Facebook rejects ProPublica claims of age discrimination in recruitment adverts
ProPublica has reported that companies, including Facebook's own marketing team, used Facebook to show recruitment adverts to specific age groups, alleging age discrimination. Facebook rejects the allegation, saying its adverts are tailored by audience and are part of broader recruitment efforts. The company argues that age-based targeting for employment purposes can be lawful and says it is requiring employers to certify compliance.
- Company involved
- Facebook
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Scottish Supermarket Fires Robot After It Scares Customers Away
The Scottish supermarket Margiotta trialled a conversational robot named Fabio, developed by Heriot-Watt University, to assist customers. The robot gave vague directions and, when assigned to offer sausage samples, performed poorly, attracting only two customers per 15 minutes compared to 12 by human staff. Customers actively avoided the robot, leading the store to end the trial. Staff reportedly grew attached to Fabio, and one cried when it was removed.
- Company involved
- Margiotta
- AI system involved
- Fabio
1 source article · read the reporting →
Spamouflage Operation Used AI-Generated Deepfake Videos for Pro-Chinese Influence
In late 2022, Graphika observed the pro-Chinese influence operation Spamouflage promoting videos featuring AI-generated fictitious people. The footage was created using a commercial AI video platform from a UK company. The videos were low-quality and received fewer than 300 views, but Graphika warns that such tools could enable more convincing deception at scale.
- Company involved
- Spamouflage
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Facebook faces class action over Tag Suggestions facial recognition data collection
Facebook users in Illinois allege that Facebook collected their biometric face data without notice or consent through its Tag Suggestions tool, which uses facial recognition software. The class action, Patel v Facebook, was brought under the Illinois Biometric Information Privacy Act. Facebook disputes the claim, arguing that the users suffered no harm beyond the alleged statutory violation. The case was before the Ninth Circuit on an appeal of the class certification.
- Company involved
- Facebook
- AI system involved
- Tag Suggestions
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Facebook approved harmful ads targeting teens in TTP experiment
The Tech Transparency Project (TTP) submitted six test ads to Facebook promoting pill parties, anorexia, alcohol, smoking, gambling, and dating services, targeting users aged 13-17. Facebook approved all ads within hours, despite its policies prohibiting such content. The ads never ran as TTP did not allow them to be published. Facebook stated it has measures in place to review ads.
- Company involved
- Facebook
- AI system involved
- Facebook Ads
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Belgian political party sp.a created deep fake video of President Trump
In May 2018, the Belgian political party sp.a released a deep fake video appearing to show President Donald Trump telling Belgium to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement. The video was created using lip-synching technology and was intended as a parody to promote the party's climate petition. The party confirmed the video was a deep fake and said it was legally sound.
- Company involved
- sp.a (Socialistische Partij Anders)
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Italian regulator orders Como to stop facial recognition surveillance
The Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante) ordered the Municipality of Como to cease its use of a facial recognition system installed in Parco Tokamakhi near the main railway station. The system was intended to identify people under investigation or reported missing, and to detect suspicious behaviour. The Garante found that the municipality lacked a specific legal basis under national law for collecting and storing biometric data, and issued an injunction to conform to the law.
- Company involved
- Comune di Como
- AI system involved
- facial recognition system
9 source articles · read the reporting →
Portland Metro ends Replica partnership over data privacy concerns
Portland Metro, an elected regional government in Oregon, ended its pilot project with movement data company Replica after a disagreement about data sharing. Portland Metro requested raw, disaggregated data, which Replica refused to provide, citing user privacy concerns. The partnership was terminated without payment.
- Company involved
- Portland Metro
- AI system involved
- Replica
10 source articles · read the reporting →
ViaQuatro's facial recognition system in São Paulo metro challenged in court
In April 2018, ViaQuatro installed the Digital Interactive Doors System, developed by AdMobilize, on the São Paulo metro's yellow line. The system used cameras to detect passengers' faces and claimed to infer their emotion, age, and gender in order to target advertisements. The Brazilian Institute of Consumer Protection (IDEC) filed a public civil action alleging that the system violated consumer and data protection laws by processing biometric data without consent and making pseudoscientific and discriminatory inferences. A judge ordered the cameras removed in August 2018, and the case is pending a final ruling.
- Company involved
- ViaQuatro
- AI system involved
- Digital Interactive Doors System (DID system)
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Italian privacy regulator fines Foodinho €2.6 million for algorithmic discrimination against riders
The Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante) fined Foodinho S.r.l., a subsidiary of GlovoApp23, €2.6 million for privacy violations related to its algorithmic management of food delivery riders. The Garante found that the company's digital platform used algorithms to assign orders and rate riders without adequate transparency, human oversight, or the right to contest decisions. The system allegedly penalized riders who did not accept orders quickly, leading to reduced work opportunities and exclusion from the platform. The Garante ordered Foodinho to implement corrective measures within 60 days and to overhaul the algorithms within 90 days.
- Company involved
- Foodinho S.r.l.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Plastic Forte fined for using facial recognition on workers without notice
The Spanish data protection agency AEPD fined Plastic Forte, a plastics manufacturer in Alicante, €20,000 for using facial recognition to record employees' working hours without informing them. A worker requested information about his personal data and discovered the biometric processing. The company initially argued it was only for time tracking but later acknowledged responsibility, resulting in a reduced fine of €12,000. The AEPD deemed facial recognition for time control as highly intrusive and requiring prior impact assessment.
- Company involved
- Plastic Forte
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Unity faces employee concerns over military contract transparency
An investigation by Vice Games reported that Unity Technologies is not transparent with its developers about military contracts. Employees allege some are unaware their work on AI tools may become part of Department of Defense projects. CEO John Riccitiello stated the company will not support programs that violate its principles, but sources say many staff are angry. Unity said it cannot police all uses of its engine as it is a tool available to anyone.
- Company involved
- Unity Technologies
- AI system involved
- Unity engine
8 source articles · read the reporting →
ElevenLabs AI voice generation used in Russian influence operation targeting Europe
The article reports that a Russian influence campaign, dubbed "Operation Undercut," very likely used ElevenLabs' AI voice generation technology to create realistic voiceovers for fake news videos. The videos targeted European audiences to undermine support for Ukraine. Recorded Future's researchers used ElevenLabs' own AI Speech Classifier to detect the AI-generated audio. The campaign was attributed to the Russia-based Social Design Agency, which the U.S. government sanctioned. The overall impact on public opinion was minimal.
- Company involved
- Social Design Agency
- AI system involved
- ElevenLabs AI voice generation
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Kaedim used human artists instead of AI for 3D model generation
Kaedim, an AI startup that claimed to use machine learning to convert 2D illustrations into 3D models, actually used human artists to produce the models, according to sources. The company's founder was featured in Forbes 30 Under 30 for the technology. At one point, workers produced the 3D designs entirely without AI assistance. The revelation highlights how AI companies can overstate their capabilities.
- Company involved
- Kaedim
- AI system involved
- Kaedim
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Presto Automation uses off-site human agents to double-check AI drive-thru orders
Presto Automation Inc, which markets an AI voice assistant for drive-thru ordering, used off-site human agents in countries including the Philippines to double-check orders in more than 70% of customer interactions, according to SEC filings reported by Bloomberg. The company told Bloomberg that the process helps train its system and should reduce human intervention over time. Presto's drive-thru AI is used in more than 400 restaurants, including Del Taco, Carl's Jr and Checkers, and its stock fell more than 10% after the reports.
- Company involved
- Presto Automation Inc.
8 source articles · read the reporting →
DevTernity conference cancelled after fake women speakers exposed
The DevTernity software developer conference was cancelled after allegations that organiser Eduards Sizovs added fake women speakers to the lineup. Sizovs admitted at least one profile, 'Anna Boyko', was an auto-generated 'demo persona' that appeared on the site by mistake. The conference was scheduled to begin December 7 but was called off after several speakers withdrew. Sizovs denied wrongdoing and said he had fixed the code and written a test to prevent a recurrence.
- Company involved
- DevTernity
9 source articles · read the reporting →
N-Tech.lab's FindFace used to identify St Petersburg metro passengers without consent
Egor Tsvetkov photographed passengers on the St Petersburg metro without their permission and used N-Tech.lab's facial recognition service FindFace to match their faces to public Vkontakte profiles. He published the results in an art project called 'Your Face is Big Data', saying he wanted to show how 'digital narcissism' can lead to stalking. Privacy advocates said the project was ethically problematic because the subjects had not consented and their identities were exposed. FindFace had been launched by N-Tech.lab in February 2016.
- Company involved
- N-Tech.lab
- AI system involved
- FindFace
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Wacom responds to concerns about AI-generated images in marketing assets
Wacom acknowledged that it may have used AI-generated images in US marketing assets for the New Year. The company stated it purchased the images from a third-party vendor who indicated they were not AI-generated, and that it vetted them using online tools that also indicated they were not AI-generated. After community feedback raised doubts, Wacom discontinued the images and is reviewing its processes to prevent recurrence. The company attributed the incident to misleading vendor information and detection tool limitations.
- Company involved
- Wacom
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Salvini and Lega used non-watermarked AI images in EU election campaign
Matteo Salvini and his party Lega created and posted 19 allegedly non-watermarked AI-generated images on social media as part of their 'More Italy, less Europe' electoral campaign. The images promoted false narratives about the EU, including the 'Muslim Great Replacement' theory and EU support for war in Ukraine. The posts reached millions of users, including a paid Facebook ad that reached over 3 million people. Alliance4Europe reported the incident, highlighting that the posts violated the voluntary 2024 European Parliament Elections Code of Conduct.
- Company involved
- Lega
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Italian DPA says Interior Ministry's Sari Real Time facial recognition lacks legal basis
The Garante per la protezione dei dati personali issued an opinion on Sari Real Time, a facial recognition system developed for the Italian Ministry of Interior. The system, yet to become operational, would compare live video footage of people in public areas with a watch-list and alert police operators. The authority found the planned biometric processing lacked a specific legal basis under Italian law and Directive (EU) 2016/680, and warned it could turn targeted surveillance into mass surveillance.
- Company involved
- Ministero dell'Interno – Dipartimento della pubblica sicurezza
- AI system involved
- Sari Real Time
10 source articles · read the reporting →
BBC used generative AI to draft Doctor Who promotional emails
The BBC used generative AI technology to help draft text for two promotional emails and mobile notifications for Doctor Who programming. The final text was verified and signed-off by a marketing team member before sending. The BBC stated it has no plans to repeat this practice.
- Company involved
- BBC
- AI system involved
- generative AI technology
9 source articles · read the reporting →
Italian privacy regulator investigates OpenAI's Sora video generation model
The Italian Data Protection Authority (Garante Privacy) has opened an investigation into OpenAI's new AI model 'Sora', which creates short videos from text instructions. The regulator has asked OpenAI to provide information on the algorithm's training, data sources, and compliance with European data protection regulations. OpenAI must respond within 20 days.
- Company involved
- OpenAI
- AI system involved
- Sora
7 source articles · read the reporting →
WildBrain disputes Kartoon Studios' Gadget A.I. trademark use
Kartoon Studios announced its Gadget A.I. toolkit, which aggregates AI tools for animation production. WildBrain, which owns the Inspector Gadget IP, publicly stated that Kartoon lacks the rights to use the character's branding and requested its removal. Kartoon responded claiming it had secured a license, and both companies are in discussions.
- Company involved
- Kartoon Studios
- AI system involved
- Gadget A.I.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Toys 'R' Us releases AI-generated commercial using OpenAI's Sora
Toys 'R' Us partnered with ad agency Native Foreign to create a brand film using OpenAI's Sora, claiming it as the first-ever brand film using the tool. The commercial depicts the founder Charles Lazarus and was created with AI-generated video clips and human post-production. Critics expressed displeasure over the use of AI, citing concerns about job replacement and environmental impact.
- Company involved
- Toys "R" Us
- AI system involved
- Sora
6 source articles · read the reporting →
