Tag: privacy

Privacy and hunger groups sue over USDA attempt to collect personal data of SNAP recipients

Privacy and hunger relief groups and a handful of people receiving food assistance benefits are suing the federal government over the Trump administration’s attempts to collect the personal information of millions of U.S. residents who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Privacy and hunger groups sue over USDA attempt to collect personal data of SNAP recipientsBy REBECCA BOONEAssociated PressThe Associated Press

Privacy and hunger relief groups and a handful of people receiving food assistance benefits are suing the federal government over the Trump administration’s attempts to collect the personal information of millions of U.S. residents who use the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The lawsuit filed in Washington, D.C., on Thursday says the U.S. Department of Agriculture violated federal privacy laws when it ordered states and vendors to turn over five years of data about food assistance program applicants and enrollees, including their names, birth dates, personal addresses and social security numbers.

The lawsuit “seeks to ensure that the government is not exploiting our most vulnerable citizens by disregarding longstanding privacy protections,” National Student Legal Defense Network attorney Daniel Zibel wrote in the complaint. The Electronic Privacy Information Center and Mazon Inc.: A Jewish Response to Hunger joined the four food assistance recipients in bringing the lawsuit.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, is a social safety net that serves more than 42 million people nationwide. Under the program formerly known as food stamps, the federal government pays for 100% of the food benefits but the states help cover the administrative costs. States also are responsible for determining whether people are eligible for the benefits, and for issuing the benefits to enrollees.

As a result, states have lots of highly personal financial, medical, housing, tax and other information about SNAP applicants and their dependents, according to the lawsuit.

President Donald Trump signed an executive order March 20 directing agencies to ensure “unfettered access to comprehensive data from all state programs” as part of the administration’s effort to stop “ waste, fraud and abuse by eliminating information silos.”

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Trans student faces instant karma after filming ‘sexual harassment’ in the boys’ locker room

A transgender student filmed three boys in a Virginia high school locker room who he claimed were bullying him for his gender identity. 

But his attempt to ostracize them backfired when parents of the accused tormenters and the state’s governor questioned why the three boys were being filmed secretly inside the locker room in the first place.

Earlier this month, Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) launched a Title IX investigation after the trans student recorded a friend group that was uncomfortable with a biological female being in the changing room. 

Stone Bridge High School, where the video was taken, is probing the incident as a sexual harassment case. 

The video, obtained exclusively by ABC 7 on Friday, reveals what truly transpired in the locker room. 

The families of the teens accused of harassment were allegedly denied copies of the footage at first.  

As the video depicts, the transgender boy seemingly walks into the locker room with his phone in his pocket, sparking a reaction from the teens inside, prompting them to speak among themselves.

‘There’s a girl in here? There’s a girl?’ one boy is heard asking. 

About 30 seconds later, another boy adds, ‘Why is there a girl? I’m so uncomfortable there is a girl.’

‘A female, bro, get out of here,’ someone says.

Then, the trans takes his phone out of his pocket and point it directly at the students who were making the comments.

Parents were finally able to obtain the video through the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO), which has the video because officers are investigating if the trans student committed a crime by recording minors in the dressing room. 

LCPS explicitly bans locker room recordings, but in an email to Wolfe, a representative allegedly told him the video did not compromise anyone’s privacy. 

The parents have questioned why the student behind the camera is not being penalized for violating their privacy.

‘I have a daughter that’s in high school as well, and if there was a male in there videotaping her in the locker room, I would have issues,’ Seth Wolfe, a father of one of the accused, told ABC 7. 

‘If it’s my son and there’s a female in the locker room videotaping, I have issues. Even if it was somebody of the same sex, I believe that this is an invasion of their privacy.’

Wolfe also claimed the LCPS investigator tried to grill his son into confession to something he did not do. 

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Virginia governor backs boys who were filmed by female trans teen in high school locker room over harassment claims

A Virginia public school district has launched a “sexual harassment” investigation into three teen boys who expressed discomfort with a trans-identifying girl changing in the boys’ locker room. The transgender student, who pulled out her phone to record the encounter, claimed that the boys were “bullying” her and has since made an effort to ostracize them from the community.

However, the tables have turned on the trans student after Republican Governor Glenn Youngkin expressed outrage over the investigation, claiming that the boys are the real victims in this case. He questioned why the transgender student was filming them in a private setting and ordered Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares to probe the situation.

The incident occurred earlier this month at Loudoun County Public School’s Stone Bridge High School. Video footage obtained by ABC 7 on May 16 shows the trans student entering the boys’ locker room with a phone in hand.

“There’s a girl in here? There’s a girl,” one boy could be heard asking his friends. Roughly 30 seconds later, another boy questioned, “Why is there a girl? I’m so uncomfortable, there is a girl.”

“A female, bro, get out of here,” another boy added.

The trans student recorded the altercation and filed a complaint with the Loudoun County Public Schools, which resulted in the school district launching a Title IX investigation into the matter. The teen boys are now under investigation for sexual harassment.

Parents of the boys have expressed fury over the matter, calling the recording an invasion of privacy. LCPS policy explicitly prohibits recordings in private settings, such as restrooms and changing rooms. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office is investigating whether the trans student committed a crime by recording the minors. But Seth Wolfe, one of the accused boy’s parents, said that a school representative told him the video did not compromise anyone’s privacy.

“I have a daughter that’s in high school as well, and if there was a male in there videotaping her in the locker room, I would have issues,” Wolfe told ABC 7. “If it’s my son and there’s a female in the locker room videotaping, I have issues. Even if it was somebody of the same sex, I believe that this is an invasion of their privacy.”

Additionally, Wolfe claimed that LCPS investigators tried to interrogate his son to confess to a crime that he didn’t commit.

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Meta Is Accused of Flouting Privacy Rules With AI Training Data

Meta’s attempt to restart AI training using Europeans’ public social media activity has drawn renewed resistance, as the privacy rights organization noyb threatens fresh legal action. The group has formally challenged Meta’s latest move to mine user data, asserting the tech giant is sidestepping EU privacy obligations and advancing without regulatory clearance.

Following a halt in June 2024 prompted by regulatory concerns, Meta announced in April it would resume training its language models. This time, it intends to use public posts and user interactions, including with Meta AI, from adults across the European Union and European Economic Area.

The initial pause came after mounting pressure from the Irish Data Protection Commission and a wave of complaints submitted to authorities in various member states. According to Meta, a December opinion from the European Data Protection Board signaled that its approach satisfied legal standards.

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Proton Threatens to Leave Switzerland Over Proposed Surveillance Law Expansion

Proton, the Swiss tech firm recognized for its privacy-first services like Proton Mail and Proton VPN, has issued a stark warning: if Switzerland enacts a sweeping expansion of its surveillance law, the company will relocate out of the country.

The proposed legal overhaul seeks to broaden data retention mandates, extending them beyond mobile and internet service providers to encompass VPNs, messaging platforms, and social networks. Privacy advocates argue this would obliterate core safeguards around encryption and user anonymity, long considered hallmarks of Switzerland’s digital landscape.

Speaking to Swiss broadcaster RTS, Proton CEO Andy Yen cautioned that the move would not only undermine civil liberties but also tarnish Switzerland’s reputation as a haven for secure, privacy-respecting technology companies.

“This revision attempts to implement something that has been deemed illegal in the EU and the United States. The only country in Europe with a roughly equivalent law is Russia,” Yen said.

Under the proposed changes, companies classified as “derived service providers” would be brought under new monitoring obligations, with requirements to store specific categories of user data and submit to enhanced surveillance protocols. Such measures would force Proton to break from its no-logs policy and compromise encryption standards that its users depend on.

Yen was unequivocal about the company’s position. “I think we would have no choice but to leave Switzerland,” he said. “The law would become almost identical to the one in force today in Russia. It’s an untenable situation. We would be less confidential as a company in Switzerland than Google, based in the United States. So it’s impossible for our business model.”

Although the consultation period ended on May 6, 2025, the backlash against the proposal has been gaining momentum. Swiss political parties, civil society groups, and private firms have expressed deep concern about the implications for digital freedoms. In some regions, including Geneva, officials have invoked the recently recognized right to digital integrity as a constitutional safeguard.

Roussel has been at the forefront of efforts to enshrine digital integrity into law. The principle was formally adopted by Geneva in 2023 and Neuchâtel in 2024, with more than 90 percent public support.

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California Expands Digital ID Programs for Public Services, Despite Privacy Concerns

California is accelerating its push into digital identity, with officials launching new pilot programs designed to streamline how residents access public services. But while the state promotes the convenience and efficiency of these efforts, the broader implications for privacy and data control remain a growing concern among advocates for digital rights.

Jonathan Porat, California’s chief technology officer, said the state’s Department of Technology is moving ahead with new collaborations following initial efforts that included the mobile driver’s license launched last fall and a single sign-on pilot through Login.gov tied to transportation benefits.

That project, run through the Cal-ITP platform, lets eligible residents access transit discounts using a contactless payment system linked to their identity. Seniors, veterans, and others were able to verify eligibility for reduced fares without presenting physical documentation. According to Porat, the project’s success in Monterey County and Santa Barbara led the state to explore expanding the system to more than a dozen other local transit agencies.

But while the state touts these pilots as progress toward modernizing access to benefits, the increasing reliance on digital credentials has sparked important questions about surveillance, data sharing, and long-term risks.

California’s approach differs from other states that have focused on digital IDs primarily for age or identity verification. Porat explained that the state wants to use these tools to confirm eligibility across a range of public services. “We’re proud as a state to have [a mobile driver’s license] as well, but we’re really thinking about, how can we digitize the way that we validate residents’ identities and eligibility for different programs,” he said.

That vision includes broader partnerships, including with federal agencies like the VA and CMS. “What we’re doing now is trying to expand the breadth of those different benefits programs,” Porat said. “So we started by looking at a couple of simple things, like age-related discounts, and now we’re going so far as to have agreements with the federal VA and CMS, the group that manages Medicare and Medicaid, so that if you receive disability, if you are above a certain age, if you have a certain status, you can get those discounts automatically, just by paying with your wireless payment.”

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Google Reaches $1.375 Billion Settlement with Texas Over Privacy Violations Involving Location Tracking and Biometric Data

Google has reached a $1.375 billion settlement with Texas over allegations the tech giant intruded on user privacy by collecting data without proper consent. The resolution, announced by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, concludes two lawsuits centered on the company’s handling of sensitive information across several of its products.

The lawsuits focused on practices involving Google’s location tracking, biometric data collection, and its private browsing tool, Incognito mode. According to Paxton, the company engaged in prolonged surveillance of individuals’ movements, online activity, and even biometric identifiers like voiceprints and facial features, activities he claimed were conducted without user knowledge or agreement.

“In Texas, Big Tech is not above the law,” said Paxton. “For years, Google secretly tracked people’s movements, private searches, and even their voiceprints and facial geometry through their products and services. I fought back and won.”

Although the total settlement figure has been made public, specific terms remain undisclosed, and the state has not explained how the funds will be distributed.

Google has denied any wrongdoing and emphasized that the agreement resolves claims based on policies that have already been updated. “This settles a raft of old claims, many of which have already been resolved elsewhere, concerning product policies we have long since changed,” said Google spokesperson José Castañeda. He added, “We are pleased to put them behind us, and we will continue to build robust privacy controls into our services.”

The original lawsuits, filed in 2022, accused Google of circumventing user privacy settings, continuing to track locations despite users believing the feature was off. They also charged that the company’s so-called private browsing mode did not actually provide meaningful privacy and that Google had collected biometric data from Texans without obtaining legally required consent.

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Google Hit with Historic $1.375 Billion Settlement for Secretly Tracking People’s Movements, Private Searches, Voiceprints, and Facial Data

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has delivered a knockout punch to Google, securing a record-shattering $1.375 billion settlement for the Big Tech’s covert surveillance of everyday Americans.

This staggering sum is nearly a billion dollars more than what 40 states combined were able to wring from Google for similar offenses — a testament to Paxton’s unrelenting crusade against Big Tech tyranny.

In 2022, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a 44-page lawsuit against Google, accusing the multibillion-dollar corporation of “systematically misleading” and “deceiving” Texans for years in order to secretly track their every move — and rake in obscene profits from it.

The lawsuit lays out a damning case against Google, alleging that the tech behemoth “covertly harvested” users’ precise geolocation data, voiceprints, and even facial geometry — all while leading users to believe they had turned off such invasive tracking.

According to the lawsuit, Google duped its users by creating a maze of confusing and misleading settings, falsely telling Texans they could protect their privacy by turning off features like “Location History.” But in reality, Google was still logging user data using obscure and hard-to-find settings like “Web & App Activity,” storing data in shadowy internal databases with Orwellian names like “Footprints.”

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Luna Introduces Bill to Repeal Patriot Act, Restore Privacy

US Representative Anna Paulina Luna has introduced a bill, the American Privacy Restoration Act, that aims to repeal the Patriot Act, passed in 2001.

The Florida Republican believes that what has in the meantime become the notorious post-9/11 legislation, has been abused by “rogue” intelligence officers to carry out mass surveillance in unlawful ways.

Announcing the bill, Luna mentioned that the Patriot Act has over the last decades been used to interfere in elections, violate innocent Americans’ privacy by spying on them, and even “settle personal scores.”

We obtained a copy of the bill for you here.

According to the representative, the ability to misuse and abuse the Patriot Act in such a way turned it into a tool for what is known as “the deep state” – whereas her legislative proposal seeks to take away the ability of these permanent power centers to violate the Fourth Amendment, that should protect against unreasonable searches and seizures.

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ECB Partners With Big Tech to Launch Controversial Digital Euro Amid Privacy Concerns and US Opposition

The European Central Bank (ECB) – an institution of the European Union (EU) – is working to engineer the digital euro, the EU’s own central bank digital currency (CBDC).

In doing so, ECB is partnering with those skeptical observers might expect in this club: multinationals and multi-billion dollar companies, like Ireland-headquartered Accenture, and Germany’s largest semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies – but also 70 others from the financial, fintech, business, and payment services sectors.

This is happening via a project framed as as an “innovation platform” that was announced just this week, for the purpose of looking into the ways of introducing a centralized form of digital currency – which is merely a highly “controllable” version of fiat money, but also one with strong potential of facilitating “next level” mass surveillance of citizens.

Many things coming out of the EU these days seem like they are crafted not by leaders or even politicians, but by PR teams, for immediate “feelgood” impact, either to obscure the substance of various initiatives and policies – or to obscure the fact there is no substance to them.

Here, ECB has presented its project as an effort carried out by two groups: “Pioneers,” and “Visionaries.”

The first is supposed to deal with developing the technical infrastructure and doing the testing, whereas “Visionaries” are tasked with implementing – and promoting – those solutions.

Here’s an example of what that may involve: “(Exploring) enabling digital euro wallet access via post offices, potentially benefiting those without traditional bank accounts.”

The big picture, the sum total of CBDCs is the role of these currencies in the ongoing “war on cash” as a form of “disfavored” privacy and anonymity.

But naturally, the likes of Piero Cipollone, who sits on ECB’s Executive Board, will talk about the digital euro as “a potential catalyst for financial innovation” and other purely positive and difficult-to-contest goals.

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