Articles and Columns for July 2022

• Policing Reimagined – The thesis of Albert Chang’s paper is the metaverse presents a unique opportunity for effective police reforms. Developers, data scientists and legal sector experts working within the metaverse may be able to implement changes more efficiently than Congress as they are not subject to constitutional constraints. Chang advocates a position that the federal government should strongly consider the adoption of immersive technology to demonstrate that a more effective method of policing is possible. This paper is especially noteworthy in light of the fact that last week Congress passed the CHIPS and Science Act which will bolster research with $290 billion in new funding.
• Confidence in the Supreme Court is declining – but there is no easy way to oversee justices and their politics – Recent evidence showing that Virginia Thomas, wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, sent at least 29 text messages to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows urging him to help overturn the 2020 election has reignited a long-simmering debate about judicial ethics and the nation’s highest court. Professor Eve Ringsmuth writes, ”as a Supreme Court scholar, I think it is important to recognize that there is no formal code of conduct guiding the work of the Supreme Court, which contributes to a lack of clarity regarding the ethical boundaries for justices.”
• Surveillance is pervasive: Yes, you are being watched, even if no one is looking for you – Peter Krapp, Professor of Film & Media Studies, University of California, Irvine shares facts that we need to acknowledge. The United States has the largest number of surveillance cameras per person in the world. Cameras are omnipresent on city streets and in hotels, restaurants, malls and offices. They’re also used to screen passengers for the Transportation Security Administration. And then there are smart doorbells and other home security cameras. Importantly, Krapp highlights not only do we live in a surveillance nation, but those who surveil us do so with virtually no constraints or oversight.
• Your Resume: Portrait or Passport Photo? Career Development for Lawyers—And Other Ambitious People – Attorney Jerry Lawson is a legal tech expert with decades of experience delivering effective presentations. In this, the second part of a multi part series, Lawson shares insightful recommendations and techniques to successfully manage what can be challenging interactions with audience members during the course of a presentation.
• Light pollution is disrupting the seasonal rhythms of plants and trees, lengthening pollen season in US cities – City lights that blaze all night are profoundly disrupting urban plants’ phenology – shifting when their buds open in the spring and when their leaves change colors and drop in the fall. New research Yuyu Zhou coauthored shows how nighttime lights are lengthening the growing season in cities, which can affect everything from allergies to local economies. In the study, Zhous and his colleagues analyzed trees and shrubs at about 3,000 sites in U.S. cities to see how they responded under different lighting conditions over a five-year period. Plants use the natural day-night cycle as a signal of seasonal change along with temperature.
• Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 30, 2022 – Four highlights from this week: Cyber insurance price hike hits local governments hard; New York Counties to Get Free Services to Better Defend Against Cyberattacks; Why emergency calls sometimes can’t get through; and A Rogues’ Gallery of Robocallers.
• Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 23, 2022 – Four highlights from this week: Report: 47% of organizations experienced a voice phishing attack last year; Rising Cyberthreats Increase Cyber Insurance Premiums While Reducing Availability; FTC explains ‘reasonable’ cybersecurity; and Facebook has started to encrypt links to counter privacy-improving URL Stripping.
• Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 16, 2022 – Four highlights from this week: Should we be worried about real-time facial recognition systems?; Some VPNs can’t be trusted. These are best at privacy and security; In a Post-Roe World, the Future of Digital Privacy Looks Even Grimmer; and Here’s how North Korean operatives are trying to infiltrate US crypto firms.
• Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 9, 2022 – Four highlights from this week: Why more regulation of connected car technology is probably just up the road; Police sweep Google searches to find suspects. The tactic is facing its first legal challenge; Attackers are using deepfakes to snag remote IT jobs; and Free smartphone stalkerware detection tool gets dedicated hub.
• Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 3, 2022 – Four highlights from this week: Vendors prep for new cyber rules of the road; USPS: It’s Up to Mailers to Comply With State Laws on Abortion Pills; Facial Recognition Technology: Federal Agencies’ Use and Related Privacy Protections; and Google Asks for Permission to Flood Inboxes With Campaign Spam.