Amazon’s new facial recognition system, Rekognition, can be used by law enforcement to violate civil liberties and rights, American Civil Liberties Union representatives blogged Tuesday. They said Rekognition can identify as many as 100 people in a single image in real time, producing data that can be cross referenced on databases of tens of millions of faces. The company “has officially entered the surveillance business,” ACLU said, asking Amazon to stop government entities from using the system. Orlando, Florida, and Oregon’s Washington County Sheriff’s Office are among users, the ACLU said. An Amazon spokeswoman said company policy requires that customers comply with the law, and quality of life would be "much worse" if new technology were outlawed because some abuse it: "Imagine if customers couldn’t buy a computer because it was possible to use that computer for illegal purposes?"

A public official, including the president of the United States, blocking people on Twitter due to their political views is a First Amendment violation, U.S. District Judge Naomi Buchwald of Manhattan said in a docket 17-cv-05205-NRB order Wednesday. Columbia University's Knight First Amendment Institute sued the president in July on behalf of seven people blocked from the @realDonaldTrump account (see 1706060062). Buchwald, in a 75-page ruling, said the interactive space where Twitter users can engage directly with the president's tweets falls under public forum doctrines set by the Supreme Court but rejected injunctive relief. The president also has First Amendment rights to not engage with particular people, but those can't be exercised in a way that infringes on the rights of his critics, she said. The judge said the plaintiffs lack standing to sue White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and dismissed her as a defendant.

The North American Securities Administrators Association’s Operation Cryptosweep produced nearly 70 inquiries and investigations and 35 pending or completed enforcement actions against initial coin offering and cryptocurrency operators since the start of May, NASAA announced Monday. NASAA represents members in 40 North American jurisdictions, and the sweep targeted fraudulent activity.

NASA IT systems need urgent action to address “significant management and cybersecurity weaknesses,” said a GAO report Tuesday. GAO identified “weaknesses in NASA's IT management practices for strategic planning, workforce planning, governance and cybersecurity.” GAO submitted 10 recommendations, seven of which NASA agreed with, while partially agreeing with two and disagreeing with one.

Scrutiny of social media platforms like Facebook should be seen as a cautionary model for the regulators watching the rapid growth of e-commerce, said Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Kevin McAleenan during a speech at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Tuesday: "Recent developments in social media and the oversight of social media provide some context I think we should reflect on." For e-commerce, as with Facebook, "the relevant regulators have to be cognizant of the potential risks that such expansion brings," he said. As the e-commerce "business model has evolved, so have the potential threats," McAleenan said. "There are digital venues that enable the direct shipment of small packages to retailers and consumers eager to find that great deal who instead may receive counterfeit items." Growth in online commerce is overwhelming, the CBP chief said. The agency will need to make internal changes, he said. "CBP will use data analytics and an array of powerful resources at our National Targeting Center and forward deploy to our ports of entry." It will work with the Department of Homeland Security. CBP recently visited Amazon headquarters with customs officials from the U.K., Australia, Canada and New Zealand, he said. "It's a dialogue we need to continue, with eBay, with Alibaba, with major retailers." CBP's e-commerce strategy also includes opportunities for collaboration with other agencies, including state and local governments (see 1805070034).

The FTC should “break up Facebook’s monopoly” by forcing the social network to divest Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger, a new campaign argued Monday. The Open Markets Institute, Public Citizen, Demand Progress and Content Creators Coalition were among organizations signing onto Freedom From Facebook. The campaign asks the FTC to “develop interoperability standards, so users will have the freedom to communicate between competing social networks” and to implement stronger privacy rules. The FTC "and other regulators and policy makers [should] confront the power of Facebook and the monopoly of online platforms," Demand Progress Executive Director David Segal said. The organization cited Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin calling for DOJ to investigate big tech concentration of ownership. A Facebook spokesman said people use it, Instagram, WhatsApp and Messenger because they find them valuable: "We support smart privacy regulation and efforts that make it easier for people to take their data to competing services. But rather than wait, we’ve simplified our privacy controls and introduced new ways for people to access and delete their data, or to take their data with them.” The FTC didn't comment. Computer & Communications Industry Association CEO Ed Black said the campaign is “misguided political fervor that ignores the economic facts, lacks evidence of competitive harm, and purposes an extreme resolution that would harm consumers and reduce innovation.”

Intel’s all-cash $15.3 billion deal to buy Mobileye last year (see 1703130015) was "one of our most strategic acquisitions we've made in quite a while now," CEO Brian Krzanich told Intel’s annual shareholder meeting Thursday. The purchase “is really focused on autonomous driving and really driving a scalable platform that is cost effective and includes a very different approach for how you take a safety-first, safety-centered approach to autonomous driving,” said Krzanich. “We now have these cars driving on the streets and you'll continue to see more and more of the cars driving and partners signing up for Mobileye technology to carry us forward in the autonomous driving marketplace.”

The ICANN board approved a temporary specification for generic top-level domain registration data Thursday. ICANN board Chairman Cherine Chalaby said the approval allows ICANN and contracted parties to comply with existing “contractual requirements and community-developed policies as they relate to WHOIS.” It’s an “important step” for bringing ICANN and contracted parties into compliance with the EU’s general data protection regulation, set to take effect May 25, he said. NTIA Administrator David Redl said Thursday (see 1805170031) a short-term moratorium on GDPR enforcement for WHOIS may be necessary. “If not, then come May 25, we anticipate registries and registrars will stop providing access to WHOIS directories and services,” he said, warning against negative impacts on law enforcement for cybercrimes and intellectual property rights.

Google is working with other smartphone makers to bring wireless compatibility for Android Auto to Android 8.0 operating system smartphones, said Kenwood in a Thursday update to a recent announcement, saying its Android Auto multimedia receivers will be compatible. “Google has informed us that, in addition to 9.0 devices, the company is working with several smartphone manufacturers to bring wireless compatibility to devices with Android 8.0 OS,” Kenwood said. Android Auto lets drivers access certain apps and features such as messaging and Google Assistant from a car radio’s touch screen.

After informing Prime customers their annual fee is swelling about 20 percent to $119 (see 1804270056), Amazon plucked a perk from its Whole Foods Market and added it to the Prime benefits package Wednesday. Prime members will get an additional 10 percent off sale items by scanning their Whole Foods app at checkout. Select stores will also carry Amazon devices such as Echo and Fire TV. Target, meanwhile, expanded Restock next-day delivery to bring it to 75 percent of the U.S. population, saying it slashed delivery fees from $4.99 to $2.99 while eliminating them altogether for REDcard customers. “Membership fee? Nope,” the retailer said. Target turned to Google as its engine for ordering by voice.