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Equifax data breach is also being investigated by UK officials
While 143 million US residents were affected by the Equifax breach, they weren't the only ones impacted. Nearly 700,000 UK residents also had their information stolen -- including phone numbers, driver's license numbers, email addresses, user names, passwords and partial credit card details -- and UK authorities are now investigating the company.
FBI's facial recognition database is dangerously inaccurate
Despite law enforcement's attempt to conceal its existence, it's no secret that half of Americans over the age of 18 -- 117 million people in total -- are part of a massive facial recognition database, their personal information culled from DMV files in 18 states. A staggering 80 percent of the people in the database don't have any sort of arrest record. Yet, the system's recognition algorithm inaccurately identifies them during criminal searches 15 percent of the time with black women most often being misidentified, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform heard last week.
House committee calls for clear cellphone surveillance rules
Stingrays -- those cellphone surveillance devices preferred by law enforcement agencies -- definitely broke into the mainstream public consciousness this year. And while the word is out that law enforcement agencies from California to New York have used the devices to monitor citizens for years, a new report (PDF) from the bipartisan House Oversight and Government Reform Committee shows that the rules governing their usage can vary greatly from state to state or even department to department. As a result, committee chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and member Elijah Cummings (D-MD) are calling on Congress to establish "a clear, nationwide framework that ensures the privacy of all Americans are adequately protected."
FBI director to testify on Clinton email investigation
Were you confused when the FBI said that Hillary Clinton likely broke the law by sending classified email through her private email server, but recommended against charges? You're not the only one. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has announced that FBI Director James Comey will testify regarding that decision at a hearing on July 7th. Republican Chairman Jason Chaffetz argues that the recommendation was "surprising and confusing," and disagrees with Comey's statement that Clinton didn't mean to break rules. "Individuals who intentionally skirt the law must be held accountable," Chaffetz says in a statement.
