US Shows a 'Concerning Lack of Regard For the Privacy of People's Biometrics' (betanews.com) 58
Mark Wilson shares a report from BetaNews: When it comes to the extensive and invasive use of biometric data, the USA is one of the worst offenders in the world, faring only slightly better than China. According to research conducted by Comparitech, which rated 50 countries according to how, where and why biometrics were taken and how they are stored, the U.S. ranked as the fourth worst country. Topping the list is China, followed by Malaysia and Pakistan.
While Comparitech did not look at every country in the world, its study did compare 50 of them. To give a country a rating out of 25, each was rated out of five in four categories (storage, CCTV, workplace, and visas) according to how invasive and pervasive and the collection and use of biometrics is. Five questions were also applied to them, with each answer in the affirmative resulting in one point. [The five questions are available in the report.] The U.S. was assigned a score of 20/25 for its heavy use of biometrics, including growing use of facial recognition, without there being specific laws to protect citizens' data. There was concern at the growing use of biometrics in the workplace. At the other end of the league are Ireland and Portugal, both praised for their small or non-existent biometric databases. Both scored 11 points.
While Comparitech did not look at every country in the world, its study did compare 50 of them. To give a country a rating out of 25, each was rated out of five in four categories (storage, CCTV, workplace, and visas) according to how invasive and pervasive and the collection and use of biometrics is. Five questions were also applied to them, with each answer in the affirmative resulting in one point. [The five questions are available in the report.] The U.S. was assigned a score of 20/25 for its heavy use of biometrics, including growing use of facial recognition, without there being specific laws to protect citizens' data. There was concern at the growing use of biometrics in the workplace. At the other end of the league are Ireland and Portugal, both praised for their small or non-existent biometric databases. Both scored 11 points.
Who's concerned again? (Score:2, Insightful)
Those that care about privacy don't use these products.
The other 99% of humanity, doesn't give a shit. Championing privacy is hard when you're fighting against an endless sea of ignorance.
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This.
Privacy invasions and the erosion of civil liberties happen because people don't know history and think it's okay.
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This.
Privacy invasions and the erosion of civil liberties happen because people don't know history and think it's okay.
That history you speak of, is happening every single day.
Facebook getting dragged in front of many governments. Countless numbers of cyberattacks that have leaked all kinds of personal information. Repeated iCloud hacks that reveal very personal images, to include multiple celebrities spanning years.
I'm sorry, but you can only dismiss this stupidity under the guise of ignorance for so long. After a point, it becomes willful negligence, which I have zero sympathy. This is like watching the 8-year old ki
Re: Who's concerned again? (Score:2)
"What do you have to hide?"
From a vast army of people wanting to use everything about me for their own personal gain and sometimes with severe negative consequences to myself? (Credit score company breach anyone?)
FUCKING EVERYTHING. And any intelligent human would be the same. Every single time I see some bullshit like "what do you have to hide?" said seriously I get a little more worried. Either you're profoundly ignorant or profoundly malicious.
Either way stay the fuck away from me.
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Re: Who's concerned again? (Score:2)
We will never need to be "taken over".
Obviously our own citizens will be more than happy to hand any foreign power the keys to the city in exchange for getting to watch someone ELSE getting fucked just a tiny bit more than themselves.
Right, white working middle class, almost poor Americans? I mean, at least Trump is white and Republican. That's literally all that matters. People are too stupid and tribal to even be self preserving.
Ignorance will be the end of us, with the ignorant cheering on the people doi
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I'd rather be Russian than a member of either "team".
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Approximately 1/3 of the US population has decided that, and I quote the shirt: "I'd rather be Russian than a Democrat" Says everything you need to know.
To clarify, approximately 1/3 of the US population thinks a stupid meme is "cool" right now. 100 million citizens actually believing that bullshit to the point of getting off their lazy ass and acting on it is essentially an impossibility.
They'd rather be citizens of a country where reporters and political opponents of the government fall down elevator shafts, onto bullets, after having Polonium flakes for breakfast than be a Democratic party member.
No, the FOMO generation of social media attention whores have no fucking clue what they want, other than attention. And they'll do anything to get it. Expose any one of them to the actual horrors of certain ideologies, and they'll be running home crying to Momma.
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The questions wern't of individuals (Score:2)
but of business and government behaviours and what laws and rules are in place regulating those behaviours.
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but of business and government behaviours and what laws and rules are in place regulating those behaviours.
Hard to label "bad" behavior when citizens are welcoming it.
Go ahead. Tell Google to start charging every user of Gmail under the premise of privacy. See how big the backlash is, as millions become offended over the idea of a company having the nerve to demand payment for email service.
Then continue, and demand users pay for internet hosting, bandwidth, web servers, email servers, and all the other shit they use for free on a daily basis.
You'll find out very quickly just how much people don't give a shit
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Google doesn't have to track anyone to make money. Adverts don't need tracking, businesses are only doing that because they can.
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And entirely unneeded.
That's the point, while the rules don't stop them they'll keep on doing it.
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And entirely unneeded.
That's the point, while the rules don't stop them they'll keep on doing it.
The disease of Greed has infected mankind for thousands of years.
And yet we still find ourselves questioning why humans behave that way, as if we found a cure.
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How do I opt out of CCTV facial recognition?
I know, not really a concern for the average basement dweller, but some of us do actually like to go to the big room with the blue ceiling and that odd, bright light moving across it.
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More disturbing was the fight my friend had with his employer who decided to use Idemia scanners at work. He basically had to stand there and argue for 20 minutes with security that he didn't want to have his hand scanned into a database. They kept acting like it wasn't a big deal, but that's because they're
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Many people don't have the multiple employer options, also there is a lot of misinformation online. Companies buying this stuff often don't know exactly how the tech works, and the vendors don't exactly help since if people knew they'd be more hesitant in many cases, which would hurt their adoption. I actually helped a company not install a similar item to the
Re:Who's concerned again? (Score:4, Interesting)
This is a truthful madlib statement for nearly any cause.
This isn't ignorance (at least in term of the tone of the word, implying choosing not to be knowledgeable on the topic) But the fact we cannot emotionally and physically be fighting for every wrong in the world. Having 1% of the world actually care about a topic is actually a big deal.
I have to work 8 hours a day to make a living. During this time I cannot afford to be studying all the effects of all things wrong with the world. I need to sleep 6-8 hours to be healthy. And the other 8 hours that day I need to split my time with other actions to keep myself healthy and alive, Peruse interests outside of work to keep my mind sharp. This doesn't leave a lot of time for me to on top of the daily outrage of everything.
I can have a couple causes that may be (lack of a better term) a "Hobby" which on my free time I can gain information about and champion for.
The problem isn't that we are lazy and stupid. But Overworked and maxed out. This unfortunately means we as a people take moral short cuts, such as being a member of a political party or a religion which makes or moral decisions for us, and groups a bunch of causes (sometimes conflicting with each other) in a bundle packages.
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Those that care about privacy don't use these products.
The other 99% of humanity, doesn't give a shit. Championing privacy is hard when you're fighting against an endless sea of ignorance.
Ignorance, or different priorities from yours?
Personally, I'm more with you (I suspect) on privacy issues ... but that doesn't necessarily mean that people who don't care as much are wrong, just that they have made different cost/benefit calculations than we have.
And privacy towards whom? (Score:2)
The degree to which one worries about X having access to private data depends on what you think about X, or who you imagine X might be.
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I just want to point out that you've EXACTLY used the word "ignorance" correctly. When people ignore things, they are ignorant. There're plenty of real reasons to not buy into this whole lie about smart devices and social media helping humanity in any way, yet so many people that ignore these facts.
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Not ignorance (Score:3)
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It doesn't matter what it is. The free market has failed, you need regulation. People don't value privacy until it gets violated, and they don't value their biometric data until someone is impersonating them and the bank's answer is "change your fingerprints".
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Simply not using those products does not opt you out. Ever had a photo taken of you? Now your face is in a database somewhere, probably several. Your friends helpfully add your name to that face on, of course, Facebook.
Maybe you bought something in a shop once. The shop had CCTV, it captured your face, maybe did some gait detection. Watched what you looked at, estimated your age, gender, wealth. You might have paid in cash but they still know what times you frequent that shop and what you buy, and if you us
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It's also hard when you're fighting homelessness (Score:2)
If you want people to think about stuff like privacy and freedom you need to take care of their basic needs first.
There's a growing number of people who think the President could do a better job [esquire.com] without Checks and Balances from Congress and the Courts. We've danced this Charleston before...
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It's all fun and games ... 'til the data breach (Score:2)
Because if there's a data leak in a normal scenario, I can change my passwords, I can change my digital signature, I can change pretty much anything that would allow an attacker to impersonate me online.
But last time I checked, changing fingerprints and facial features is much, much more difficult. If at all legal.
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Because if there's a data leak in a normal scenario, I can change my passwords, I can change my digital signature, I can change pretty much anything that would allow an attacker to impersonate me online.
I don't disagree with anything you've said, but it goes much deeper than that....It's also very difficult to change your Social Security Number, and I consider use of that to be a bigger threat in online systems given the pervasive use of it.
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I'm with you here.
The hard bit is getting this through the government's skull.
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That's difficult, when most people don't know the difference between and identifier and an authenticator. I've got to admit that I'm a bit sketchy on that myself, but at least I know there *is* a difference.
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If at all legal.
Cmon. Really? Plastic surgery is a very lucrative business...
Shoe on the other foot (Score:5, Interesting)
Also, appointments for life positions should demand impartiality at all times or the same penalties apply. Draconian? Absolutely! There is no other equitability available. Heading the "Ship of State" requires great power with an even greater responsibility and accountability.
California tried to do this (Score:2)
We have a ruling class, we just like to pretend we don't.
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How dare the leftist 9th circuit uphold the law, eh?
You think California has a right to step on the bill of rights? The hell with someone's rights if you don't like them?
There was a group in Germany in the 1930s that felt that way too. Maybe you've heard of them?
Re: Shoe on the other foot (Score:2)
Trumpian populism.
Where's your proof that I'm for ANY politician?
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Re: Shoe on the other foot (Score:2)
You're going way too far
"Hell yes I'm going to take your AR-15", Red Flag Laws, gun confiscation, antifa, proud boys, impeachment, special impeachment inquiry, MSPM overexposure of school shootings, open borders, questionable politicians and their questionable sources of money; I can go on and on, but I don't want to go too far.
As someone once said "Just the facts, ma'am". There are opinions and there are facts. Good fences make good neighbors. An armed society is a polite society. Most gun violence occurs in inner cities, a fact
Re: Shoe on the other foot (Score:2)
On the first, never. On the second, not since the late 70's. As to way off the hook, are you aware of what's going on in the District of Criminals?
Could've stoped (Score:2)