#USA #California #DataProtection #DataBrokerage: "California lawmakers later this month are expected to vote on a highly debated bill that would make it easier for residents to keep data brokers from collecting and selling their personal data, legislation that if approved could have ripple effects around the country.

Senate Bill 362 – known as the California Delete Act – would “create a one-stop-shop website to allow Californians who want to control access to their personal information to hit the ‘DELETE’ button when it comes to a data broker’s ability to collect, maintain and sell information on them,” according to a release from California Sen. Josh Becker (D-San Mateo), the author of the bill.

“The time of uncontrolled gambling with our personal information is almost over,” Becker said in a statement. “Data brokers currently have the ability to use data on reproductive healthcare, geolocation, and purchasing data to sell it to the highest bidder, and the DELETE Act would protect our most sensitive information.”

The California State Assembly’s Appropriations Committee voted September 1 to advance the bill to the full body, which must vote on the bill by September 14."

https://securityboulevard.com/2023/09/high-profile-california-bill-regulating-data-brokers-heads-for-key-vote/

#USA #California #DataBrokers #DataBrokerage #Privacy #DataProtection: "When it comes to the reckless trade of our personal information, data brokers are the problem. These entities collect then sell personal information they’ve amassed on individuals with very little oversight. This includes very sensitive information such as buying habits, financial records, social media activity, or precise geolocation information. Scams, identity theft, and financial exploitation result from the collection and misuse of personal information.

Potential misuse of health data could lead to real harms in harassment, discrimination, and legal consequences for those seeking health services in California, including reproductive and gender affirming healthcare data. And if information is sold to local, state, or federal agencies, that puts our Fourth Amendment rights at risk.

That's why EFF is a proud supporter of S.B. 362, authored by California State Senator Josh Becker. It allows people to easily and efficiently make one request to delete their personal information held by all data brokers registered in California. It is also known as the California Delete Act and is sponsored by Privacy Rights Clearinghouse and Californians for Consumer Privacy. It will improve everyone's privacy rights and make California's consumer privacy laws more user-friendly."

https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2023/08/californias-delete-act-protects-us-data-brokers

On the topic of art and artists

These AI tools do not work without the data, and the data is nonconsensually scraped from artists work posted online. So the artists have had their labor stolen to train an AI system which will make the company a lot of money. They get no compensation for that.

Will the AI replace the artists? In some cases yes. For example, some companies may not want to pay an artist to make advertising materials and will use these systems to generate images instead. But overall I do not think it will significantly impact the financial condition of artists, it is just that a company is profiting off of theft. Te company is a data broker, the images they create are secondary to the data they have produced - stolen and coerced.

On the topic of face data

Is your face data a risk to you? Possibly. But the threat is more on the societal level. This data aggregation will result in tools that will be better at creating deep fakes. These are fabricated visuals that make it seem like something happened when it didn't. Just because these images are dressed up in fantasy (from the art that was scraped) the data itself can be used to produce more refined reality fakes. Also, it is possible to fake art materials, for example there could be new forms of revenge porn.

Does this make you bad for buying some pretty faces?

No. It is unusual that a company has managed to get real money from one of their data grifts. But ultimately the responsibility for the potential harms is on these companies and the state which will use these systems for future disinformation and carceral projects.

This has been an opportunity for public education in data and AI literacy.

Another thing that is an unexpected benefit to creating these images and playing with these tools is that it might help the average user get better at detecting deep fakes. There is a particular gestalt to these images that people may be better able to pick up on in the future.

I have worked in 3D art and animation for years and so I am still able to tell that something is off when I see a deep fake. It is possible that the more people who play with AI tools, the more people will be able to notice that something is off and be skeptical of the media they are watching.

*do not be a pedant about the difference between AI and machine learning I am trying to do public outreach here.

#LENSA #MachineLearning #AIArt #FaceData #DataBrokerage #DataJustice #TechJustice #DeepFake

Among 10 million other things, Musk’s disastrous purchase of #birdsite will inevitably usher in an era of extreme #privacy and #data regulation with #BigData. While I personally support this and think it’s long overdue, it’s incredible that the incompetence of one greed-fueled idiot could significantly impact #DataBrokerage, one of the biggest industries on Earth. 🍿