https://youtu.be/U4qooWtovhU?rel=0 From the Wall Street Journal: Facebook's current data crisis involving Cambridge Analytica has angered users and prompted government investigations. To understand what's happening now, you have to look back at Facebook's old policies from 2007 to 2014. WSJ's Shelby Holliday explains. Illustration: Laura … [Read more...]
Biometric Privacy Statutes Raise Important Questions Around Privacy
Nine years after Illinois legislators passed the Biometric Information Privacy Act (BIPA), a surge in litigation has forced state courts to consider sui generis questions related to privacy and the legal definition of “actual harm.” Though the law was passed in 2008, it wasn’t until late 2017 that workers started pursuing legal action in response … [Read more...]
New Bill Would Bolster US Election Cybersecurity
Amidst the protracted investigation regarding Russian interference in US elections, members of Congress from both parties have introduced a bill meant to protect the nation’s elections from outside influence. The legislation, known as the Securing America’s Voting Equipment (SAVE) Act, would institute robust cybersecurity measures designed to … [Read more...]
Microsoft Expected to Drop Suit Against Justice Department
Microsoft plans to drop its lawsuit against the Justice Department, following the agency’s decision to change its policy on the issuance of gag orders. For years, the federal government has gained access to data stored by large companies like Microsoft by submitting warrants carrying certain conditions, such as secrecy orders. Gag orders are given … [Read more...]
DC Appeals Court Rules That Cellphone Tracking Device Requires Search Warrant
For years, police officers have used devices known as Stingrays to locate suspects. Largely speaking, they’ve done this with very little oversight from governmental agencies, according to an amici brief filed by the ACLU and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) in a recent appeals court case. The devices, which are also sometimes called “cell … [Read more...]
Trump Administration Takes Aim at Public Databases
Recently, the Treasury Department submitted a 150-page report to the White House, arguing that the public should not have access to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) database that documents narratives of aggrieved consumers. In 2014, the CFPB proposed expanding its database by inviting consumers to post stories about their negative … [Read more...]
Supreme Court Will Hear a Case Involving Cell Phone Privacy
Recently, the Supreme Court agreed to hear a case that could determine whether the government can use information obtained from cell phone companies to find out a person’s location – and whether they can do this without a warrant. In the past, the highest court has prevented government authorities from using GPS devices to track someone’s movement. … [Read more...]
Internet Privacy Rules Rescinded
The Senate voted last week in favor of a resolution repealing a set of Obama-era rules that promised to protect internet privacy for consumers. This comes not long after the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) stayed the enactment of the rules in February. The bill passed mostly along party lines with a vote of 50 to 48. President Trump signed … [Read more...]