A U.S. citizen has asked a court to throw out the government's claim that he gave over a passcode to border authorities that wiped his phone's data, opening up fresh questions about a person's constitutional rights at the U.S. border.
Facebook and Instagram giant has left influential RE100 corporate green power list after turning to gas for data centres, scheme officials confirm to Recharge
... #Smartphones in ganzen Stadtvierteln überwachen lassen
- #ISOClaimSearch: eine Datenbank, die Schaden- und Unfallversicherungsansprüche sowie Arztrechnungen enthält. Die Datenbank ist nahezu allumfassend und enthält Details zu mehr als 1,8 Milliarden Versicherungsansprüchen und 58 Millionen Arztrechnungen [in den #USA]. “
From phone location data, to social media monitoring, to online undercover tools, a document obtained by 404 Media lays out the surveillance tech available across ICE agency wide.
"- #Accurint: ein Werkzeug von #LexisNexis zur Personensuche, das alle Arten von personenbezogenen Daten wie Adressen, Telefonnummern, Sozialversicherungsnummern und mehr enthält
- Accurint: a LexisNexis tool for locating people that contains all sorts of personal data like addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, and more Chameleon: a tool which provides “Anonymized means to conduct online investigations, web research, and undercover work”
- Locate X: a tool that lets ICE search a massive database of location data harvested from smartphones. Made by Babel Street, the tool uses data sourced through ordinary apps installed on peoples’ phones or the advertising ecosystem. 404 Media previously reported how the tool could be used to track phones at abortion clinics after privacy advocates gained access to the technology. “It allows investigators to draw a digital fence around an address or area, pinpoint mobile devices that were within that area from mobile data sources,” the document reads
- Cobwebs: a social media tracking tool. 404 Media previously reported Cobwebs also includes Webloc, which can monitor phone locations in entire neighbourhoods
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“Some notable entries in the document include:
- Accurint: a LexisNexis tool for locating people that contains all sorts of personal data like addresses, phone numbers, Social Security numbers, and more Chameleon: a tool which provides “Anonymized means to conduct online investigations, web research, and undercover work”
- Locate X: a tool that lets ICE search a massive database of location data harvested from smartphones. Made by Babel Street, the tool uses data sourced through ordinary apps installed on peoples’ phones or the advertising ecosystem. 404 Media previously reported how the tool could be used to track phones at abortion clinics after privacy advocates gained access to the technology. “It allows investigators to draw a digital fence around an address or area, pinpoint mobile devices that were within that area from mobile data sources,” the document reads
- Cobwebs: a social media tracking tool. 404 Media previously reported Cobwebs also includes Webloc, which can monitor phone locations in entire neighbourhoods
- ISO ClaimSearch: a database that contains property and casualty insurance claims and medical bills. The database is nearly all encompassing and contains details on more than 1.8 billion insurance claims and 58 million medical bills”
From phone location data, to social media monitoring, to online undercover tools, a document obtained by 404 Media lays out the surveillance tech available across ICE agency wide.
“Microsoft is using engineers in China to help maintain the Defense Department’s computer systems — with minimal supervision by U.S. personnel — leaving some of the nation’s most sensitive data vulnerable to hacking from its leading cyber adversary, a ProPublica investigation has found.
The arrangement, which was critical to Microsoft winning the federal government’s cloud computing business a decade ago, relies on U.S. citizens with security clearances to oversee the work and serve as a barrier against espionage and sabotage.
But these workers, known as “digital escorts,” often lack the technical expertise to police foreign engineers with far more advanced skills, ProPublica found. Some are former military personnel with little coding experience who are paid barely more than minimum wage for the work.
“We’re trusting that what they’re doing isn’t malicious, but we really can’t tell,” said one current escort who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, fearing profess
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LoL:
“Microsoft is using engineers in China to help maintain the Defense Department’s computer systems — with minimal supervision by U.S. personnel — leaving some of the nation’s most sensitive data vulnerable to hacking from its leading cyber adversary, a ProPublica investigation has found.
The arrangement, which was critical to Microsoft winning the federal government’s cloud computing business a decade ago, relies on U.S. citizens with security clearances to oversee the work and serve as a barrier against espionage and sabotage.
But these workers, known as “digital escorts,” often lack the technical expertise to police foreign engineers with far more advanced skills, ProPublica found. Some are former military personnel with little coding experience who are paid barely more than minimum wage for the work.
“We’re trusting that what they’re doing isn’t malicious, but we really can’t tell,” said one current escort who agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, fearing professional repercussions. The system has been in place for nearly a decade, though its existence is being reported publicly here for the first time.”
The Pentagon bans foreign citizens from accessing highly sensitive data, but Microsoft bypasses this by using engineers in China and elsewhere to remotely instruct American “escorts” who may lack expertise to identify malicious code.
OR when your business model is crumbling before your eyes - go BEG the government to "protect" your product!
AI Executives are shitting their pants given the release of Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3. I seem to recall a similar situation re DeepSeek-1 in Jan. 2025.
All the freaking out about "winning and losing" and whining about "distillation" re China are the WRONG things to focus on.
It is a fallacy to think US Frontier Labs would be successful in locking down AI models and charging high prices for access in perpetuity. It is inevitable that open weight models would catch up, and put SERIOUS pressure on pricing.
Welcome to software - It just happens that China is leading the charge on this one.
The magic is NOT about the model. The magic is creating the guardrails and infrastructure (ecosystem) around the model, and supporting practical use cases the model excels at, and making them so good to use that no user wants to switch to something "almost as good", even if it’s a touch cheaper.
Net-net, governmen
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The Moose has Left the Woods!
OR when your business model is crumbling before your eyes - go BEG the government to "protect" your product!
AI Executives are shitting their pants given the release of Moonshot AI’s Kimi K3. I seem to recall a similar situation re DeepSeek-1 in Jan. 2025.
All the freaking out about "winning and losing" and whining about "distillation" re China are the WRONG things to focus on.
It is a fallacy to think US Frontier Labs would be successful in locking down AI models and charging high prices for access in perpetuity. It is inevitable that open weight models would catch up, and put SERIOUS pressure on pricing.
Welcome to software - It just happens that China is leading the charge on this one.
The magic is NOT about the model. The magic is creating the guardrails and infrastructure (ecosystem) around the model, and supporting practical use cases the model excels at, and making them so good to use that no user wants to switch to something "almost as good", even if it’s a touch cheaper.
Every Mayor of every city in the world should put out a statement like this. Perhaps then, senior governments would understand that people are craving accountability for so many things, but especially the horrendous genocide happening in Gaza perpetrated by Israel and Benjamin Netanyahu.
So what happens next? - will the lawsuit be dropped? - will ‘national security’ mean that the records suddenly become unavailable? - will everything go quiet on the Trump front while he hopes it all goes away? - will the judge be seized by ICE and deported? After all she doesn't sound like an Amercian from Florida.
"All of these things—what sort of permits, licenses, and accreditation are required—are pretty readily understandable. Remove a couple of those pieces, and these facilities can't be built or can't operate." prismreports.org/2026/07/21/ho… #politics #USA #immigration
Wieso die #USA den #Welt-Strafgerichtshof "zerlegen" wollen
US-Außenminister Marco #Rubio hat seine Rhetorik gegen den Internationalen Strafgerichtshof in Den Haag noch einmal deutlich verschärft. Für das Tribunal könnte das massive Folgen haben.
US-Außenminister Marco Rubio hat seine Rhetorik gegen den Internationalen Strafgerichtshof in Den Haag noch einmal deutlich verschärft. Für das Tribunal könnte das massive Folgen haben.
...man als Gesellschaft nicht in eine Angstlähmung verfallen darf. Abgesehen von den #USA ist #Deutschland das einzige Zielland, auf dass in #Russland Geheimagenten gezielt ausgebildet werden, wie #DerSpiegel in seinem Podcast #Firewall jüngst aufdeckte.
👉Relevant ist vor allem, dass der Selbstbereinigungsmechanismus der #Demokratie in #Deutschland so schnell funktioniert hat! --...
"Basel Adra, Palestinian filmmaker and Oscar winner: ‘Israelis don’t see us as human beings’
The director of the documentary ‘No Other Land’ took part in a cultural event in Madrid and explained how Israeli violence in the West Bank has increased after he won the statuette"
You've probably heard about the presidential teleprompter operator who is on involuntary leave after using his advance access to presidential speeches to make Polymarket bets: nbcsports.com/nfl/profootballt…
Meanwhile, the president is getting ready to sell advance access to his online posts on the premise that there's a market advantage to knowing what he'll say before other people do: theverge.com/policy/967020/tru…
So maybe the teleprompter's mistake was not cutting his boss in on the take. #politics #USA #Trump #TruthSocial
Trump Media, the company behind Truth Social, is selling Wall Street faster access to the “most market-moving” posts on the US President’s social media platform.
Some networks that are mostly good will still carry it, some networks that are questionable won't carry it, but we at least acknowledge NBC ABC and CNN, regardless of other negative valid issues, on this specific topic, they recognized bullshit and rejected it, and we applaud them for that
using this to tell cisgender #USA peri/post/menopausal women:
given how USA gynecology was literally founded on #racism #misogyny and #eugenics, if you feel your hormone therapy isn't working, demand your MD check your #testosterone levels. for some women, the #ADHD-like symptoms of menopause are caused by low testosterone. the problem is, USA MDs are encouraged NOT to Rx it.
don't know how this applies to our trans sisters, but am gonna bet we could learn a lot from their hormone therapies.
And just in case anyone supposed they weren't choosing cars over safety: "In a statement to NPR, an FHWA spokesperson said the DOT is 'taking action to reverse the last administration's policies that decreased lane capacity and increased congestion.'" npr.org/2026/07/16/nx-s1-58936… #politics #USA #bicycle
We all know the APT numbers for #FancyBear and #CozyBear — #APT28 and #APT29. Both are attributed to Russian #intelligence. #APT1 through 27 are all from #China. Only the #EquationGroup doesn’t have an official APT number? Wake up, you sleeping sheep—we’re being thoroughly taken for a ride here. The Equation Group—run by the #NSA or #CIA — is probably the most dangerous group in the world, and yet it’s the one that doesn’t appear under any number on the #APT list? Who are you trying to fool here when it comes to #cybersecurity?
Darline Graham Nordone's appointment to her late brother Lindsey Graham's US Senate seat has sparked a fierce backlash over 'nepotism', after Donald Trump urged South Carolina's governor to pick her.
Utah Rep. Casey Snider spent years quietly carrying out a plan to guarantee hunter access to pristine roadless country — by blocking the Ute Indian Tribe from buying it back.
Here's a relatively undisguised statement of the motivation behind the push to reframe national sovereignty: mundoamerica.com/news/2026/07/…
If it were about self-rule or self-determination, we'd see more international pushback over violations in Palestine and Venezuela. Rather, it's about denying collaborative international bodies the ability to preserve human rights, thus preserving the power of national governments against the rights of their citizens. #politics #USA #sovereignty
The Government of Donald Trump has announced today the launch of "a campaign to dismantle the threat of the International Criminal Court" to the United States and its...
Trump kündigte an, dass die USA fortan für die sichere Durchfahrt der Straße von Hormus aus "Fairnessgründen" Einnahmen in Höhe von 20 Prozent des Frachtwertes für sich beanspruchen würden. Dies solle die Kosten kompensieren, die für die Gewährleistung einer sicheren Passage entstünden.
Müssten die USA den Schiffen nicht 20% zahlen weil sie illegaler Weise durch den Krieg ohne UN-Mandat den Welthandel gefährden?
Erneut gab es in der vergangenen Nacht Angriffe der USA auf Iran sowie iranische Reaktionen. Im Streit über den Zugang zur Straße von Hormus fordert US-Präsident Trump eine hohe Maut zugunsten der USA.
Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., who was elected to the Senate in 2003 and was a close political ally of President Donald Trump, has died, his office confirmed early Sunday. He was 71.
"A little birdie told me this, about the fact that we'll give them the right to make Patriots," President Trump told Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
"[The Trump] administration is softening one of the strongest legal protections American workers have: the right to hold an employer accountable when retirement savings are mishandled. The change is designed to give employers cover if their workers' 401(k)s are deflated by expensive, opaque or unproven investments." propublica.org/article/401k-re… #politics #USA #401k
Financial firms want a bigger piece of the $10 trillion in America’s 401(k) plans, and the Trump administration is planning a regulatory rollback to encourage less-regulated — and often riskier — investments.
The MAHA movement may be learning that an investor class president makes for a terrible ally when your goal is containing corporate greed. grist.org/food-and-agriculture… #politics #USA
![Q. Do you feel Spain supports the Palestinian cause?
A. Absolutely. Both the government and ordinary people. For example, I remember a footballer did something small with a flag and caused a huge stir [he is referring to Lamine Yamal, who waved a Palestinian flag in May during FC Barcelona’s victory parade after winning La Liga]. Israeli ministers and officials had to comment on it, which drew even more attention.
Q. Europe is more hesitant…
A. We hope Spain doesn’t change because, you know, in Europe and other countries it’s easy to get support at first, but after a while the government changes or people within the government itself — as has happened in Sweden — change their minds and stop supporting the cause or even turn against it. The Israeli lobby always finds a way to influence official policies.](https://friendica.hellquist.eu/photo/preview/640/5697641 "Q. Do you feel Spain supports the Palestinian cause?
A. Absolutely. Both the government and ordinary people. For example, I remember a footballer did something small with a flag and caused a huge stir [he is referring to Lamine Yamal, who waved a Palestinian flag in May during FC Barcelona’s victory parade after winning La Liga]. Israeli ministers and officials had to comment on it, which drew even more attention.
Q. Europe is more hesitant…
A. We hope Spain doesn’t change because, you know, in Europe and other countries it’s easy to get support at first, but after a while the government changes or people within the government itself — as has happened in Sweden — change their minds and stop supporting the cause or even turn against it. The Israeli lobby always finds a way to influence official policies.")
![Q. With Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu in charge, can one still be optimistic about the future of Palestinians?
A. No, and regarding Israelis, it’s not only Netanyahu, the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, or the settlers. Netanyahu, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir were elected by the people, and I believe they represent the majority of Israelis. For me, the problem is Israeli society. Even before [the Hamas-led attacks on] October 7 we lived under occupation, but Israelis in Tel Aviv lived their normal lives; the money from their taxes went to the settlers, to the settlements, and to the army, which killed Palestinians, although in smaller numbers than after October 7. But they do not see us as human beings. That’s why they accept the occupation and cannot claim ignorance; we live in the same territory and they cannot say they didn’t know what was happening. And now I think they have reached their worst moment in terms of racism and tolerance of the crimes committed against us Palestinians. So I don’t think change will come through elections in Israel or the United States.](https://friendica.hellquist.eu/photo/preview/640/5697645 "Q. With Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu in charge, can one still be optimistic about the future of Palestinians?
A. No, and regarding Israelis, it’s not only Netanyahu, the national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, the finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, or the settlers. Netanyahu, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir were elected by the people, and I believe they represent the majority of Israelis. For me, the problem is Israeli society. Even before [the Hamas-led attacks on] October 7 we lived under occupation, but Israelis in Tel Aviv lived their normal lives; the money from their taxes went to the settlers, to the settlements, and to the army, which killed Palestinians, although in smaller numbers than after October 7. But they do not see us as human beings. That’s why they accept the occupation and cannot claim ignorance; we live in the same territory and they cannot say they didn’t know what was happening. And now I think they have reached their worst moment in terms of racism and tolerance of the crimes committed against us Palestinians. So I don’t think change will come through elections in Israel or the United States.")
