Techlore Surveillance Report Surveillance Report 15
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Jun 15, 2020 Amazon has paused its police facial recognition program, highlighting the contrast with IBM and Microsoft’s actions. A lawsuit threatens the Internet Archive, raising concerns over ebook DRM. Fascinating research reveals that light bulbs can eavesdrop by analyzing vibrations. Zoom has blocked accounts for activists regarding Tiananmen event discussions, while Apple removes podcast apps from China amid content restrictions. A recent report unveils undisclosed COVID-19 cell tracking in the Netherlands, and privacy issues arise from facial recognition technology at events like the Rose Bowl.
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Facial Recognition Pauses Are PR, Not Principle
- Large tech firms paused police facial recognition largely due to public pressure, not privacy ethics.
- Henry (Techlore) argues the moves reflect PR and regulatory timing more than genuine privacy concerns.
Internet Archive Versus Publishers
- Henry defends the Internet Archive and criticizes book publishers suing it over ebooks.
- He argues ebook DRM strips users of rights they have with physical books and fears the archive could be bankrupted.
Light Bulbs Can Leak Your Conversations
- Researchers recovered speech by measuring tiny light-bulb vibrations from sound, showing unconventional eavesdropping vectors.
- Henry calls this a powerful reminder that motivated attackers can exploit nearly anything to identify or spy on you.