BC Freedom of Information and Privacy Association
Your Data Your Rights
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Why Elon Musk installed his top lieutenants at a federal agency you probably haven’t heard of
WASHINGTON (AP) — On the rooftop patio of the General Services Administration headquarters, an agency staffer recently discovered something strange: a rectangular device attached to a wire that snaked across the roof, over the ledge and into the administrator’s window one floor below. It didn’t take long for the employee — an IT specialist —…
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Federal judge in Baltimore temporarily limits DOGE access to Social Security data
BALTIMORE (AP) — A federal judge on Thursday imposed new restrictions on billionaire Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, limiting its access to Social Security systems that hold personal data on millions of Americans. U.S. District Judge Ellen Hollander issued a preliminary injunction in the case, which was brought by a group of labor unions…
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Data breach hacks hole in UCDSB budget
Phillip BlancherLocal Journalism Initiative Reporter BROCKVILLE – A cyber attack which compromised the data of tens of thousands of current and former students, staff, and donors of the Upper Canada District School Board now has a price tag – approximately $3 million. Trustees learned of the financial impact of the January 2025 hack on the…
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Efforts underway to improve internet access in Nunavut
IQALUIT, Nunavut — Several projects are underway to improve internet access in Nunavut, which has long been slow, unreliable and costly for many residents. Quintillion and CanArctic Inuit Networks Inc. signed a memorandum of understanding earlier this year to build a subsea fibre optic cable network in the North American Arctic. Initially, they plan to…
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Agency struggled to get pharma companies to engage in drug price reform: memo
OTTAWA — Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos was warned that pharmaceutical companies had steadfastly refused to engage on drug-price reforms before he urged an independent federal agency to pause those reforms in favour of more consultation, a 2021 memo shows. The NDP, which obtained the memo through access-to-information law and shared it with The Canadian Press,…
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IRS takes steps to protect identity of workers in effort to deter personal threats
WASHINGTON (AP) — In an effort to deter threats aimed at IRS employees, the agency said Thursday it will start limiting workers’ personal identifying information on communications with taxpayers. The change begins next month. The Treasury Department’s inspector general for tax administration said in a report this week that it was “concerned that taxpayers and…
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Minnesota advances deepfakes bill to criminalize people sharing altered sexual, political content
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — In a nearly unanimous vote, Minnesota Senate lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday that would criminalize people who non-consensually share deepfake sexual images of others, and people who share deepfakes to hurt a political candidate or influence an election. Deepfakes are videos and images that have been digitally created or altered…
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3 companies to pay $615,000 in NY attorney general investigation over faked net neutrality comments
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Three companies accused of falsifying millions of public comments to support the contentious 2017 federal repeal of net neutrality rules have agreed to pay $615,000 in penalties to New York and other states, New York’s attorney general said Wednesday. The penalties come after an investigation by the New York state Office…
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Mass event will let hackers test limits of AI technology
No sooner did ChatGPT get unleashed than hackers started “jailbreaking” the artificial intelligence chatbot — trying to override its safeguards so it could blurt out something unhinged or obscene. But now its maker, OpenAI, and other major AI providers such as Google and Microsoft, are coordinating with the Biden administration to let thousands of hackers…
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National Archives leader confirmed amid turmoil over Trump probe
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the National Archives was confirmed Wednesday by the Senate after a months-long partisan battle over the agency’s role in the investigation into sensitive documents seized at Donald Trump’s Florida home. Colleen Shogan, a political scientist, was confirmed as archivist of the United States in a 52-45…
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Metaverse to contribute at least $45.3B to Canada’s annual GDP by 2035 says Meta
TORONTO — When Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg changed his company’s name to Meta less than two years ago, he placed a multi-billion-dollar bet on a virtual but interactive realm where he believed people would work and play for generations to come. Zuckerberg’s ultimate vision is still far from reality. The Quest headsets the company…