Face recognition algorithm accuracy declines substantially with masked faces, the National Institute of Standards and Technology reported Monday. For the most accurate algorithms tested, authentication failure rates increased from 0.3% for unmasked individuals to 5% when scanning digitally masked faces, NIST said.
The FTC received at least two complaints through July 13 in response to President Donald Trump’s May 28 social media executive order (see 2007100052). The filings, which we obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, allege “deception/misrepresentation” by Facebook and Twitter.
There's no grace period for companies to continue transferring data from Europe to the U.S. without assessing its legal basis, the European Data Protection Board said in FAQs published Friday. Some stakeholders were hoping for a grace period after the European Court of Justice invalidated Privacy Shield (see 2007160002).
Backing Charter Communications' ask the FCC sunset two Time Warner Cable-Bright House Networks transaction conditions in May (see 2006180050) are free-market and small-government advocacy groups, swarms of local business groups and local elected officials. Opponents are primarily public interest groups, as expected (see 2007090009), in docket 16-197 postings Thursday. Replies are due Aug. 6.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee advanced two bills by voice vote Wednesday targeting tech threats from China. One seeks to address Chinese theft of American research and intellectual property, and the other would ban federal employees from using the social media app TikTok on government-issued devices.
A senior Snap executive walked gingerly around questions Tuesday on whether Snap's ad revenue is benefiting from the Facebook ad boycott inspired by the Stop Hate for Profit campaign. It’s “difficult to ascertain exactly what the impact of the Facebook boycott is on revenue at this time,” said Chief Business Officer Jeremi Gorman on a Q2 call.
Amazon began additional checks for certifying Alexa’s voice-control capabilities, or skills, a spokesperson said in a statement Tuesday. In a presentation before the FTC that day, Clemson University Graduate Research Assistant Christin Wilson described Alexa’s certification process as “improper and disorganized." The agency held PrivacyCon, a conference with researchers meant to help identify consumer risks and better target enforcement efforts, Consumer Protection Bureau Director Andrew Smith said.
The House began considering its FY 2021 National Defense Authorization Act (HR-6395) Monday. The Rules Committee didn’t allow floor consideration of three proposed amendments trying to advance and stop efforts to hinder Ligado’s L-band plan. The panel ultimately agreed to allow votes on several other tech amendments.
Even consumers more inclined than others to return to physical stores during COVID-19 are buying online more than ever, Sucharita Kodali, Forrester Research vice president-principal analyst, told the National Retail Federation’s NRF NXT All Access virtual event Monday. Forrester estimates about 40% of U.S. consumers are in that category, compared with 53% who prefer to continue sheltering at home and are fearful the economy is reopening too quickly, she said.
Twitter’s human-enabled hack is another example of why the White House needs a national cyber director and the Cyberspace Solarium Commission’s (CSC) recommendations should be implemented (see 2007150065), said House Cybersecurity Subcommittee members during a hearing Friday. “It doesn’t take much imagination to see what chaos one could sow with such access on election day if a bad actor was pushing out disinformation,” said Rep. James Langevin, D-R.I., of the Twitter hack.