Google. Apple. Microsoft. Amazon. And now, Facebook is the latest tech giant to confirm using outside contractors to transcribe clips of audio from users of its services. Here's the story. On August 13, 2019, in the lead article carried by Bloomberg News titled Facebook Paid Contractors to Transcribe Users' Audio ...
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On January 16, 2018, the police were on proactive patrol in an area of Edmonton, Alberta, riddled with property crime. They were on the lookout for stolen vehicles. Ford trucks were on the priority list. Then, along came Illay Mohamed in an F-150 registered to a woman. Here's the story ...
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An online sting operation, the entry of private property and a midnight pedestrian stop produced three recent rulings from the Supreme Court of Canada that considered the parameters of police powers under the Charter of Rights. All three cases raised questions of privacy rights. 1. The Online Sting Cst Greg ...
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In June 2018 the European Commission set up the High Level Expert Group on Artificial Intelligence (HLEG AI) consisting of fifty-two representatives from academia, civil society and industry. The HLEG AI was charged with the general objective of supporting the implementation of the European strategy on artificial intelligence. It has ...
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The proposal by Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), Britain's spy agency responsible for signals intelligence (SIGINT), that would silently add a law enforcement participant to digital group chats or calls, has been condemned as posing serious threats to cybersecurity and fundamental human rights. 1. The Proposal The proposal was first suggested ...
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The Internet. Then, the Internet of Things (IoT) with interconnected devices like thermostats, refrigerators and motor vehicles. Now, the human body is a technology platform. What, then, is the Internet of Bodies (IoB)? And what privacy and security implications does it pose as it blurs the line between human and ...
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On May 13, 2019, The Financial Times broke the story that a security flaw in WhatsApp, the messaging application used by 1.5 billion people, was used to exploit the digital communications of iPhone and Android phone users. Security researchers reported that spyware had been found similar to the characteristics of ...
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Face recognition technologies use biometrics to map facial features from a photograph or video. The information is then compared with a database of known faces to find a match. The use of these technologies by governments and the private sector is widespread. Airports, public transit facilities, law enforcement, mobile phone ...
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On December 11, 2015, Cst Jonathan Brault of the RCMP stopped a motor vehicle driven by Erick Robert Zolmer on Highway 16 east of Jasper, Alberta. "Are you the owner of that vehicle?" the constable asked. Zolmer said it was his mother's. "You have tinted windows - it's illegal - ...
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Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid one hundred times more potent than morphine used to treat patients with severe and chronic pain. Side effects include respiratory depression, addiction, coma and death. Fentanyl is a Schedule I drug in Canada under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, SC 1996, c 19. A ...
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