Tea

In an unexpected and deeply concerning move, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun issuing Requests for Evidence (RFEs) in H-1B and employment-based immigrant petitions that ask the petitioner for biometric data and detailed residential histories.

This sudden and unprecedented procedural shift has triggered alarms throughout the immigration law community, with attorneys warning that these new RFEs not only deviate from longstanding procedures, but that they also are indicative of a deeper transformation in the role and behavior of USCIS under the Trump administration. The move does come on the heels of an aggressive expansion of AI into high-risk areas of federal surveillance and enforcement that lacks oversight, transparency, and accountability, as Biometric Update reported this week.

In an unexpected and deeply concerning move, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has begun issuing Requests for Evidence (RFEs) in H-1B and employment-based immigrant petitions that ask the petitioner for biometric data and detailed residential histories.

This sudden and unprecedented procedural shift has triggered alarms throughout the immigration law community, with attorneys warning that these new RFEs not only deviate from longstanding procedures, but that they also are indicative of a deeper transformation in the role and behavior of USCIS under the Trump administration. The move does come on the heels of an aggressive expansion of AI into high-risk areas of federal surveillance and enforcement that lacks oversight, transparency, and accountability, as Biometric Update reported this week.

On February 11, 2025, Blue Shield discovered that, between April 2021 and January 2024, Google Analytics was configured in a way that allowed certain member data to be shared with Google’s advertising product, Google Ads, that likely included protected health information. Google may have used this data to conduct focused ad campaigns back to those individual members.

Blue Shield severed the connection between Google Analytics and Google Ads on its websites in January 2024.

What information was involved

• Insurance plan name, type and group number;
• city;
• zip code;
• gender;
• family size;
• Blue Shield assigned identifiers for members’ online accounts;
• medical claim service date and service provider, patient name, and patient financial responsibility;
• “Find a Doctor” search criteria and results (location, plan name and type, provider name and type).

On February 11, 2025, Blue Shield discovered that, between April 2021 and January 2024, Google Analytics was configured in a way that allowed certain member data to be shared with Google’s advertising product, Google Ads, that likely included protected health information. Google may have used this data to conduct focused ad campaigns back to those individual members.

Blue Shield severed the connection between Google Analytics and Google Ads on its websites in January 2024.

What information was involved

• Insurance plan name, type and group number;
• city;
• zip code;
• gender;
• family size;
• Blue Shield assigned identifiers for members’ online accounts;
• medical claim service date and service provider, patient name, and patient financial responsibility;
• “Find a Doctor” search criteria and results (location, plan name and type, provider name and type).

In the same week the UK Prime Minister said shoplifting has ‘wreaked havoc’ on neighbourhoods for years, the first UK supermarket announced a trial of facial recognition technology (FRT). With the government’s focus on prevention and shoplifting stories continuing to make the front pages, it was probably inevitable. But this is uncharted territory for the big high street retailers who will need to tick off a few essentials before heading to the checkout.

In the same week the UK Prime Minister said shoplifting has ‘wreaked havoc’ on neighbourhoods for years, the first UK supermarket announced a trial of facial recognition technology (FRT). With the government’s focus on prevention and shoplifting stories continuing to make the front pages, it was probably inevitable. But this is uncharted territory for the big high street retailers who will need to tick off a few essentials before heading to the checkout.

Today, we’re unveiling Anonym Private Audiences: a confidential computing solution allowing advertisers to securely build new audiences and boost campaign results.

Today, we’re unveiling Anonym Private Audiences: a confidential computing solution allowing advertisers to securely build new audiences and boost campaign results.

Until now. The latest iteration of artificial intelligence has captured the attention of politicians around the world. It seems that the latter can’t do enough to promote and support it, in the hope of deriving huge economic benefits, both directly, in the form of local AI companies worth trillions, and indirectly, through increased efficiency and improved services. That current favoured status has given AI leaders permission to start saying the unsayable: that copyright is an obstacle to progress, and should be reined in, or at least muzzled, in order to allow AI to reach its full potential.

Since October 2023, relentless high-profile media reports have warned that UK-based users of pirate streaming services run a serious risk of arrest. Those claims sit in contrast to comments made by the head of the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) in a recent interview. Detective Chief Inspector Emma Warbey concedes that people who use pirate devices are largely able to do so "without risk of arrest." That doesn't mean entirely without risk, however.

Google Translated from Japanese source.