smile is facing forward. There is a digital overlay on his face displaying facial recognition features, with lines and points marking facial geometry. To the left, the word "PROCESSING" is shown above a progress bar. The background is blurred.

February 13, 2021

Russian police go digital against protesters

Reports from other protesters who have attend rallies in recent weeks in support of jailed opposition politician Alexei Navalny also indicate police are using facial recognition technology to make preventive arrests and detentions.