Clearview AI Getting Facial Recognition Patent; Twitter Suspends Accounts ‘By Mistake’; Feds Let Debt Collectors Harass via DMs; Apple AR & VR Headset Focus on Gaming, Media

The US Patent and Trademark Office has issued a ‘notice of allowance’ to Clearview AI, which indicates that Clearview will get a patent for their controversial facial recognition tech. Engadget.com reports that numerous critics of Clearview’s tech are very concerned that the company is building a giant image database without the targets’ knowledge or permission. Multiple other governments, including the UK and Australia believe Clearview’s facial recognition violates data laws, and could be used to stifle political dissent…or even to stalk people. For their part, Clearview has stated that it has no plans to sell to anyone besides government clients…so that ought to help you to sleep much easier (cover your home cams, or they could well have facial captures of you while you sleep!

Twitter suspended a number of account ‘by mistake’ after far right extremists started exploiting the social platform’s new private media policy. According to theverge.com, Twitter has started an internal review and has made corrections. The ludicrous thing is, the rule change was instituted “curb the misuse of media to harass, intimate, and reveal the identities of private individuals,” which Twitter says disproportionately affects “women, activists, dissidents, and members of minority communities.” What still isn’t clear is what Twitter will do to correct the policy to prevent future abuses.

In an ugly decision, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will allow debt collectors to bug you via text, email, and DMs via social media. PCMag reports that the bureau still says its illegal for collection agencies to actively harass someone over a debt you owe. Good luck with that! Up to now, you could only be pestered by phone or mail, and you couldn’t be called more than 7 times in 7 days…or have relatives or an employer get contacted (again…yeah, right.) The hours for new contact methods remain 8am to 9pm, so there’s that. The collectors supposedly have to state, ‘in each message, a simple way to opt out of receiving further communications from them on that social medial platform.’

Rumors continue to fly about Apple’s AR and VR headset. It’s been widely rumored to bow in the last quarter of 2022, and now Bloomberg’s Mark German says it will focus on gaming, media consumption, and communication. The gadget will allegedly have a lightweight design, two 4K micro LED displays, 15 optical modules, eye-tracking, and WiFi 6E connectivity. Better talk to your banker…several usually accurate Apple watchers think it will drain about $3,000 from your wallet!