If you think the law has been keeping
up with this technology, you need to come to the seminar on October
19th at the Sturm Colleg of Law at DU. (Details on
PrivacyFoundation.org )
Homeland
Security Learns to Love Small Spy Drones
There was a time when the Department of
Homeland Security wasn’t enthusiastic about its drone fleet.
Unmanned flying surveillance ‘bots had the
potential to freak out the public, top DHS science and
technology officials worried. That time has evidently passed —
particularly for smaller flying spies.
In the coming months, Fort Sill,
Oklahoma will become a proving ground to learn what small
surveillance drones can add to “first
responder, law enforcement and border security scenarios,”
according to a recent solicitation to the country’s various drone
manufacturers. Each selected drone will undergo five days’ worth
of tests as part of a new program from DHS’ Science and Technology
directorate, called Robotic Aircraft for Public
Safety or, gloriously, RAPS.
… “A
case has to be made that they’re economically feasible, not
intrusive and acceptable to the public,” Doherty told Danger
Room at a D.C. conference. In addition to the potential public
outcry, drones have been a headache for DHS at times. A DHS ground
station in 2010 lost
communications with one of the first Predators it used to surveil
the southern U.S. border, and the department has had trouble finding
enough pilots and technicians to operate its initial drone fleet.
… DHS’ second thoughts on drones
may not be so surprising. In recent years, DHS has gotten interested
in vastly expanding its surveillance capabilities,
exploring cameras reminiscent of military ones that can spy
on four square miles at once. And since it’s generally cheaper
to fly a small drone over a burning building, nuclear power plant or
hostage situation than it is to hire and clear a manned plane or
helicopter, it may only have been a matter of time before homeland
security opened up to the domestic-drone
boom.
(Related) ...but not. Google's Global
Privacy Counsel rarely shows up at our seminars...
Monday, October 8, 2012
… The interesting privacy debates,
in my opinion, are the debates where privacy is balanced against
other fundamental human rights, like freedom of speech, or balanced
against other social goals, like encouraging innovation, or tested
against other yardsticks, like regulatory cost-benefit analysis. But
very little of that occurs at privacy conferences, because virtually
no one from outside the privacy "industry" speaks at such
events. E.g., rather than hearing privacy-people talk endlessly
about the need for more privacy regulation, I'd like to hear from an
economist evaluating whether such regulations are effective, or
whether their costs exceed their benefits. Rather than hearing
privacy-people talk about the need to create a "right to be
forgotten", I'd rather hear from a free speech advocate on how
such a right would undermine freedom of expression. Rather than hear
privacy-people talk about how technology needs to be reined in, and
subject to bureaucratic prior approval (in other words, slowed-down),
I'd rather hear from people who are committed to building modern and
dynamic economies about how (archaic) privacy laws are hampering the
creation of innovation-based economies.
...and now another shameless plug. My friend
(and long suffering reader of my Blog) has a new venture that I
probably need to start using... Looking at the website reminds me
that Kumar never does things half-way.
The
computer keyboard brings the world to them
Whenever R. Subramanyam and his wife,
Lakshmi, want to see what their grandchildren did in class, they go
on Skype. With their three daughters living in the U.S., the
Bangalore couple uses email, video chat and social networks to watch
their five grandchildren, aged between 2 and 6, grow up. “I feel
happy to see them,” Ms. Lakshmi says.
For many seniors like her, the computer
is becoming an ideal way to keep in touch with family and bond with
the younger generation, while also building a network with their
peers.
… Says Kumar
G. Rao, a retired computer professional who divides
his time between India and the U.S.: “Computer literacy can
enhance productivity [of elders], quality of life, relationships and
self-worth.” He has started TekSavvy Worldwide, which aims at
providing online learning resources and on-the-ground training to
bridge the “digital divide that has formed between senior citizens
and their computer savvy children and grandchildren”.
The second “Third Party” article
this week...
PETs,
Law and Surveillance
October 8, 2012 by Dissent
Omer Tene writes:
…the two
frameworks for privacy protection, information privacy and
constitutional privacy are premised on diametrically opposed
conceptions of a data controller as a hero (information privacy) or
villain (constitutional privacy). This tension is manifest, for
example, in the highly contentious “third
party doctrine”, which has taken hold in US privacy law in the
1970s. From a constitutional privacy perspective, the third party
doctrine makes sense – “if you are concerned about surveillance,
keep your secrets to yourself”. From an information privacy
perspective, it is deeply flawed. “What do you mean you’re
disclosing my data to the government? I gave you these data in
confidence!”
In a new article
titled Hero or Villain: The Data Controller in Privacy Law and
Technologies, which will be presented at the upcoming Ohio State
Law Journal Symposium on The
Second Wave of Global Privacy Protection, my colleagues Claudia
Diaz, Seda
Gürses and I argue that privacy enhancing technologies (PETs)
can fill gaps between the constitutional and information privacy
frameworks to help individuals exercise their freedom from
surveillance. We claim that given the genesis of information privacy
laws in fears
about surveillance, policymakers should recognize and expand by
appropriate regulatory measures the role of technologies that enable
individuals to enforce their right to privacy as freedom from
surveillance.
Read more on Concurring
Opinions.
Not even a littering law?
OH:
Neighbors Worried About Identity Theft After Thousands Of Documents
Dumped On Driveway
October 8, 2012 by admin
From 10TV:
Residents living
in a northeast Columbus neighborhood said that they are concerned
after thousands of documents were dumped at the end of a driveway
overnight.
Residents said
that they were worried about identity theft after people’s personal
information was found in the pile in the driveway of a GreenStone
Homes model home in the 3000 block of McCutcheon
Crossing.
10TV News found
that the home was foreclosed upon in July 2011 and sold in a
sheriff’s sale in June.
[...]
10TV News found
canceled checks, contracts between developers and companies, tax
returns and social security numbers.
Read more on 10TV.
I really wish state AG’s would go after those who do this kind of
thing. I’ve seen a few lawsuits over disposal of paper records in
Texas and Indiana, but overall, there have been very few consequences
from states for improper disposal of paper records – and in
some states, such disposal is not even illegal. The FTC
has gone after a few entities over improper disposal, but it would be
nice to see the states send a stronger message.
What use would this be if they did not
already have the ability to gather all this data about you?
Samsung
tries to patent the story of your life
We all love ourselves so much these
days that everything we do takes on the piquancy of deep
significance.
We need to share as much of it as we
can. We need to tell as many people as we can -- even if we don't
know them.
So Samsung, in what can only be an
attack of heightened public service, has determined that all of your
activity through your cell phone should be recorded and presented to
you as a beautiful tale.
I
am grateful to Engadget for noticing this
patent application titled: "Apparatus and Method for
Generating Story According to User Information."
“We don't have thought police. We
have comedy cops.” (“We are not amused.”)
"A tasteless joke posted on
Facebook saw
a man arrested in the UK under section
127 of the Communications Act, for sending a public electronic
communication which is 'grossly offensive'. Matthew Wood, 20, of
Eaves Lane, Chorley, UK will appear before Chorley Magistrates' Court
on Monday
…but...the
computer is always right! (The lawyer guys call this “undue
reliance”)
"Microsoft has sent automated
DMCA notices to Google demanding the removal of several
legitimate URLs from its search results that Microsoft claims were
facilitating the distribution of illegal copies of Windows 8,
including links to BBC news articles, Wikipedia pages, U.S.
government websites, and even Bing! The erroneous DMCA notices are
being sent automatically by rights holders, who are increasingly
using such techniques."
My
competition. (and I think this is the future!)
"Nick
McKeown and I are
offering a free,
online class on computer networking. We're professors of
computer science and electrical engineering at Stanford and are also
co-teaching Stanford's
networking course this
quarter. The free,
online class will run about six weeks and is
intended to be accessible to people who don't program: the
prerequisites are an understanding of probability, bits and bytes,
and how computers lay out memory. Given how important the Internet
is, we think a more accessible course on the principles and practice
of computer networks could be a very valuable educational resource.
I'm sure many Slashdot readers will already know much of what we'll
cover, but for those who don't, here's an opportunity to learn!"
I'll need to check this before pointing
my students to it.
October 07, 2012
Low
Income Americans are eligible for very inexpensive high-speed
broadband internet and powerful computers
"...if you’re among the millions
of Americans who can’t afford the typical expensive high speed
internet services out there, and can’t stomach the low-speed free
internet dial-up ISPs, this is the website for you. Not only will
you learn about how to get cheap high-speed internet for only $9.95 a
month — and even free broadband — you’ll see how you can get a
Microsoft Office-loaded, Series 7 PC for only $150. Think of
CheapInternet.com as your
official, go-to source for everything you need to know about all the
exciting, new, inexpensive internet service options that make
broadband internet affordable for everyone. (By the way, when we say
it’s the cheapest internet access, we’re not talking about
stripped down, low-speed dial-up service. Not at all. We’re
talking about the kind of blazing fast high speed broadband internet
service that you’d expect to pay a lot of money for every
month.)...Most of the nation’s major cable companies (well-known
names such as Cox Cable and Cablevision, Time-Warner Cable and
Charter) and many more of the smaller, regional cable companies (such
as Bend Cable, Bright House Networks, Eagle Communications and
Sjoberg’s Cable) have banded together to make this the largest and
most significant cheap internet access program."
Wouldn't it be simpler to have a
generic App that allowed you to listen to many stations?
The
BBC has launched a new app dedicated
to streaming radio, with
the new iPlayer Radio app able to wake
you up for your favorite show,
play back on-demand content, all with an intuitive interface.
Navigated through a virtual “dial” on the touchscreen of an iOS
or, eventually, Android device, or via mouse on the PC version, the
iPlayer Radio app supports alarms for live broadcasts.
This
could be amusing. I already have had students using completely
inappropriate email names. Now I get to call **BoogerBoy,
**FreeWeed, and **EvilTwin?
Sprint
Launches StarStar Me To Replace Your Phone Number With Your Name
Capitalizing on our increasing loss of
memorization skills, Sprint is today launching a new product that
will let users replace their usual phone number with their name. And
the product has perhaps the best brand name ever: StarStar Me.
StarStar Me essentially lets you give
out your name, nickname, or any word you’d like, instead of giving
our your phone number. So, instead of giving you my cell number, I’d
tell you to call **Jordan and you’d instantly be connected.
According to the
release, the StarStar Me service will also provide an automatic
custom text response to phone calls you don’t answer, a bit like
the new Phone app in iOS 6, but with less flexibility.
No comments:
Post a Comment