In summary: - Tech Advisor reports that 64% of smartphones tested since 2022 have facial recognition easily fooled by a simple 2D photo, affecting major brands like Samsung, Motorola, and Oppo. - This security flaw exposes personal data including photos and emails, though it cannot approve mobile payments or access high-security features like Samsung Wallet. - Users should opt for PINs or fingerprint systems instead, as Google Pixel and Apple iPhone models with 3D facial recognition offer better protection. UK-based consumer choice organisation Which? has highlighted a shocking shortfall in security that affects almost two-thirds of modern smartphones. Which? reports that of the 208 phones it has tested since 2022, a staggering 133 (that’s a clear majority of 64%) could have their facial identification systems fooled by a simple 2D photo. The list of brands that fell foul of this crude bypass method is extensive, including Asus, Fairphone, Honor, HMD, Motorola, Nokia, Nothing, OnePlus, Oppo, Realme, Samsung, Vivo and Xiaomi. While the report points out that budget and mid-range models are the main weak points here, it’s not exclusively a cheap phone problem. Flagship handsets such as the Oppo Find X9 Pro, the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra, and the Samsung Galaxy S25 range all failed the test. The year 2024 was particularly bad in their reckoning, with 72% of the phones tested falling foul of the 2D photo hack. Android models that did pass this test include recent Google phones, such as the Google Pixel 10, Pixel 9, and Pixel 8, as well as the recent Samsung Galaxy S26 series. Apple’s iPhone range obviously passes with flying colours, having pioneered proper 3D facial recognition technology. The likes of the Honor Magic 8 Pro (pictured below), meanwhile, is one of precious few phones to adopt a similarly advanced biometric system. Chris
Apr 17, 2026 · via techadvisor.com
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Apr 17, 2026 · via instagram.com
Iowa State University researchers are developing an AI-powered pest identification app designed to put fast and reliable answers directly into farmers’ hands. The tool uses image recognition to identify insects, weeds and diseases, helping users take action earlier and potentially reduce crop losses. The research team consists of five Iowa State researchers and three international researchers. Iowa State researchers: - Arti Singh, leader of the BRIDGE project and associate professor of agronomy, management team for the AI Institute for Resilient Agriculture - Baskar Ganapathysubramanian, Joseph and Elizabeth Anderlik professor in engineering, director of the AI Institute for Resilient Agriculture, associate director of the Translational AI Center - Daren Mueller, professor of plant pathology, entomology and microbiology - Soumik Sarkar, Walter W. Wilson faculty fellow in engineering, director of the Translational AI Center, associate director of the AI Institute for Resilient Agriculture - Asheesh K. Singh, the G.F. Sprague chair in agronomy, management team for the AI Institute for Resilient Agriculture International researchers: - Alka Arora, Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Scott Chapman, University of Queensland, Australia - Masayuki Hirafuji, University of Tokyo, Japan Singh explained how this AI project for crop disease identification began and how it has evolved. “The project started in 2014, intending to use AI to identify and classify diseases in crops,” Singh said. “Over the past decade, it has grown significantly, culminating in a $20 million AI institute grant in 2021. Along the way, we expanded beyond disease detection to include insect identification.” Muller described the problem in agriculture that the app is trying to solve. “Farmers and agronomists often struggle with accurate identification of pests in the field because traditional approaches rely on personal experience, printed guides or sending samples to the lab,” Muller said. “These methods are slow and sometimes inconsistent. The goal
Apr 16, 2026 · via iowastatedaily.com
Is YOUR phone safe? Facial recognition on 21 popular devices can be easily spoofed with printed photos, tests reveal – so, is yours on the list? Facial recognition might seem like one of the safest ways to keep your phone secure, but experts say your device might be easy prey for hackers. Which? research has revealed that 60 per cent of popular mobile phones can be easily fooled with printed photos. This includes devices from several big brands including Motorola, Nokia, Nothing, OnePlus, and Fairphone. Even top–of–the–range flagship models, such as the £1,099 Oppo Find X9 Pro, mistook pieces of paper for real human faces. Which? warns that thieves could use this weakness to read your emails, reset passwords for sensitive accounts, access your pictures, and even view your Google Wallet history. Lisa Barber, Which? Tech Editor, says: 'In this age of cutting–edge technology it almost seems unbelievable that phone cameras could be fooled by a printed photo – and yet they can be. 'The majority of Android phones we've tested in the last four years can be easily unlocked using a 2D image, and some manufacturers are still failing to adequately warn their users that this is the case. 'We'd urge affected users to set up alternative methods of security, like a fingerprint or a PIN, which are much more secure.' Which? has warned that 60 per cent of popular phones have facial recognition that can be tricked by a printed photograph, including top–of–the–range devices like the OnePlus Nord 3 (pictured) Which? has tested 208 phone models released since October 2022, 133 of which could be fooled by a simple photo. And this problem isn't necessarily improving as phone technology gets better each year. In 2024, a staggering 72 per cent of phones tested failed to detect a printout
Apr 16, 2026 · via dailymail.co.uk
Premium mobile phones can be unlocked using a photograph of the owner, research has shown. Top-of-the-range devices from Samsung, Motorola and Oppo had their facial recognition security feature easily spoofed, Which? said. A total of 133 models were tricked by the consumer group into opening with a 2D picture, including the Samsung Galaxy S25 (£800), Oppo Find X9 Pro (£1,099), Motorola Razr 50 Ultra (£999) and Oppo Find X9 (£899). Other models from Asus, Fairphone, Honor, HMD, Nokia, Nothing, OnePlus, Realme, Vivo and Xiaomi also failed the test. All were Android devices. Apple’s Face ID remained secure. The three newest Google Pixel models and Samsung Galaxy S26 series were not spoofed by a photo. Basic 2D face-check systems work by using the front camera to take a picture and comparing it with the image saved on set-up. If it is similar enough, the phone unlocks. Apple, Google and some Android phone makers use a 3D face-check system that maps the shape of your face by projecting thousands of invisible dots on to it to measure the depth, contours and structure. That makes it harder to spoof using a photo. Some phones using 2D technology warn users about the weakness of the system. However, Motorola, OnePlus and Nothing were highlighted for failing to do so. Which? said warnings should be prominent during the set-up process rather than “buried” in terms and conditions or another link. The group said Motorola had released 27 phones since 2022 that could be unlocked with a 2D photo or by someone resembling the owner. Lisa Barber, tech editor at Which?, said: “It almost seems unbelievable that phone cameras could be fooled by a printed photo — and yet they can be.” Which? recommends switching to a fingerprint or six-digit PIN if there is a 2D unlocking
Apr 16, 2026 · via thetimes.com
Facial recognition security fooled by photo on majority of Android phones A major security investigation has revealed that six in 10 Android smartphones can be tricked into unlocking using a simple 2D printed photograph. The UK’s consumer association Which? conducted extensive lab testing on 208 mobile phone models since October 2022, finding that a staggering 133 devices (64% of those tested) failed to distinguish between a real human face and a flat image. The flaw primarily affects devices that rely on standard 2D facial recognition systems. Unlike more sophisticated technology, these cameras capture a flat image that lacks depth perception, making it impossible for the software to distinguish between a high-resolution photo and a living person consistently. The failure rate has fluctuated significantly over recent years. While 53% of phones failed in 2023, that figure spiked to 72% in 2024, before settling at 63% in 2025. The list of vulnerable handsets includes high-end flagship models that retail for over £1,000, such as the Motorola Razr 50 Ultra and the Oppo Find X9 Pro. Samsung’s former flagship range, the Galaxy S25 series, also fell victim to the photo spoofing test. However, there are signs of improvement in the latest hardware. Apple’s Face ID and the new Samsung Galaxy S26 series successfully passed the tests by using 3D mapping technology, which projects thousands of invisible dots to create a complex depth map of the user’s face. Which? raised particular concern regarding manufacturers that fail to provide “adequate” warnings about these security limitations during device setup. Motorola, OnePlus, and the newer brand Nothing were singled out for either burying warnings in terms and conditions or failing to provide them prominently. “In this age of cutting-edge technology, it seems unbelievable that phone cameras could be fooled by a printed photo – and yet they
Apr 16, 2026 · via techdigest.tv
Woman Wrongly Jailed for Months Based on Faulty Facial Recognition Technology Demands Apology from Maryland Police Departments MARYLAND — Today, the American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Maryland sent letters to three Maryland police departments on behalf of Kimberlee Williams, an Oklahoma woman who was wrongfully arrested because Maryland police relied on an incorrect result from facial recognition technology and concealed their reliance on that unreliable technology from the court when applying for arrest warrants. Ms. Williams is the fourteenth person publicly known to have been wrongfully arrested by U.S. police because of reliance on erroneous facial recognition results. “I lost six months of my life when Maryland police wrongfully imprisoned me halfway across the country from my children, my home, and my job, all because they relied on an incorrect result from faulty technology,” said Kimberlee Williams. “I had never even been to Maryland before I was flown there in handcuffs, for a crime I had nothing to do with. My family and I can’t get that time back, but I hope my experience will be a warning to police in Maryland and across the country that this technology can ruin lives. No family deserves to go through that.” On June 23, 2021, Ms. Williams was accompanying one of her daughters, a DoorDash driver, as she made a delivery to a local military base in Lawton, Oklahoma. When base security conducted a standard ID check, they discovered an outstanding Maryland arrest warrant for Ms. Williams, detained her, and called local police, who arrested her. Ms. Williams spent 23 days in an Oklahoma jail before a Maryland officer arrived to transport her to a jail in Montgomery County, Maryland, where she was imprisoned for over three months while she fought to show she couldn‘t have committed a crime in
Apr 16, 2026 · via aclu.org
ACLU calls for policy review after Maryland police used faulty facial recognition scan to wrongfully imprison Oklahoma woman for six months The American Civil Liberties Union and ACLU of Maryland on Tuesday sent letters to three law enforcement agencies in Maryland calling for them to publicly apologize to Kimberlee Williams, a white Oklahoma woman who claims she was wrongfully arrested in 2021 after Maryland police relied on an unverified facial recognition scan conducted by an unknown third party to identify her as a criminal suspect. The letters, which are individually addressed to Montgomery County Police Department, the Anne Arundel County Police Department and the Prince George’s County Police Department, claim that Maryland police investigators relied on an incorrect result from facial recognition system to get a warrant for Williams’ arrest. The letters allege that investigators concealed their reliance on the technology from the court when applying for arrest warrants, and that as a result, Williams spent six months in jail for a crime she did not commit, in a state she had never visited. The letters argue that police must stop treating facial recognition as reliable evidence, and adopt stricter safeguards to prevent similar wrongful arrests. According to the ACLU, Williams was arrested while accompanying one of her daughters, a DoorDash driver, as she made a delivery to a military base in Lawton, Oklahoma, on June 23, 2021. When military police conducted a standard ID check at a base checkpoint, they discovered Williams had an outstanding arrest warrant in Maryland. The military police detained her and then called the local police, who arrested her. Williams said she spent 23 days in an Oklahoma jail before an officer from Maryland arrived to transport her to a jail in Montgomery County, Maryland. The letters state that when she arrived in to the
Apr 16, 2026 · via statescoop.com
Abstract Mainstream real-time object detectors, like the YOLO series, balance speed and accuracy but are bottlenecked by Non-Maximum Suppression (NMS) for post-processing. While end-to-end Transformer-based detectors show potential by eliminating NMS, their high computational cost impedes real-time application. Concurrently, alternatives like DECO, using a pure convolutional framework, are hampered by local receptive fields, limiting global context modeling and limiting the accuracy on lightweight models. To address this, we introduce HA-DETR, a Hybrid Architecture DETR fusing the local feature extraction of convolutions with the global context modeling of Transformers, particularly effective in resource-constrained scenarios. HA-DETR uses an efficient multi-scale encoder and an effective hybrid decoder that integrates convolutional query refinement with cross-attention to accelerate predictions. This hybrid design, however, exacerbates a training dynamic mismatch. To mitigate this, we propose the Decoupled Gamma Loss (DGL), which introduces independent modulating factors, \(\gamma _{pos}\) and \(\gamma _{neg}\), to alleviate sample imbalance from disparate convergence rates of the hybrid components. Experiments validate our method. On the COCO dataset, our lightweight HA-DETR-R18 achieves 48.4 AP at 68 FPS on a V100 GPU, surpassing RT-DETR-R18 by 1.9 AP with a 13% speedup and outperforming DECO-R18 by 7.9 AP. Our work provides a competitive architectural alternative for efficient and accurate real-time object detection. Similar content being viewed by others Data availability No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study. References Chen, X., Ma, H., Wan, J., Li, B. & Xia, T. Multi-view 3d object detection network for autonomous driving. In Proc. IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, 1907–1915 (2017). Ess, A., Schindler, K., Leibe, B. & Van Gool, L. Object detection and tracking for autonomous navigation in dynamic environments. Int. J. Robot. Res. 29, 1707–1725 (2010). Redmon, J. You only look once: Unified, real-time object detection. In Proc. IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and
Apr 16, 2026 · via nature.com
By Allegra Harpootlian, senior communications strategist, ACLU Today it is easier than ever for the U.S. government to spy on us and access our private data. Whether it’s using license plate readers to track protestors’ movements, faulty facial recognition software to check people’s immigration status, or buying our data in bulk to avoid getting a warrant, federal, state, and local government are repeatedly violating our rights in an effort to scoop up as much information about us as possible. Without safeguards, federal agencies will continue to exploit their partnerships with tech companies to sow fear and violate our rights, which is why the ACLU is advocating for Congress to pass legislation that would protect our privacy in the digital age. These bills include the ICE Out of Our Faces Act, which would ban ICE and other immigration agencies from buying, acquiring, or using facial recognition software and the Fourth Amendment Is Not For Sale Act, a bipartisan bill that would ban the government from buying our data from Palantir and other companies without a warrant. To pull this dystopian Big Brother act off, the U.S. government needs us to feel powerless. But we can all push back against this unjust surveillance in the streets, the courtroom, city hall, and our art. Matthew Libby, the creator of a new off-Broadway play called “DATA,” is using theater to fight against the surveillance state. He became inspired to write the play after seeing how Big Tech companies are used to supercharge President Trump’s deportation agenda. Below, we discuss how “DATA” pushes back against public-private surveillance partnerships, and how we should all speak out against this obscene government overreach. Allegra Harpootlian: How did this play come about? What made you want to focus on privacy and surveillance? Matthew Libby: The play grew out of
Apr 16, 2026 · via acluga.org
On Wednesday shareholders in Thomson Reuters demanded the company’s board launch an investigation into whether its products have contributed to human rights violations, specifically with regards to Thomson Reuters’ ongoing sale of peoples’ personal data to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Thomson Reuters sells access to the CLEAR investigative database, which can include peoples’ names, addresses, car registration information, Social Security numbers, and details on someone’s ethnicity. 404 Media has repeatedly shown how CLEAR is integrated with ICE tools, including one ICE uses to find neighborhoods to target. The move is the latest piece of growing pressure against the company concerning its contracts with ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It follows an internal protest in which more than 200 Thomson Reuters employees sent leadership a letter expressing their concern with those contracts. As 404 Media reported on Tuesday, Thomson Reuters fired the worker who led that effort, according to a newly filed lawsuit. “Shareholders request the Board commission an independent human rights impact assessment evaluating the extent to which TRI’s [Thomson Reuters] products may contribute to adverse human rights impacts when used by law enforcement agencies, including when TRI’s products are combined with other surveillance technologies,” the shareholder proposal, written by the B.C. General Employees’ Union (BCGEU) and viewed by 404 Media, reads. BCGEU is a minority shareholder in Thomson Reuters. “The assessment should address reasonably foreseeable risks arising from aggregated or integrated use of surveillance tools by law enforcement or immigration authorities and recommend measures to mitigate such risks,” the proposal adds. It asks that any produced report “be publicly available, subject to confidentiality and competitive considerations.” The proposal repeatedly cites 404 Media’s investigations. In January 404 Media revealed the existence of a Palantir-made tool called Enhanced Leads Identification & Targeting for Enforcement or ELITE. That
Apr 16, 2026 · via 404media.co
Image Recognition Market Future Scope, Growth Drivers, Trends, Strategic Insights, Advance Technology And Opportunities To 2031 Google (US), Qualcomm (US), Oracle (US), IBM (US), AWS (US), NVIDIA (US), Huawei (China), NEC Corporation (Japan), Microsoft (US), Hitachi (Japan). The Image Recognition Market [https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/image-recognition-market-222404611.html?utm_source=abnewswire.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image-recognition-market] was estimated to be worth USD 55.28 billion in 2025, indicating an increasing emphasis on organized data protection methods by enterprises. By 2031, the market is expected to reach USD 127.02 billion, expanding at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14.9%. The development and consumption of digital photos and videos have significantly increased due to the widespread use of smartphones with high-quality cameras, which is anticipated to fuel the expansion of the worldwide image recognition market. As companies depend more and more on photos and visual data in their day-to-day operations, the market for image recognition is expanding. Image recognition is being used by businesses across all sectors to recognize items, evaluate images and videos, and enhance decision-making. Download PDF Brochure@ https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=222404611 [https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=222404611&utm_source=abnewswire.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image-recognition-market] The image recognition market is expected to grow steadily as organizations depend on digital data, which, in turn, increases face and operational challenges. Enterprises are focusing on protecting visual and image data while ensuring systems can recover quickly in the event of failures or cyber incidents. The growing use of cloud platforms is increasing the volume and spread of image data across organizations, making consistent protection and management more important. Regulations across industries are also pushing companies to adopt reliable systems that ensure data safety and continuity. At the same time, rising cyber threats, including ransomware, are driving the adoption of secure, tamper-resistant technologies. Service providers are improving automation and reliability to help organizations operate more efficiently. Together, these factors are driving sustained demand for image recognition solutions across global enterprise markets. The service
Apr 16, 2026 · via openpr.com
USAG BAVARIA - HOHENFELS, Germany -- Seth Kloss, director of Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation, thanks volunteers of the Hohenfels community. Leadership from U.S. Army Garrison Bavaria and the Joint Multinational Readiness Center took time to honor the dedication of volunteers in the Hohenfels community during a ceremony April 14, 2026 at the Community Activity Center. (U.S. Army photo by Bryan Gatchell, USAG Bavaria Public Affairs)
| Date Taken: | 04.13.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 04.16.2026 09:56 |
| Photo ID: | 9618940 |
| VIRIN: | 260414-A-TR183-6483 |
| Resolution: | 4288x2848 |
| Size: | 2.51 MB |
| Location: | HOHENFELS, BAYERN, DE |
| Hometown: | HOHENFELS, BAYERN, DE |
| Web Views: | 4 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Director FMWR thanks volunteers [Image 7 of 7], by Bryan Gatchell, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Apr 16, 2026 · via dvidshub.net
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Apr 16, 2026 · via editorialmanager.com
International travel in 2026 still sells the same fantasy of easy movement, but the paperwork behind many trips has become more demanding. Travelers now have to keep track of digital entry approvals, biometric border systems, online arrival forms, and country-specific visa rules that can change well before departure day. In many cases, the issue comes from travelers assuming a destination still works the way it did on their last trip, even when the rules have changed. That assumption can now cause real trouble at check-in, at the gate, or at passport control. Across Europe, the United Kingdom, Asia, and South America, governments have pushed ahead with systems that shift more responsibility onto the traveler before arrival. Some changes are already in force. Others are coming later this year and are important enough to build into trip planning now. The broader pattern shows that travel bureaucracy is becoming more digital, more pre-approved, and less forgiving of last-minute mistakes. For international trips in 2026, a valid passport is only part of what travelers need to check before departure. It also makes sense to confirm whether an online authorization, a digital arrival card, or a newly restored visa rule now stands between a boarding pass and the trip itself. The UK Now Requires Many Visitors To Get An ETA Before Travel The United Kingdom’s Electronic Travel Authorization is now one of the clearest examples of how pre-clearance has become part of ordinary travel planning. The UK government says visitors who do not need a visa may still need an ETA before they travel, and each traveler, including children, must have one. The current fee is £20 ($27), and the authorization allows multiple journeys over two years or until the passport expires, whichever comes first. The government also says most applicants receive a decision
Apr 16, 2026 · via travelnoire.com
U.S. Space Force Tech. Sgt. Stephen J. Kaiser, section chief of defensive cyber operations with Space Launch Delta 45's 645th Cyberspace Squadron. April 9, 2026. Kaiser served as Space Forces Korea’s liaison officer inside U.S. Forces Korea’s Joint Network Coordination Center, part of the J6 directorate. His steady performance during the exercise earned him superior performer recognition from Space Forces Korea and a coin from U.S. Forces Korea’s J6. (U.S.Space Force photo by Amanda Inman)
| Date Taken: | 04.09.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 04.15.2026 16:17 |
| Photo ID: | 9617270 |
| VIRIN: | 260409-X-JI299-1002 |
| Resolution: | 3421x2737 |
| Size: | 1.16 MB |
| Location: | US |
| Web Views: | 15 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Guardian Takes Honor at Exercise Freedom Shield [Image 2 of 2], by Amanda Inman, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
Apr 16, 2026 · via dvidshub.net
Santa Fe County commissioners have hit the brakes on a sheriff’s office request for a subscription to powerful software that can identify people from snapshots of their faces. They expressed concerns about the proposed initiative — not just about how the artificial intelligence technology might be used by county deputies, but also how the contractor might use the agency’s data. The proposed contract would make the software available to the sheriff’s office for a yearlong “pilot program” at a cost of $17,100. Commissioners asked the sheriff’s office at a recent meeting to provide more information about its plans for a facial recognition program, including its internal policy on such a program and the terms of use from the vendor, New York-based Clearview AI — which bills itself as having the “world’s largest known database” of facial images and the most advanced facial recognition algorithm. The company, whose controversial software identifies people from photos using an AI-trained algorithm, has faced fines and litigation over its collection of photos, even as it has secured contracts with government agencies large and small around the world. Civil rights advocates, including in New Mexico, have urged lawmakers to ban such technology due to the potential for wrongful arrests and threats to privacy. Santa Fe County Sheriff Adan Mendoza described the software as a tool that would “put the sheriff’s office on the leading edge for technology.” “I do acknowledge and realize the concerns that the public has, but we want to use it efficiently and respectfully and for public safety,” Mendoza said in a recent interview. “I think it will be a good tool.” Mendoza said the software would be available for use by “a few tenured detectives” as well as “select supervisors.” Clearview AI’s interface allows users to upload an image — such as
Apr 15, 2026 · via santafenewmexican.com
Page last updated on April 15, 2026 at 7:01 pm For more information, please contact Desiree DeMolina, Communications Director, Office of the Mayor [email protected] or 812-349-3406 City of Bloomington Transitions Away from Flock Use After Months-Long Evaluation Mayor Kerry Thomson announced today that the City’s contract for Flock LPR services expired on March 5, 2026, and that, following a months-long evaluation, the City decided not to renew it. On April 15, 2026, Bloomington Police Chief Michael Diekhoff submitted a report on Bloomington’s use of Flock, followed by a memo from Mayor Thomson to the Bloomington Common Council. Both will be presented at the Council’s April 22 meeting. The evaluation was already underway before the Bloomington Common Council’s March 5, 2026, resolution calling for additional oversight of the City’s Flock cameras and requesting a report from BPD regarding access to Flock data. The review included consultation with Bloomington Police Department (BPD) leadership and investigative teams, the City’s legal team, Flock representatives, and community partners, and included an assessment of operational use, legal considerations, and documented case applications. As the City transitions away from Flock, it will evaluate other technologies and providers that better balance public safety needs with privacy protections, transparency, accountability, and public trust. As part of the review, Mayor Thomson directed immediate steps to narrow and govern the system’s use during the transition period. Access to Flock data will be limited to Bloomington Police Department personnel only. There will be no outside data sharing. The City’s Flock-related equipment includes 11 permanently mounted license plate reader cameras, four permanently mounted video cameras, and four mobile trailer systems equipped for license plate reading, video recording, and gunshot detection. Other local jurisdictions, including Indiana University and Monroe County, operate similar systems under their own authority and policies. Bloomington is not alone
Apr 15, 2026 · via bloomington.in.gov
Dangerous Apps — In the Web of Data Brokers April 14, 2026The data in question reveals where people live and work — up to and including information about visits to brothels or stays in psychiatric clinics. This film shows how easily unsuspecting users can become targets for stalkers, criminals or secret services. It highlights how seemingly harmless apps can become a security risk — even for soldiers at war, or governments. This documentary is based on one of the largest investigations of its kind to date: a team of journalists analyzed around ten billion pieces of location data. Their search takes them halfway around the world: to an Egyptian journalist in exile in Berlin who’s being threatened. To Brussels, where high-ranking EU Commission employees are affected. To Washington, where politicians see a security risk for US agents in Europe. Or to the Ukrainian front, where soldiers recognize their own positions in data records. The investigation eventually leads to a dealer in Florida who sold the location data of German and French smartphone users. The film highlights the immense risks involved in this billion-pound business - even for people in the European Union, with its supposedly strictdata protection rules. Broadcasting Hours: DW English SAT 18.04.2026 – 11:03 UTC SAT 18.04.2026 – 22:03 UTC SUN 19.04.2026 – 05:03 UTC Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 Delhi UTC +5,5 | Bangkok UTC +7 | Hong Kong UTC +8 London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3 San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4
Apr 15, 2026 · via dw.com