EviCore denied heart catheterization for patient using algorithm
In fall 2021, Little John Cupp's doctor requested a left heart catheterization exam. EviCore, a company hired by UnitedHealthcare, denied the request twice using an algorithm called 'the dial' that adjusts thresholds for review. The algorithm flagged the request for review, and EviCore's doctors determined it was not medically necessary. Cupp did not receive the procedure and his symptoms continued.
- Company involved
- EviCore (a Cigna company)
- AI system involved
- the dial
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Cigna StressWaves Test found unreliable and invalid in independent study
A study published in Scientific Reports evaluated the Cigna StressWaves Test (CSWT), an AI tool that claims to assess psychological stress from speech. The study found that the CSWT had poor test-retest reliability and poor validity compared to the Perceived Stress Scale. The authors warned that widespread availability of the tool could lead to misleading results and negative consequences for users making healthcare decisions. Cigna has not publicly responded to the findings.
- Company involved
- Cigna
- AI system involved
- Cigna StressWaves Test
4 source articles · read the reporting →
California EDD's automated fraud detection wrongly suspended 600,000 legitimate unemployment claims
In January 2021, the California Employment Development Department used Thompson Reuters automated batch review software to flag 1.1 million unemployment claims as potentially fraudulent. EDD stopped payments on those claims without prior notice. Later, over 600,000 were confirmed as legitimate after claimants used ID.me to verify their identity. The incident highlights the trade-off between fraud prevention and timely benefit access.
- Company involved
- California Employment Development Department (EDD)
- AI system involved
- Thompson Reuters Automated Batch Review
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Meta tracks employee keystrokes on Google, LinkedIn, Wikipedia for AI training
Meta is using an internal tool, Model Capability Initiative (MCI), to capture employees' keystrokes, mouse movements and screen contents on work computers, including on sites such as Google, LinkedIn, Wikipedia and Slack, to train AI agents. Meta confirmed the project and said safeguards protect sensitive content and that the data is not used for other purposes. Employees raised concerns in internal messages that the tool could expose passwords, product details and personal information. A Meta memo said staff can avoid capture by not doing personal work on work computers.
- Company involved
- Meta
- AI system involved
- Model Capability Initiative (MCI)
5 source articles · read the reporting →
Serco Leisure issued enforcement notices for unlawful biometric monitoring of employees
Serco Leisure and associated trusts used facial recognition and fingerprint scanning to monitor employee attendance at 38 leisure facilities. The ICO found they unlawfully processed biometric data of over 2,000 employees. Enforcement notices were issued ordering them to stop.
- Company involved
- Serco Leisure Operating Limited
8 source articles · read the reporting →
CJEU rules Dun & Bradstreet must explain automated credit decisions under GDPR
A customer was refused a mobile phone contract because of an automated credit assessment by Dun & Bradstreet Austria. The customer took the case to court, which found that Dun & Bradstreet had infringed the GDPR by failing to provide meaningful information about the logic involved. The CJEU ruled that data controllers must explain automated decisions and that trade secrets cannot automatically override the right of access.
- Company involved
- Dun & Bradstreet Austria GmbH
7 source articles · read the reporting →
ICO investigates Microsoft's Recall feature for privacy risks
The UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has issued a statement on 22 May 2024 regarding Microsoft's Recall feature. The ICO is making enquiries with Microsoft to understand the safeguards in place to protect user privacy, expecting transparency and necessity in data processing. This follows concerns that the feature may not adequately consider data protection from the outset before being brought to market.
- Company involved
- Microsoft
- AI system involved
- Recall
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Baltimore schools monitor student laptops for suicide signs using GoGuardian Beacon
Baltimore City Public Schools uses GoGuardian Beacon software to monitor student laptops for signs of suicide. Since March 2021, the system has flagged 786 alerts, with nine students taken to emergency rooms. Privacy advocates warn the monitoring could lead to disciplinary actions, outing of LGBTQ students, and disproportionately affect disadvantaged students. School officials defend the practice as a safeguard.
- Company involved
- Baltimore City Public Schools
- AI system involved
- GoGuardian Beacon
10 source articles · read the reporting →
CBSE OnMark portal vulnerability exposed student data to Google Gemini
A 19-year-old ethical hacker, Nisarga Adhikary, claimed to have hacked the CBSE's digital evaluation ecosystem, revealing that personal information of students was processed by Google's Gemini in automation scripts. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) stated on May 31, 2026, that the identified vulnerabilities had been contained and other exploitable weaknesses were being ruled out. The board expressed gratitude to alert citizens and ethical hackers who pointed out the weaknesses. No actual data breach was confirmed, but the incident raised concerns about student privacy.
- Company involved
- Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE)
- AI system involved
- OnMark
1 source article · read the reporting →
Meta's cross-check program delays removal of violating content for privileged users
The Oversight Board's policy advisory opinion on Meta's cross-check program found that the system grants certain users, such as business partners and celebrities, additional human review before removing violating content, while ordinary users face immediate removal. This unequal treatment allows potentially harmful content to remain on the platform for days, and Meta has failed to track whether the program improves accuracy. The Board made 32 recommendations to address these flaws.
- Company involved
- Meta
- AI system involved
- cross-check program
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Samsung settles Texas lawsuit over ACR data collection on smart TVs
Samsung has settled a lawsuit with the Texas Attorney General over its Automated Content Recognition (ACR) system on smart TVs. The system collected viewing data from users without informed consent. As part of the settlement, Samsung agreed to stop collecting ACR data from Texans without explicit consent and to rewrite its privacy prompts. Samsung also faces a federal class action in New York over similar allegations.
- Company involved
- Samsung
- AI system involved
- Automated Content Recognition (ACR)
7 source articles · read the reporting →
TransUnion AI tenant screening denied 75-year-old man apartment due to mistaken littering conviction
Chris Robinson, then 75, applied for a senior living apartment in California. The property manager used an AI screening program from TransUnion, which assigned him a low score based on a mistaken conviction for littering that belonged to a different person with the same name in Texas. Robinson lost the apartment and his application fee. A federal class-action lawsuit against TransUnion moved toward a $11.5 million settlement in 2023.
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Google to Stop Using Assistant Recordings Without Consent After Privacy Scandal
Google announced it will no longer use Assistant voice recordings to improve its AI without explicit user permission, following a scandal where contractors reviewed private conversations. The company paused human review of recordings in July 2019 and will now require users to opt in, with automatic deletion of old recordings. The move aims to restore trust after the privacy violation.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Google Assistant
1 source article · read the reporting →
Insurer drops California homeowner after aerial photo analysis
Cindy Picos was dropped by her home insurer after the company used aerial photos to assess her roof. The insurer refused to let her see the photos, and she believes her roof is in fine shape. The incident highlights the growing use of drones and aerial imagery by insurers to inspect properties without in-person visits.
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Kmart's facial recognition system for refund fraud found unlawful by Privacy Commissioner
Kmart Australia deployed facial recognition technology in 28 stores from June 2020 to July 2022, capturing biometric data of every customer entering the stores and those at returns counters to detect refund fraud. The system collected sensitive information without notifying customers or obtaining their consent. The Australian Privacy Commissioner found that Kmart breached the Privacy Act, as the exemption for unlawful activity did not justify the indiscriminate and disproportionate collection of biometric data from thousands of individuals. Kmart has ceased using the system and cooperated with the investigation.
- Company involved
- Kmart Australia Limited
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Broward College student flagged by Honorlock and accused of cheating
A 17-year-old Black student at Broward College was flagged by Honorlock, a remote proctoring system, during an online biology exam in February 2022. Her professor reviewed the recording and accused her of academic dishonesty for looking down and away from the screen; the college found her responsible for noncompliance and gave her a zero and a warning. The student says she was only thinking and fidgeting, and the article reports that the video is ambiguous. Honorlock says it does not definitively identify cheaters and the final decision rests with the school.
- Company involved
- Broward College
- AI system involved
- Honorlock
2 source articles · read the reporting →
Bank of America Customer Targeted by AI Voice Deepfake Scam
Clive Kabatznik, a Florida investor, was targeted by scammers who used AI-generated voice deepfakes to impersonate him in calls to his Bank of America representative. The fraudsters attempted to trick the banker into transferring money, but the banker became suspicious and hung up. The bank reported the incident to its security team, and it took about 10 days for Mr. Kabatznik to re-establish contact with his banker. The incident highlights the growing threat of voice deepfakes in financial scams.
- Company involved
- Bank of America
2 source articles · read the reporting →
US Secret Service bought access to cellphone location data
The US Secret Service signed a contract to access Locate X, a service that aggregates location data from phone apps and allows law enforcement to track devices without a warrant. The contract with Babel Street was worth about $36,000 and ran from 2017 to 2018. A former employee said the Secret Service used Locate X in 2018 to seize illegal credit card skimmers at petrol stations. Lawmakers and civil liberties advocates criticised the practice, and Senator Ron Wyden introduced a bill to ban such purchases.
- Company involved
- United States Secret Service
- AI system involved
- Locate X
1 source article · read the reporting →
Facebook exempted Trump and other high-profile users from content enforcement rules.
An internal Facebook program called XCheck granted special treatment to millions of high-profile users, including former President Donald Trump and Senator Elizabeth Warren, exempting them from content enforcement rules. The program, initially for quality control, was expanded to whitelist users deemed newsworthy or PR-risky, with the system failing to enforce rules against them. Internal documents revealed that the program made mistakes, often wrongly taking action against high-profile users. Facebook has attempted to phase out the practice but has struggled.
- Company involved
- Facebook
- AI system involved
- XCheck
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Clearview AI settles with ACLU over facial recognition database sales
Clearview AI has agreed to stop selling its facial recognition database to most private US companies as part of a proposed settlement with the ACLU. The company scraped billions of images from social media without consent to build its database, violating Illinois' Biometric Information Privacy Act. The settlement requires Clearview to delete old facial vectors and allow Illinois residents to opt out. The company can still sell its technology to law enforcement and government agencies.
- Company involved
- Clearview AI
- AI system involved
- Clearview AI facial recognition database
8 source articles · read the reporting →
Capital Standard, LLC v. U.S. Bank National Association (CA Florida (2d)): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, Monetary Sanction; Adverse Costs…
The AI generated false legal citations that were included in a court filing, misleading the court.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Amazon kept children's Alexa recordings indefinitely, violating COPPA
The FTC and DOJ allege Amazon violated the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act Rule by retaining children's Alexa voice recordings and geolocation data indefinitely, even after parents requested deletion. Amazon is accused of misleading parents about its data deletion practices and using the unlawfully retained data to train its Alexa algorithm. A proposed federal court order requires Amazon to pay a $25 million civil penalty, delete inactive child accounts and certain data, and implement stringent privacy safeguards.
- Company involved
- Amazon
- AI system involved
- Alexa
4 source articles · read the reporting →
FTC charges Ring with illegal surveillance and security failures
The Federal Trade Commission charged Ring, a home security camera company, with compromising customer privacy by allowing employees to access private videos and failing to prevent hackers from taking control of cameras. Hackers accessed approximately 55,000 U.S. customers' accounts, harassing individuals including children and the elderly. The proposed order requires Ring to pay $5.8 million in refunds and implement security measures.
- Company involved
- Ring LLC
- AI system involved
- Ring cameras
10 source articles · read the reporting →
CNAF algorithm flags single mother Juliette for welfare fraud investigation
In 2022, Juliette, a single mother on welfare in France, was flagged by CNAF's secretive fraud detection algorithm. A fraud investigator later determined she owed thousands of euros, which were deducted from her monthly payments. The algorithm, which scores half of France's population, is accused of discriminating against vulnerable people by using factors like single parenthood and low income.
- Company involved
- CNAF
10 source articles · read the reporting →
