CBP
Man Charged for Wiping Phone Before CBP Could Search It
The exact circumstances around the search are not known. But activist Samuel Tunick is charged with deleting data from a Google Pixel before CBP’s Tactical Terrorism Response Team could search it.
News
A Developer Accidentally Found CSAM in AI Data. Google Banned Him For It
Mark Russo reported the dataset to all the right organizations, but still couldn't get into his accounts for months.
Podcast
Podcast: Zines Are Back
Our new zine; a very strange change at Instagram; and the creator of ICEBlock is suing the U.S. government.
News
Pete Hegseth Says the Pentagon's New Chatbot Will Make America 'More Lethal'
The Department of War aims to put Google Gemini 'directly into the hands of every American warrior.'
News
Instagram Is Generating Inaccurate SEO Bait for Your Posts
Instagram is generating headlines for Instagram posts that appear on Google Search results. Users say they are misrepresenting them.
CBP
Man Charged for Wiping Phone Before CBP Could Search It
The exact circumstances around the search are not known. But activist Samuel Tunick is charged with deleting data from a Google Pixel before CBP’s Tactical Terrorism Response Team could search it.
CBP
Border Patrol Agent Recorded Raid with Meta’s Ray-Ban Smart Glasses
New videos and photos shared with 404 Media show a Border Patrol agent wearing Meta Ray-Bans glasses with the recording light clearly on. This is despite a DHS ban on officers recording with personal devices.
Announcements
404 Media Is Making a Zine
We are publishing a risograph-printed zine about the surveillance technologies used by ICE.
Podcast
Podcast: Why AI Porn Sucks (with Noelle Perdue)
Noelle and Sam discuss everything from sexbots and AI porn to censorship, age verification legislation, and their favorite parody porn flicks.
ICE
ICEBlock Creator Sues U.S. Government Over App’s Removal
The Department of Justice demanded Apple remove ICEBlock, which reports sightings of ICE officials, from its App Store. Now the creator is suing, saying the demand violated his First Amendment rights.
The Abstract
An Asteroid Threatening Earth Is Teeming With Ingredients for Life, Scientists Discover
Scientists found sugars that are essential for life on asteroid Bennu, which has a 1 in 2,700 chance of hitting Earth in 2182.
Behind The Blog
Behind the Blog: Hearing AI Voices and 'Undervolting'
This week, we discuss PC woes, voice deepfakes, and mutual aid.
ICE
DHS’s Immigrant-Hunting App Removed from Google Play Store
The app, called Mobile Identify, was launched in November, and lets local cops use facial recognition to hunt immigrants on behalf of ICE. It is unclear if the removal is temporary or not.