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Key developments
Court rejects DOJ Maryland voter-data demand
The ACLU reported July 7 that a federal court rejected the U.S. Department of Justice’s effort to force Maryland officials to provide the state’s unredacted voter registration file in United States v. DeMarinis. The file included sensitive data for millions of voters, including dates of birth, residential addresses, driver license numbers, and partial Social Security numbers. Maryland voters, Common Cause, and Out for Justice intervened to oppose the request, and the court found federal law did not authorize the sweeping demand.
Why it matters
The ruling limits a federal push to obtain state voter databases and reinforces privacy protections around large-scale election records.
Sources & driving stories
AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION · Douglas De Jesus
American Civil Liberties Union coverageGoogle expands Search media retention for AI
TechCrunch’s Sarah Perez reported that Google’s June privacy-settings update created new Search Services History and Personalized Recommendations controls, separating Search retention from Web and App Activity. The update allows Google to save user-provided media, including images, files, audio, and video recordings from services such as Search, Lens, Maps, Translate, Shopping, Flights, Hotels, and News, for service improvement and generative AI model training unless users opt out. Users can separately disable “Save Media” and set deletion intervals of three, 18, or 36 months.
Why it matters
The change makes AI-training data collection a default part of widely used Google services while shifting meaningful control to obscure settings.
Sources & driving stories
TECHCRUNCH · Sarah Perez
TechCrunch coverageEU refuses pause on biometric border checks
Yahoo reported July 7 that EU officials rejected airline and airport calls to suspend biometric Entry Exit System controls despite acknowledging about 20 difficult border sites. Non-EU travelers must register fingerprints and facial images when entering the Schengen area and undergo biometric verification on later entries and exits. Officials cited operational consistency concerns and said the system has processed 110 million journeys and contributed to about 44,500 refused entries, while industry groups reported delays in Portugal, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Belgium.
Why it matters
Europe is pressing ahead with large-scale biometric border infrastructure despite travel disruptions and unresolved implementation gaps.
Sources & driving stories
YAHOO
Yahoo coverageWorth noting
WORTH NOTING
House report escalates Coupang dispute
Yahoo’s Preston Mizell summarized a House Judiciary Committee report alleging heightened South Korean scrutiny after a privacy incident involving roughly 3,000 accessed accounts, a former employee’s stolen authentication key, and a record $410 million privacy fine.
WORTH NOTING
Texas app age checks continue
CNET reported that the Supreme Court declined to block Texas’s App Store Accountability Act, leaving in place age-verification and parental-consent requirements while legal challenges continue.
WORTH NOTING
Bandai Channel teen suspect arrested
TechNadu’s Lore Apostol reported Tokyo police arrested a 15-year-old over a Bandai Channel attack that allegedly canceled 46,812 subscriptions and accessed up to 1,366,000 personal-data items.
Still unclear
OPEN QUESTION
Will Google face consent scrutiny?
Default retention of Search-related media for AI training may test whether opt-out controls satisfy emerging privacy expectations for user-generated data.
OPEN QUESTION
Can biometric borders scale safely?
The EU’s refusal to pause EES leaves unresolved whether operational fixes can address queues, misclassification risks, and biometric-data governance before temporary opt-outs end.