►A research group [1]has filed a lawsuit [2]in federal court challenging a decision by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) that the agency’s database cannot be accessed by the public. The Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, part of Syracuse University, filed the lawsuit after ICE refused to honor a Freedom of Information Act request to obtain information from the database, including data on the thousands of individuals being held at detention facilities without being charged with a crime.

► The Federal Trade Commission has released a report [3]on facial recognition technology. The report, Facing Facts: Best Practices for Common Uses of Facial Recognition Technologies, is designed to help companies use innovative products without violating employee or consumer privacy.

►The Washington Post is reporting [4]on a potential security lapse in the new airport prescreening program developed by the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The boarding passes used in the TSA’s new prescreening program could warn potential terrorists or smugglers about airport security measures. Under the new program, passengers can still be targeted for additional security screening. However, the program’s boarding passes, which are issued 24 in advance of the flight, contain a barcode indicating whether that passenger will face additional screening. The bar code is unencrypted and can be read by a smartphone. The TSA has not issued a comment on the findings.