Microsoft reportedly tried to sell facial recognition tech to the DEA

Microsoft isn’t selling facial recognition tech to local police, but it apparently doesn’t have that reservation for federal law enforcement. The ACLU has published emails indicating that Microsoft “aggressively” pitched the Drug Enforcement Administ...

ACLU sues to reveal the FBI’s uses of facial recognition

The ACLU is unsurprisingly concerned about the FBI's use of facial recognition, and it wants to force the agency to divulge its practices. It just filed a lawsuit against the FBI, the Justice Department and the DEA ordering them to turn over records...

Undercover dark web bust leads to more than 35 arrests

The US just broke new ground in its bid to shut down illegal markets on the dark web. A slew of agencies (the Department of Justice, Homeland Security Investigations, the Secret Service, the DEA and the Postal Inspection Service) have announced the...

Judge rules NYPD needed a warrant before using cell-site simulator

A Brooklyn judge has ruled that because the New York Police Department (NYPD) used a cell-site simulator, also known by the brand name Stingray, to track down a murder suspect without a warrant, some evidence against the suspect will be thrown out. A...

Court rules Stingray use without a warrant violates Fourth Amendment

Today, the Washington DC Court of Appeals overturned a Superior Court conviction of a man who was located by police using a cell-site simulator, or Stingray, CBS News reports. The court ruled that the defendant's Fourth Amendment rights were violated...

AT&T reportedly spies on its customers for government cash

AT&T controls a big chunk of America's cellular infrastructure, and it turns out that it's been using that power for super-creepy purposes. The Daily Beast is reporting that the telco has essentially turned itself into a spy-for-hire in the pay o...

Federal judge throws out evidence obtained by ‘stingray’ trackers

A federal judge has taken a stand against the use of "stingray" -- cell phone baiting surveillance devices used by the police and other government agencies. District Judge William Pauley decided to suppress evidence obtained by the stingray setup, ru...

Researchers develop a drug-sniffing car that can pinpoint your stash

A chemistry professor in Texas has equipped an electric Ford sedan with a unique (and possibly unconstitutional) aftermarket upgrade: a drug-sniffing device that can recognize small amounts of illegal substances in the air and locate the source with...