Duke University MTMC Dataset Used in Authoritarian Surveillance Research
Duke University created and openly distributed the Duke MTMC dataset, containing surveillance footage of approximately 2,000 students and visitors on campus. The dataset was used by numerous organisations, including Chinese military-linked companies like SenseTime and Hikvision, for developing person re-identification and facial recognition technologies. Following an investigation by exposing.ai and the Financial Times, Duke University terminated the dataset in May 2019. The incident highlights the privacy risks of academic datasets being repurposed for mass surveillance without consent.
- Company involved
- Duke University
- AI system involved
- Duke MTMC
1 source article · read the reporting →
Security Health Plan used AI to cut off nursing home care for 85-year-old woman
Frances Walter, an 85-year-old woman with a shattered shoulder, had her nursing home care payment cut off by Security Health Plan after an algorithm predicted she would recover in 16.6 days. The algorithm, nH Predict from NaviHealth, did not account for her severe pain and allergy to pain medicine. She was forced to spend her life savings and enroll in Medicaid while fighting the denial. A federal judge later ruled the denial was speculative and she was owed thousands of dollars.
- Company involved
- Security Health Plan
- AI system involved
- nH Predict
1 source article · 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 →
AI-generated voice impersonates Liz Bonnin to deceive Incognito
Scammers used an AI-generated voice to impersonate BBC presenter Liz Bonnin, convincing Incognito CEO Howard Carter to pay £20,000 for an endorsement. Bonnin's likeness was used in insect repellant ads without her consent. The AI-generated voice note exhibited inconsistent accent and cadence, as assessed by experts. Incognito reported the incident to police and its bank.
6 source articles · 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 →
Google sued for secretly tracking user data with Gemini AI
Google is accused in a class-action lawsuit of secretly activating its Gemini AI assistant for Gmail, Chat, and Meet users in October 2025, enabling it to collect private communications data without consent. The suit alleges violation of the California Invasion of Privacy Act. Google has not responded to the allegations.
- Company involved
- Google
- AI system involved
- Gemini
4 source articles · read the reporting →
Abbott issues correction for FreeStyle Libre 3 sensors over incorrect glucose readings
Abbott initiated a medical device correction for certain FreeStyle Libre 3 and Libre 3 Plus sensors after internal testing found they might give incorrect low glucose readings. The company says the issue stems from one production line and could lead to improper treatment decisions for people with diabetes. Abbott is replacing affected sensors at no charge and has reported severe adverse events and deaths potentially associated with the issue.
- Company involved
- Abbott
- AI system involved
- FreeStyle Libre 3 and FreeStyle Libre 3 Plus sensors
2 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 →
Consumer Reports calls for action against Meta over scam ad proliferation
Consumer Reports has called on the FTC and state attorneys general to take enforcement action against Meta for allowing billions of scam advertisements on its platforms. According to a Reuters investigation, Meta's own documents showed that the company delivered an estimated 15 billion scam ads per day in 2024, generating billions of dollars in revenue. Meta is accused of failing to identify and remove most scam ads, exposing users to fraudulent schemes and illegal products. Consumer Reports argues that Meta's practices constitute unfair business practices under the FTC Act and state laws.
- Company involved
- Meta
6 source articles · read the reporting →
FTC Orders Edmodo to Stop Unlawful Collection of Children's Data for Advertising
The FTC filed a complaint against Edmodo, an education technology provider, alleging that it collected personal information from children under 13 without parental consent and used it for advertising, in violation of the COPPA Rule. Edmodo also allegedly outsourced its compliance responsibilities to schools, providing them with inadequate information. Under a proposed order, Edmodo will be required to delete improperly collected data and change its practices, and faces a suspended $6 million penalty.
- Company involved
- Edmodo, LLC
- AI system involved
- Edmodo
1 source article · read the reporting →
Target's pregnancy prediction algorithm reveals teen's pregnancy to father
Target used a data mining algorithm to predict when customers were pregnant based on their purchases. The algorithm sent baby product coupons to a high school student, leading her father to complain to the store. The father later learned his daughter was indeed pregnant. Target subsequently altered the coupons to disguise the data mining.
- Company involved
- Target
- AI system involved
- Target pregnancy prediction algorithm
9 source articles · 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 →
Mother of robodebt suicide victim tells inquiry of government stonewalling
Jennifer Miller, whose son Rhys Cauzzo took his own life in 2017 while facing Centrelink debts of about $17,000, told the robodebt royal commission that the government stonewalled her for years. The commission heard that Cauzzo's debt was unlawfully calculated using income averaging and that no vulnerability indicator was on his file despite his mental health conditions. Miller said she felt vindicated by the commission's findings, while the former human services minister Alan Tudge had claimed the department acted appropriately. The robodebt scheme, which ran from 2015 to 2019, ended in a $1.8bn settlement after a class action.
- Company involved
- Department of Human Services (Services Australia)
- AI system involved
- Robodebt
10 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 →
FTC orders WW International and Kurbo to delete children's data and pay $1.5m penalty
The US Federal Trade Commission alleged that WW International, formerly Weight Watchers, and its subsidiary Kurbo illegally collected personal and health data from children under 13 through the Kurbo by WW weight-loss app without parental consent. The complaint said the signup process encouraged children to lie about their age and that the companies retained the data indefinitely. The companies settled, agreeing to delete the data, destroy any algorithms derived from it, and pay a $1.5 million penalty.
- Company involved
- WW International, Inc. (formerly Weight Watchers) and Kurbo, Inc.
- AI system involved
- Kurbo by WW
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 →
Whitebridge AI faces complaint over false reputation reports
Whitebridge AI, a Lithuanian company, is accused of generating false reputation reports using unlawfully scraped social media data. The reports contained false warnings for 'sexual nudity' and 'dangerous political content'. Privacy group Noyb filed a complaint with the Lithuanian data protection authority, alleging violations of the GDPR. The complainants sought access to their data but received no response, and were later required to provide a qualified electronic signature to correct errors.
- Company involved
- Whitebridge AI
6 source articles · read the reporting →
Upstart Holdings sued for securities fraud over AI model claims
Upstart Holdings, Inc., a cloud-based AI lending platform, is accused of making false and misleading statements about its AI model's ability to account for macroeconomic factors. The lawsuit, filed on May 13, 2022, alleges that the company's positive statements about its business were materially false. Investors suffered losses when Upstart's stock price fell 56% on May 9, 2022, after the company reduced its fiscal 2022 guidance.
- Company involved
- Upstart Holdings, Inc.
- AI system involved
- Upstart AI lending platform
10 source articles · read the reporting →
