https://www.wired.com/story/anti-porn-covenant-eyes-bond-revoked/
"On a Wednesday morning in May, Hannah got a call from her lawyer—there was a
warrant out for her husband’s arrest. Her thoughts went straight to her kids.
They were going to come home from school and their father would be gone. “It
burned me,” Hannah says, her voice breaking. “He hasn’t done anything to get
his bond revoked, and they couldn’t prove he had.”
Hannah’s husband is now awaiting trial in jail, in part because of an
anti-pornography app called Covenant Eyes. The company explicitly says the app
is not meant for use in criminal proceedings, but the probation department in
Indiana’s Monroe County has been using it for the past month to surveil not
only Hannah’s husband but also the devices of everyone in their family. To
protect their privacy, WIRED is not disclosing their surname or the names of
individual family members. Hannah agreed to use her nickname.
Prosecutors in Monroe County this spring charged Hannah’s husband with
possession of child sexual abuse material—a serious crime that she says he did
not commit and to which he pleaded not guilty. Given the nature of the charges,
the court ordered that he not have access to any electronic devices as a
condition of his pretrial release from jail. To ensure he complied with those
terms, the probation department installed Covenant Eyes on Hannah’s phone, as
well as those of her two children and her mother-in-law.
In near real time, probation officers are being fed screenshots of everything
Hannah’s family views on their devices. From images of YouTube videos watched
by her 14-year-old daughter to online underwear purchases made by her
80-year-old mother-in-law, the family’s entire digital life is scrutinized by
county authorities. “I’m afraid to even communicate with our lawyer,” Hannah
says. “If I mention anything about our case, I’m worried they are going to see
it and use it against us.”"
Via Violet Blue’s
Cybersecurity Roundup: June 13, 2023
https://www.patreon.com/posts/cybersecurity-13-84495663
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
