Microsoftâs âI Spy with My Little Eyeâ
On 23rd June 2011, Microsoft obtained a patent in U.S. titled ‘Legal Intercept’ which is claimed to be capable of spying over the internet. More specifically, it is a wire-tapping technology of sorts...
View ArticleWindow into the mind: A new fMRI brain decoding study promises new...
A neuroimaging research group from the University of California, Berkeley, recently astonished the world with images of video clips reconstructed from the subjects' brain activity. The study,...
View ArticleFacebook near privacy settlement with FTC: report
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Facebook is finalizing a settlement with federal regulators over changes to its privacy policies enacted two years ago, the Wall Street Journal reported. The...
View ArticleFrictionless sharing and privacy in social media
A couple months ago on Facebook, a new profile format launched called “Timeline.” It was a more dynamic layout, showing a ticker feed of friends’ actions and allowing certain applications to display...
View ArticleUniversal patient identification: Good in theory but not the solution
Talks about universal patient identification (UPI) numbers have been gracing news headlines recently as the debate about privacy and health care continues. Proponents of UPIs believe a unique ID...
View ArticleAndroid permissions lack user comprehension, apps tracks texts and phone calls
A new technical report from the EECS Department of the University of California, Berkeley reveals that the vast majority of consumers may be unaware of the risks of installing applications on their...
View ArticleHigh-Tech Nova Weekly: Top five trends for 2/27-3/2
Here's what made headlines this week in the world of high-tech! Mobile World Congress 2012 Without a doubt, Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 owned the news this week. First, the 41-megapixel camera in...
View ArticleBuying and Selling Your Personal Data
YOU are the product. This is the not-so-secret wisdom that accompanies the inevitable question of how some online ventures can become profitable. Like the 20th century heyday of television and radio,...
View ArticleIt's Full of Eyes: Drones at Home Coming Soon
When the boys came home from World War II, the US changed forever. An economic boom, a baby boom, new technology, new ideas, new ways of looking at the world and our place in it. Something similar is...
View ArticleDrones invade domestic airspace and your privacy
Imagine a rabbit-sized drone hovering over your Fourth of July backyard barbeque, covert and stealthy, scanning the property for expired license plates, wanted jaywalkers and oversized Roman candles....
View ArticleCSAIL study illuminates shady smartphone app tracking
Researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory evaluated 36 commonly used smartphone applications. Principle investigator Hal Abelson and his grad students found that...
View ArticleDo third-party providers bear responsibility for content?
Third-party content is the driving force of the Internet. While you can get media off of official websites and the like, your go-to place to find media is likely on a third-party host. Think places...
View ArticleAmendment to CCPA Harmonizes Data Privacy and Healthcare Information...
An amendment to the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”) was signed in September 2020. The CCPA regulates how large companies (1) treat their customers’ personal information. However, the CCPA and...
View ArticleNew York New COVID-19 Testing Mandate Struggles to Balance Traveler Privacy...
New York state issued a new mandate requiring that all travelers test negative for the COVID-19 virus both before and after coming to the state. The mandate allows travelers to bypass the 14-day...
View ArticleCalifornians Approve Proposition 24 – the California Privacy Rights Act
Following the November 3, 2020 general elections, Californians voted Proposition 24 into law, which will implement the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”). You can read all about the CPRA in our...
View ArticleVoters Choose Privacy at the Ballot Box
While most 2020 media election coverage focused on the races for President and control of Congress, privacy also had its day at the ballot box. This blog has previously described California...
View ArticleData Breach: No Injury-in-Fact, Case Dismissed
It well known that there are, unfortunately, many data breaches that frequently put private citizens’ data privacy in jeopardy. States have passed a variety of statutes aimed at addressing this...
View ArticleEU Recommendations Require Careful Analysis but Offer Few Clear Rules
In July 2020 the Court of Justice the European Union’s (CJEU) Schrems II decision declared the EU-US Privacy Shield Protections inadequate for the protection of European data. On November 10, 2020,...
View ArticleInstitutions Propose Digital Health Passports During the COVID-19 Pandemic
As countries around the world begin administering COVID-19 vaccines, many institutions, both governmental and private, are considering the possibility of requiring proof of COVID-19 status to travel,...
View ArticleEU and UK Announce Interim Plans for Post-Brexit Data Flow
Following its “Brexit” from the EU on January 31, 2020, the UK had until December 31, 2020 to bring its data privacy laws into compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). As of...
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