FTC Denies Application for New Parental Consent Mechanism Under COPPA
(Federal Trade Commission, Mar 29, 2024)
Under the COPPA Rule, online sites and services directed to children under 13, and those that have actual knowledge they are collecting personal information from children under 13, must obtain parental consent before collecting, using, or disclosing personal information from a child. The rule lays out a number of acceptable methods for gaining parental consent but also includes a provision allowing interested parties to submit new verifiable parental consent methods to the Commission for approval.
NYPD Should Press Gun Makers to Use Safety Tech Like Fingerprints for Safety: Brooklyn Pol
(New York Daily News, Apr 02, 2024)
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie said the nation’s largest police department is second only to the U.S. military in the number of guns it buys — and that weapons manufacturers would listen if the NYPD said it would do business only with those that made gun safety a priority. In a letter sent Monday to Police Commissioner Edward Caban, Myrie urged him to join the Gun Safety Consortium, an amalgam of elected officials and law enforcement agencies who have “joined together to encourage the development of technologies and products that will help gun owners secure their firearms, as well as products that can help law enforcement investigate and prevent gun-related crimes.”
Incentives First: A Critique of Current AI Governance Models
(Harvard Political Review, Apr 02, 2024)
The Federal Trade Commission settled with Rite Aid in December after alleged failure to take basic precautions against algorithmic bias in their facial recognition technology. The FTC banned Rite Aid from using face surveillance for five years and mandated that they delete all biometric data used for training their facial recognition technology. The situation with Rite Aid demonstrates that while companies may claim to govern their AI applications ethically, this doesn't necessarily mean they are instituting necessary safety measures. The United Nations released a Interim Report titled Governing AI for Humanity to address these issues. However, the report also highlights the need for multi-stakeholder governance models (MSGMs) as robust accountability mechanisms. The UN finds it problematic to let countries self-regulate AI due to fragmented regulatory policies that fail to prioritize human rights frameworks. The UN believes that Multilateral Systems of Government (MSGMs) are the best solution to prevent irresponsible AI and inhibit responsible governance. However, current solutions risk perpetuating data colonization, where big AI companies and wealthy countries exploit the Global South for profit. The Global South is often oppressed by capitalism and colonialism, and tech companies exploit the region under the guise of ethical practices. The UN's AI Interim Report acknowledges AI companies leveraging the Global South, but is optimistic about future laws providing remedies and poses insufficient accountability mechanisms. Regulation and innovation complement each other, and developing countries should focus on integrating AI into society.
User Privacy Must Come First with Biometrics
(Tech Radar, Apr 02, 2024)
AI and facial recognition technologies are revolutionizing the way we handle sensitive data. However, the potential harms of poorly implemented facial recognition technology outweigh the benefits. To ensure user privacy, it's crucial to incorporate data privacy principles and tactics at the start of development, allowing for proactive problem-solving rather than reactive ones.
Amazon Just Walked Out on its Self-Checkout Technology
(Endgadget, Apr 02, 2024)
There’s also some major privacy concerns here. Remember those cameras and sensors? They are constantly collecting biometric information as people shop. This goes beyond Amazon’s palm-scanning technology, as the cameras and sensors measure the shape and size of each customer’s body for identification and tracking purposes. This led to a class action suit in New York that accused the company of collecting biometric identifier information without properly disclosing the practices to consumers.
