Supreme Court justices debated Monday how much leeway to grant airlines in reporting security threats that are eventually proven false, USA Today reports. The case involves Air Wisconsin Airlines, which argued that it deserves the same immunity from lawsuits as it granted the Transportation Security Administration, the article says. The airline had lost a $1.4 million defamation case after reporting that a pilot, William Hoeper, was “mentally unstable” and could be armed as a passenger on a flight after he failed a simulator test.
Cellphone carriers answered at least 1.1 million requests from law enforcement agencies seeking information on caller locations, text messages and other data for use in investigations last year, according to the carriers’ reports.
The FBI's advanced surveillance methods can even activate a computer's webcam to spy on computer users — without switching on the device's green light.
Eight major technology companies, including Google, Facebook and Twitter, are joining forces to call for tighter controls on government surveillance, according to The Associated Press. The companies say in an open letter to President Barack Obama that while they sympathize with national security concerns, recent revelations make it clear that laws should be carefully tailored to balance them against individual rights.
The retail industry will lose an estimated $8.76 billion to return fraud this year, and $3.39 billion during the holiday season alone. Overall, 5.8 percent of holiday returns are fraudulent, up slightly from 4.6 percent last night.
In response to criticism that passengers were not kept informed after the Terminal 3 shooting in November, Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) will create a response team to assist travelers by passing out water, snacks, diapers and formula, as well as being available to answer customers' questions, during emergency operations, Daily Breeze reports.
It’s a busy week for the TSA, and not necessarily due to the holiday season. Tuesday, three bills were passed through the U.S. House of Representatives in regards to the Transportation Security Administration, all three receiving bipartisan support.
Protecting the United States from terrorism means more to Americans than promoting democracy abroad, a Pew Research Center study found. Since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Americans consider protecting U.S. shores from terrorism a top priority, according to a UPI report. The study, conducted every four years, found 83 percent of those questioned held that opinion in 2013, which is slightly down from its high of 86 percent in 2005.
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