Meta sues Voyager Labs for scraping Facebook and Instagram user data
Meta filed a legal action against Voyager Labs, alleging that the company used fake accounts and proprietary software to scrape user data from Facebook and Instagram. The scraping collected profile information, posts, friends lists, photos and comments. Meta disabled Voyager's accounts and sought a permanent injunction. The case was settled in December 2024, with Voyager agreeing to a permanent injunction and monetary payment.
- Company involved
- Voyager Labs
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Titus Henderson files civil rights lawsuit against COMPAS
Titus Henderson, a prisoner, filed a civil rights lawsuit against COMPAS and other defendants in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin on July 16, 2018. The lawsuit alleges discrimination related to the use of the COMPAS risk assessment tool. The case is ongoing.
- AI system involved
- COMPAS
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Alonzo Sawyer falsely arrested after face recognition misidentification by Maryland Transit Police
Alonzo Sawyer was arrested in spring 2022 after an intelligence analyst using face recognition software identified him as a possible match for a bus assault suspect. He spent nine days in jail before the actual suspect was identified by the victim. His wife Carronne Sawyer advocated for his release and later testified in support of proposed Maryland legislation to regulate police use of face recognition. The incident is one of several known false arrests of Black men due to face recognition errors.
- Company involved
- Maryland Transit Administration Police
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Clearview AI tested facial recognition surveillance cameras with UFT and Rudin
Clearview AI, the facial recognition company that scraped billions of photos from social media, developed a surveillance camera system under the name Insight Camera. The system was tested by the United Federation of Teachers and Rudin Management in New York City. The UFT used it to identify individuals who had made threats and prevent them from entering its offices. Clearview did not respond to requests for comment.
- Company involved
- Clearview AI
- AI system involved
- Insight Camera
9 source articles · read the reporting →
New York City's McKinsey-led jail violence program manipulated data, violence increased
New York City paid McKinsey & Company $27.5 million to reduce violence at Rikers Island jail complex. McKinsey designed a predictive algorithm called the Housing Unit Balancer and Restart housing units, but jail officials and McKinsey consultants stacked the units with compliant inmates to artificially lower violence numbers. Violence actually increased by nearly 50% during the project. The city eventually decided to close Rikers.
- Company involved
- New York City Department of Correction
- AI system involved
- Housing Unit Balancer (HUB)
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Verkada security breach exposes customer video and data
In March 2021, attackers compromised Verkada's platform and accessed video and image data from 97 customer organisations. The attackers used a misconfigured customer support server to gain access and viewed live video, accessed badge credentials for eight customers, and downloaded user lists. Verkada cut off access within hours and notified affected customers. The attacker, Tillie Kottmann, was later indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
- Company involved
- Verkada
- AI system involved
- Verkada Command platform with People Analytics
10 source articles · read the reporting →
LA's VI-SPDAT housing scoring system gives lower priority to Black and Latino people
The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority uses the VI-SPDAT scoring system to prioritise unhoused people for subsidised permanent housing. An investigation by The Markup found that Black and Latino people consistently receive lower vulnerability scores than White people, leading to lower priority for housing. The agency has acknowledged the racial disparities and is working on a new tool, but continues to use the current system.
- Company involved
- Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority
- AI system involved
- VI-SPDAT
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 →
USPS algorithm RRECS causes pay cuts for two-thirds of rural mail carriers
The United States Postal Service (USPS) implemented a new algorithm, RRECS, to evaluate rural carrier routes and determine pay. Due to flaws in how carriers scanned packages, the algorithm underestimated route times, resulting in pay cuts for 66 per cent of rural carriers, some losing thousands of dollars annually. Carriers report that they were not adequately trained on the system and that the cuts are scheduled to take effect, though they have been postponed multiple times. The USPS stated that the system is the result of a nationally negotiated agreement.
- Company involved
- United States Postal Service
- AI system involved
- RRECS
9 source articles · read the reporting →
TOV Realty, LLC v. Suarez; Kosel Equity, LLC v. MacGregor (SC Connecticut): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, 6 hours CLE;…
The AI generated legal briefs containing fabricated citations, which were submitted to the Connecticut Supreme Court.
- Company involved
- GLG Law LLC
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT
1 source article · read the reporting →
LoanDepot algorithm denied mortgage to Black couple in Charlotte
In August 2019, Crystal Marie and Eskias McDaniels, a Black couple, were denied a mortgage for a house in Charlotte, North Carolina, by loanDepot's automated underwriting algorithm. The algorithm rejected the application because Crystal Marie was a contractor, not a full-time employee, despite her high credit score and income. After the couple enlisted their real estate agent and employer to intervene, the lender reversed the decision and cleared them to close. The couple alleged that race played a role in the denial, which loanDepot denied.
- Company involved
- loanDepot
- AI system involved
- Classic FICO and Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac automated underwriting software
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Company fires HR team after ATS auto-rejects manager's CV due to filtering error
A company's applicant tracking system (ATS) auto-rejected qualified candidates' resumes for three months because it was filtering for the outdated framework AngularJS instead of the required Angular framework. The manager discovered the flaw by submitting his own CV under a pseudonym and found it was rejected within seconds. After the manager reported the issue to upper management, the company investigated and dismissed half of its HR team. No legal action or regulatory involvement is reported.
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Met Police buys £3m retrospective facial recognition system
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) has awarded a £3 million, four-year contract to Northgate Public Services for a new retrospective facial-recognition (RFR) system to be deployed within three months. RFR processes biometric information from historic CCTV, social media, and other images to identify suspects and missing persons, operating retroactively unlike live facial recognition. The procurement was approved by the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime in August 2021. The MPS states that human-in-the-loop decision-making will be used, but digital rights groups and a former biometrics commissioner have raised concerns about potential discrimination, overrepresentation of marginalised groups in watch lists, and lack of a legislative framework.
- Company involved
- Metropolitan Police Service
- AI system involved
- Retrospective facial-recognition software
9 source articles · read the reporting →
ScaleFactor reportedly failed to deliver promised automated bookkeeping software
ScaleFactor, an Austin-based startup, is reported to have failed to deliver the automated, real-time bookkeeping tools it promised customers, instead relying on human bookkeepers and a Filipino contract accounting firm. The company told Forbes in June that it was shutting down, initially blaming the pandemic, but Forbes later reported that its problems predated Covid-19. Investors reportedly came to see the company as more of a services business than a software platform, and pulled funding after a pivot to a marketplace model. No legal or regulatory action is reported.
- Company involved
- ScaleFactor
10 source articles · read the reporting →
JMOR Properties v. Artist Alley Townhomes et al. (CA Florida (4d)): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, Bar Referral
The AI generated fabricated legal citations that were included in a court filing, affecting the court and the opposing party.
1 source article · read the reporting →
Jessica Fuller v. Hyde School, et al. (D. Maine): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, CLE; Firm procedures and certification; Serve…
The AI generated fictitious legal citations that were submitted to the court in a legal filing.
- AI system involved
- ChatGPT or Claude
1 source article · read the reporting →
Southland Homes & Real Estate and Investment, LLC v. Lam (SC California): AI-hallucinated content in court filing, Monetary Sanctions; Bar…
The AI system generated legal briefs containing fabricated case citations, which were filed in court, affecting the court and the opposing party.
1 source article · read the reporting →
DeepSeek exposed user data via open ClickHouse database
Cloud security firm Wiz discovered a ClickHouse database belonging to DeepSeek that was open to the internet without authentication, containing over a million lines of logs with chat histories, secret keys and backend details. Wiz disclosed the breach to DeepSeek, which promptly locked down the database. The incident highlights security risks in rapidly deploying AI services.
- Company involved
- DeepSeek
- AI system involved
- DeepSeek-R1
5 source articles · read the reporting →
IRCC uses AI triage for Temporary Resident Visa applications
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) uses an AI system called Advanced Analytics to triage Temporary Resident Visa applications from India and China. The system categorizes applications into tiers, with Tier 1 approved automatically and others sent to human officers. Critics allege the system lacks transparency and may introduce bias, leading to visa refusals without clear rationale. The author, a Canadian immigration lawyer, is filing Federal Court cases on behalf of clients affected by refusals.
- Company involved
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC)
- AI system involved
- Advanced Analytics Triage of Overseas Temporary Resident Visa Applications
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Bavarian police test Palantir data mining with real personal data
The Bavarian State Criminal Police Office (LKA) has been testing Palantir's data mining software, called VeRa, with real personal data for months. The Bavarian data protection commissioner only learned of the test through a media inquiry and has announced a review. The Interior Ministry claims the test is lawful under current law, but critics argue a legal basis is missing.
- Company involved
- Bayerisches Landeskriminalamt
- AI system involved
- VeRa
7 source articles · read the reporting →
Immigration NZ uses data model to predict likely troublemakers among overstayers
Immigration New Zealand has been piloting a data modelling system that uses demographic information such as age, gender, and ethnicity of overstayers to predict which individuals are likely to commit crime or incur hospital debts. The system then targets those individuals for accelerated deportation. Critics, including immigration lawyers and a lobby group, have likened the programme to 'Minority Report' and allege it amounts to racial profiling. Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway only learned of the programme on the day of the article and said he would seek a full briefing, but maintained it is not racial profiling and does not breach the Human Rights Act.
- Company involved
- Immigration New Zealand
10 source articles · read the reporting →
Cruise alleged to rely on human operators for autonomous driving
A New York Times article alleged that Cruise's autonomous vehicles rely on human operators to achieve autonomous driving, with 1.5 workers per vehicle intervening every 2.5 to five miles. Cruise CEO Kyle Vogt responded on Hacker News, stating that remote assistance is used 2-4% of the time and that many sessions are resolved by the vehicle itself. The company declined an interview request from the NYT.
- Company involved
- Cruise
- AI system involved
- Cruise AV
9 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 →
Parking Enforcement Services wrongly fines parents due to faulty licence plate cameras
Dozens of parents at a Christchurch childcare centre were wrongly issued $85 parking fines by Parking Enforcement Services after its licence plate recognition cameras failed to accurately capture multiple short visits. The company acknowledged some misreads and waived fines on appeal, but parents described the process as stressful and time-consuming. An additional camera was installed to improve accuracy.
- Company involved
- Parking Enforcement Services
1 source article · read the reporting →
