How would you feel if you discovered a hidden camera in your hotel? For some travellers, who actually found cameras in their bedroom, it’s not a hypothetical question.
Hot topics in the legal world and updates on legal matters funded on CrowdJustice - all in this week’s Justice Beat.
Quote of the day
"Children are being hurt every day following restraint by staff." - Parents are challenging Government policy on the use of restraint in schools.
Legal news
Hidden cameras
1. Privacy and safety concerns swirl around Airbnb, as it’s revealed that some hosts have been hiding video cameras in bedrooms rented out on the platform, the Atlantic reports. One traveller noticed cameras recording in his room and quickly fled the flat, fearing for his safety. Airbnb says it takes these matters “extremely seriously” but commentators are questioning whether the company is doing enough to protect holiday-makers’ privacy.
Security at stake
2. Fingerprint access is supposed to be an effective means of keeping secrets secure, but one individual has shown how easy it could be to undermine that safety system. Hacker Jan Krissler has shown that it’s possible to recreate a fingerprint using only a few high-definition photographs. He managed to generate an image of the fingerprint of Germany’s defence minister, Ursula von der Leyen, using a snap from a press release, the Guardian reports.
3. Meanwhile, security reasons are being cited as justification to prevent public disclosure of any of Google’s work with the US government on drone technology, the Intercept reports. Amid calls for government transparency, the Pentagon is refusing to release the tech giant’s work on drones, saying that it constitutes “critical infrastructure security information”.
No to discrimination
4. Does having a younger workforce give businesses an edge? IBM might have thought so when it decided to form a “Millennial Corps” and focused on hiring early career professionals, but the company may come to regret its tactics. Mercury News reports that dismissed IBM employees over the age of 55 are bringing a discrimination claim, alleging that they were targeted for negative performance reviews to oust them from the company.
5. Meanwhile, it’s no longer la plus ça change, as the #MeToo generation comes into its own. Teenage girls attending high school in Maryland, US, are taking a stand against gender discrimination, after they learned that boys in their school had ranked girls based on their appearance, the Independent reports. One girl whose name appeared on the list said: “It was the last straw, for us girls, of this ‘boys will be boys’ culture. We’re the generation that is going to make a change”.
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This week on CrowdJustice
A group of citizens is raising funds to challenge unforeseen heavy tax liabilities imposed retrospectively through loan charges, the Governing Body of Steiner Academy School in Bristol is fundraising to challenge an Ofsted report which adjudged the school inadequate, and Bethnal Green residents are raising funds to challenge their local council’s plans to demolish a mulberry tree and part of a historic listed building.
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