Data Center Noise Still Shakes Homes in Great Oak, County Slow to Act
Residents of the Great Oak subdivision in Prince William County, Virginia, told the Board of County Supervisors on 10 June 2025 that the low-frequency hum from cooling systems at nearby data centres, including Amazon Web Services sites, is still shaking their homes, while a draft county noise ordinance remained long delayed.
- Company involved
- Amazon Web Services
- AI system involved
- Great Oak data centre
1 source article · read the reporting →
Lieff Cabraser and Greer Injury Lawyers Announce Federal Class Action Lawsuit Against X.AI Corp and MZX Tech LLC for Nuisance,…
The data centers and gas turbines emitted constant noise, vibrations, and particulate matter, affecting residents' ability to use and enjoy their properties.
- Company involved
- X.AI Corp and MZX Tech LLC
- AI system involved
- Colossus I, Colossus II, MACROHARDRR, Minihard data centers and gas turbines
1 source article · read the reporting →
Microsoft ordered nearly $2.5M fine for air pollution from Northern Virginia data center - WJLA
The data center's backup generators emitted air pollutants exceeding permit limits, affecting nearby residents.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
1 source article · read the reporting →
Meta Scraped User Photos for Secret Smart-Glasses Tech, Class Action Claims - The SOFX Report
Meta harvested user photographs and created biometric faceprints to enable a smart-glasses system that could identify strangers in public without consent.
- Company involved
- Meta Platforms, Inc.
- AI system involved
- NameTag
1 source article · read the reporting →
How Your Shadow Credit Score Could Decide Whether You Get an Apartment - ProPublica
Tenant screening companies assign renters a score drawn from data far wider than credit history, an industry subject to less regulation than credit scoring agencies. ProPublica reports that experts warn these algorithms can decide who gets an apartment on the basis of information applicants cannot see or correct. Kim Fuller was denied a rental application on such a score.
- Company involved
- Habitat America
- AI system involved
- RentGrow
1 source article · read the reporting →
3rd Circuit Revives Hotel Price-Fixing Suit Over Cendyn Rainmaker Algorithm
A group of hotel guests allege that Caesars Entertainment, Hard Rock, Borgata, and MGM conspired to fix room rates using Cendyn's Rainmaker algorithm. The algorithm allegedly recommended prices based on competitively-sensitive information shared among the casinos. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit revived the lawsuit, allowing the claims to proceed. The case is pending.
- Company involved
- Caesars Entertainment, Hard Rock, Borgata, MGM
- AI system involved
- Rainmaker
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Meta Agrees to Alter Ad Technology in Settlement With U.S. (Published 2022) - The New York Times
The ad delivery system allegedly discriminated in housing ad delivery on the basis of protected characteristics.
- Company involved
- Meta
- AI system involved
- ad technology
1 source article · read the reporting →
Flock lawsuit accuses tech company of exposing citizens to rogue police tracking - Top Class Actions
The system recorded and tracked the locations of vehicles and their owners without consent.
- Company involved
- Flock Group Inc.
- AI system involved
- Flock
1 source article · read the reporting →
Meta Ran Hundreds of Paid Ads with Child Sexual Abuse Imagery - Tech Transparency Project
Meta's ad system approved and displayed paid advertisements containing AI-generated child sexual abuse material, affecting real children whose images were used and users exposed to the content.
- Company involved
- Meta
- AI system involved
- Meta advertising system
1 source article · read the reporting →
Florida Title Company Stops AI Deepfake Property Fraud Attempt
A title company owner in Hallandale Beach, Florida, detected an attempted property fraud using a deepfake video. The scammer posed as the owner of a vacant lot, providing a fake driver's licence and a looped video during a video call. The title company owner noticed the video was not interactive and halted the sale. The true owner's property tax bills had been sent to the Bahamas, and the scammer used a photo of a missing woman from California.
- Company involved
- Florida Title and Trust
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Dutch city uses black-box algorithm for home valuation
In 2016, the municipality of Castricum, Netherlands, used an algorithm to set the WOZ value of a resident's home at €320,000, affecting their property tax. The resident challenged the valuation, arguing earthquake damage reduced the value, but the municipality could not explain how the algorithm arrived at the figure. On appeal, an Amsterdam court upheld the valuation, finding it reasonable based on comparable sales, but ordered the municipality to pay court costs for failing to provide an explanation as required by GDPR.
- Company involved
- Municipality of Castricum
1 source article · read the reporting →
Portland Water Bureau AI pilot offers discount to billionaire CEO
The Portland Water Bureau used a machine learning system in a randomised control trial to identify customers for its financial assistance programme. The system selected Columbia Sportswear CEO Tim Boyle, a billionaire and one of the city's largest residential water consumers, for a 40% water bill discount. Boyle declined the discount, stating it should go to someone who needs it. The bureau is testing whether the SERVUS algorithm can accurately identify customers' ability to pay.
- Company involved
- Portland Water Bureau
- AI system involved
- Smart Discount Program
1 source article · read the reporting →
Canada Investigates Landlords' Use of AI Rent-Setting Software YieldStar
The Competition Bureau of Canada is investigating allegations that major corporate landlords, including Dream Unlimited, used AI-powered software YieldStar to coordinate rent increases. Tenant advocacy groups filed over 100 complaints, claiming the software recommended above-market rents, exacerbating housing affordability. Some landlords have since halted use of YieldStar amid public backlash, while the investigation continues.
- Company involved
- Dream Unlimited
- AI system involved
- YieldStar
7 source articles · read the reporting →
DC attorney general sues 14 landlords over RealPage rent collusion
The Attorney General of Washington DC filed a lawsuit against 14 large landlords, alleging they used RealPage's YieldStar software to form “a District-wide housing cartel” that artificially inflated rents. The complaint claims RealPage's pricing algorithm used data supplied by the landlords and pressurised them to follow its rate recommendations, with one firm's internal presentation stating at least 95% compliance was expected. This alleged scheme caused residents to pay millions of dollars above fair market prices during a housing affordability crisis.
- Company involved
- Greystar Management Services
- AI system involved
- YieldStar
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Arity collected drivers' data via apps for insurance scores
Popular smartphone apps including Life360, MyRadar and GasBuddy reportedly shared users' location and motion data with Arity, an Allstate-owned company. Arity used the data to calculate driving scores that could be sold to car insurers to set rates. Users were said not to be clearly informed that their data would be used for insurance pricing. Life360 and Arity stated that users had to opt in and that no personally identifiable driving data was shared without consent.
- Company involved
- Arity
- AI system involved
- Arity IQ network
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Zillow shuts down iBuying after algorithms cause $380 million loss
Zillow shut down its Zillow Offers iBuying business after its pricing algorithms, known as Zestimates, consistently overvalued homes. The company purchased thousands of homes at above-market prices and is now selling many at a loss, expecting to lose an estimated $380 million. Zillow attributed the failure to the algorithms' inability to accurately forecast home prices in a volatile market. The company will write off $569 million in home inventory and lay off 25% of its staff.
- Company involved
- Zillow
- AI system involved
- Zestimates
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Oracle faces US privacy class action over alleged surveillance of five billion people
Oracle is facing a class action lawsuit in California, alleging that its adtech and advertising subsidiaries collected vast amounts of data from internet users without consent, creating detailed profiles on approximately five billion people. The suit, filed by privacy advocates including Dr Johnny Ryan, claims Oracle's practices violate multiple federal and state laws. Oracle declined to comment on the litigation, which remains pending.
- Company involved
- Oracle
1 source article · read the reporting →
HUD charges Facebook with housing discrimination over ad targeting
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) charged Facebook with violating the Fair Housing Act by enabling housing discrimination through its targeted advertising platform. HUD alleges that Facebook allowed advertisers to exclude users from seeing housing ads based on race, religion, national origin, and other protected characteristics, and that its machine learning tools may have grouped users by these traits. Facebook had previously settled with civil rights groups and made changes to its ad system, but HUD proceeded with the charge. Facebook expressed surprise and said it had taken significant steps to prevent discrimination.
- Company involved
- Facebook
- AI system involved
- Facebook ad-targeting system
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Life360 sells precise location data of millions of users to data brokers
Life360, a family safety app used by 33 million people, sells precise location data of its users to approximately a dozen data brokers, according to interviews with former employees. The company removes obvious identifiers but does not adequately anonymize the data, allowing potential re-identification. Life360 announced it will stop sales to some brokers after the investigation.
- Company involved
- Life360
- AI system involved
- Life360 app
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Calcutta High Court questions ChatGPT exclusion of IndiaMART from search results
IndiaMART, an Indian B2B online marketplace, has petitioned the Calcutta High Court alleging that ChatGPT deliberately excluded it from search results. The company claims the exclusion was based on a United States Trade Representative report and caused loss of goodwill, reputation and commercial injury. The court observed there appeared to be selective discrimination but declined to pass interim orders before hearing the other side. The matter is listed for 13 January 2026.
- Company involved
- OpenAI
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Google sues Chinese gang over AI-powered fraud targeting Americans
Google has filed a lawsuit against a Chinese cybercrime group called Outsider Enterprise, alleging it used Google's Gemini AI to create hundreds of fake websites impersonating companies and government services. The group allegedly sent millions of phishing messages to Android users, defrauding hundreds of thousands of Americans of millions of dollars. Google is coordinating with the FBI and wireless carriers to dismantle the network. The lawsuit, filed in the Southern District of New York, seeks an injunction to take down the operation.
- Company involved
- Outsider Enterprise
- AI system involved
- Gemini
3 source articles · read the reporting →
West Virginia Couple Targeted in AI-Generated Real Estate Scam
Raegan Bartlo received an email on August 23, 2024, that appeared to be from her title company lawyer, instructing her to wire a $255,000 down payment for her new home. The email was part of a scam using generative AI to impersonate real estate professionals. Cybersecurity officials say such scams are occurring across the country, targeting homebuyers. The Bartlos were targets, but it is unclear if they lost any money.
1 source article · read the reporting →
RealPage's YieldStar algorithm pushes rents higher for tenants
RealPage's YieldStar algorithm uses private competitor data to recommend rent increases for apartment units. Landlords adopt up to 90% of the suggestions, leading to higher rents for tenants. Critics allege the software may facilitate indirect price-fixing in violation of antitrust law. The company denies wrongdoing and says the software helps eliminate collusion.
- Company involved
- RealPage
- AI system involved
- YieldStar
10 source articles · read the reporting →
West Jordan Data Center Noise Frustrates Nearby Residents - Hoodline
The data center's generators produced intrusive noise that disturbed residents' sleep and daily life.
- Company involved
- Aligned Data Centers
1 source article · read the reporting →
