Month: March 2017

By Alexia Ramirez Congress overturned the FCC regulations created by the Obama Administration which would have required broadband providers to receive permission before collecting data on a user’s online activities.  Former Chairman of the FCC, Tom Wheeler, wrote an op-ed addressing the troubling ramifications of the repeal.…

Ying Cai Information Privacy Law Professor Ira Rubinstein March 29, 2017 Following the passage by Senate last week of the resolution overturning an Obama-era FCC rule that required internet providers to get consumers’ permission before sharing their browsing history with other companies, the House of Representatives passed the same resolution in a 215-205 vote on March 28.…

Soo Hyun Chin Information Privacy Law Professor Ira Rubinstein March 29, 2017 WhatsApp and Metadata Overlooked On the website of the most popular mobile messenger, WhatsApp, the company states that “privacy and security is in our DNA, which is why we have end-to-end encryption in the latest versions of our app.…

Thomas Chadenet Information Privacy Law Professor Ira Rubinstein March 28, 2017 On Thursday, March 23rd, the U.S. Senate voted on a resolution to repeal a set of rules aimed to protect consumers’ online data from Internet service providers (ISP). Under this set of rules, ISP would have had to disclose to consumers what information is being collected and how it is used or shared.…

Olaoluwa Oni Information Privacy Law Professor Ira Rubinstein March 27, 2017 Between Etisalat Nigeria and Facebook Inc: The fate of Nigerians’ Right to Privacy. Etisalat Nigeria, a telecommunications service provider, recently released a new data plan tagged “Facebook Flex” that permits its subscribers access to Facebook “free of charge”.…

Aikaterini Skouteli Information Privacy Law Professor Ira Rubinstein March 28, 2017 Post 9/11, the US government has been using deceptive methods through informants and undercover agents as a law enforcement technique. But what is remarkable is that these plans are sometimes the inspiration of the federal agents, which target suspects inspired by the Islamic State.…

Petros Vinis Information Privacy Law Professor Ira Rubinstein March 23, 2017 In October 2015 a local judge in Kentucky cleared the “drone slayer” of all criminal charges, namely a person who had shot down a drone from his backyard, claiming protection of his sunbathing daughter’s privacy.…

Further reading on today’s discussion topics: On smart toys: “Toys That Listen,” from University of Washington’s Tech Policy Lab On Zero Day Exploits: Kim Zetter, Countdown to Zero Day The Columbia SIPA report on the interagency Vulnerability Equities Process (VEP) Alexa, 1st and 4th amendment considerations: The Tattered Cover decision discussed in Amazon’s brief ACLU Blog Post on the dangers of “Always-On Microphones” Thanks to Amanda Levendowski and Hugo Zylberberg for providing these links.…

Emily Poole Information Privacy Prof. Ira Rubinstein  Facial recognition Facebook app hoax terrifies the internet  March 14, 2017 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/2017/03/14/creepy-facial-recognition-app-users-find-strangers-facebook/ Earlier this week, news circulated on the Internet that a new app, Facezam, was able to identify the identity of strangers in a photograph by using facial recognition technology (FRT).…

Leland Chang Information Privacy  Law Professor Ira Rubinstein March 21, 2017 Alexa – Amazon’s internet connected home assistant device, man’s new best friend or law enforcement’s greatest spy. Prosecutors in Arkansas have issued a warrant against Amazon to hand over data Alexa may have gathered its owner James Bates, a murder suspect.…