Tag: Online

Data brokers selling veterans’ sensitive health, financial data online, study shows

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A historic year of hiring at the Department of Veterans Affairs has lead to a record year for veteran care and benefits. The VA is staffing up its health care and benefits workforce to levels never seen before in the department’s history. It provided more than 116 million health care appointments to veterans and their survivors in fiscal 2023. That is three million more appointments than its previous record. VA also processed nearly two million benefits claims, a nearly 16% increase from the year prior. VA Secretary Denis McDonough said…

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CBP puts forced labor statistics online for everyone to see

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Among the uglier mass human-rights violations going on in the world today, is forced labor imposed on the Uyghur minority by China. Congress, in the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, gave U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) the job of gathering and publicizing where this forced labor exists in the worldwide industrial supply chains. To find out where the agency is in addressing the issue, Federal Drive host Tom Temin spoke with Eric Choy, the Executive Director for Trade Remedy Law Enforcement in CBP’s Office of Trade. Interview transcript: Tom…

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IRS walks away from facial recognition to access online tools after backlash

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The IRS will transition away from using facial recognition technology to help taxpayers create online accounts with the agency. The IRS announced Monday that it will “quickly develop and bring online an additional authentication process that does not involve facial recognition,” in order for taxpayers to access self-help services on the agency’s website. “The IRS will also continue to work with its cross-government partners to develop authentication methods that protect taxpayer data and ensure broad access to online tools,” the agency said in a statement. The IRS changed course after…

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In Face of Big Tech Censorship, Free Speech Alternatives Emerge Online

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Big Tech actors like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube feel increasingly comfortable banning conservative voices from their platforms. But as Big Tech is willing to censor conservatives for their speech, other platforms devoted to free expression are starting to fill the gap. The director of The Heritage Foundation’s Center for Technology Policy, Lora Ries, contends that as long as these big platforms continue to censor dissent, alternative platforms will crop up to try to serve as alternatives. (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.) “The new CEO…

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