Category «Civil Liberties»

Machines Learning the Rule of Law – EU Proposes the World’s first Artificial Intelligence Act

Sümeyye Elif Biber is a PhD Candidate in Law and Technology at the Scuola Sant’Anna in Pisa. In 21 April 2021, the European Commission (EC) proposed the world’s first Artificial Intelligence Act (AIA). The proposal has received a warm welcome across the EU as well as from the US, as it includes substantial legal provisions on ethical standards. After its release, the media’s main focus laid on the proposal’s “Brussels Effect”, which refers to the EU’s global regulatory influence: EU laws exceed their “local” influence and become global standards. With the AIA, the EU has the potential to become the world’s “super-regulator” on AI. More than the Brussels Effect, however, the emphasis should lie on the EU’s intention to explicitly protect the rule of law against the “rule of technology”. Despite this expressed goal, the normative power of the regulation to ensure the protection of the rule of law seems inadequate and raises serious concerns from the perspective of fundamental rights protection. This shortcoming becomes most evident across three main aspects of the AIA, namely in the regulation’s definition of AI systems, the AI practices it prohibits, and the preeminence of a risk-based approach.

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Subjects: AI, Big Data, Civil Liberties, Legal Research, Privacy

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, July 18, 2021

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: YouTube Algorithm Recommends Videos that Violate the Platform’s Very Own Policies; State Data Privacy Bills Growing More Widespread; NIST Outlines Security Measures for Software Use and Testing Under Executive Order; and State Data Privacy Bills Growing More Widespread.

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Subjects: Blockchain, Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cyberlaw, Cybersecurity, Legal Research, Legislative, Privacy, Technology Trends

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, June 6, 2021

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Two New Laws Restrict Police Use of DNA Search Method; On the Taxonomy and Evolution of Ransomware; Amazon’s Ring Finally Discloses Police Requests; and The Limits of Law and AI.

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Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Communications, Criminal Law, Cybersecurity, Email, Gadgets/Gizmos, Legal Research, Privacy

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, April 24, 2021

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: How Do You Retire Technology and Limit Risk?; Postal Service Cops Are Monitoring Social Media: Document; FTC Says Racist Algorithms Could Get You In a Lot of Trouble; and What are the different roles within cybersecurity?

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Subjects: Big Data, Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Email Security, KM, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media, Spyware, Technology Trends

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, January 31, 2021

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: As U.S. Capitol investigators use facial recognition, it begs the question: Who owns our faces?; Fraudulent Applicants for Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and a Surge in Criminal Referrals from Small Business Administration; U.S. Intelligence Claims China Wants to Steal Your DNA; Microsoft Deals Blow To Chrome With A Bunch Of Exciting New Edge Features; and Apple: Keep iPhone 12 and MagSafe Away From Medical Devices.

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Subjects: AI, Big Data, Civil Liberties, Cybersecurity, Government Resources, Healthcare, KM, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines, Social Media, Technology Trends

As U.S. Capitol investigators use facial recognition, it begs the question: Who owns our faces?

In the age of Big Tech, we need to grapple with what expectations we can and should have about who has access to our faces. The recent riot at the U.S. Capitol has put the question into the spotlight as facial recognition becomes a vital tool in identifying rioters: What is the power of facial recognition technology, and are we ready for it? Professor Wendy H. Wong discusses what are the costs and consequences of losing our faces to data, including the right to privacy and our ability to live our lives free of surveillance.

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Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, KM, Legal Research, Privacy, Technology Trends

Masks and mandates: How individual rights and government regulation are both necessary for a free society

Professor Martha Ackelsberg is political theorist – she studies how communities are organized, how power is exercised and how people relate to one another in and between communities. Through talking to friends, and thinking about the protests against COVID-19-related restrictions that have taken place around the country – she concluded that many people do not understand that individual rights and state power are not really opposites. The laws and policies that governments enact set the framework for the exercise of our rights. So, inaction on the part of government does not necessarily empower citizens. It can, effectively, take away our power, leaving us less able to act to address our needs.

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Subjects: Civil Liberties, Constitutional Law, Healthcare, Legal Research, Legislative, United States Law

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 31, 2020

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Ransomware Guide; Police are using facial recognition for minor crimes because they can; COVID-19 clinical trial: real or fake? Learn how to tell the difference; and Here’s how companies got your phone number and a way to prevent future calls.

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Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Internet Use Policies, KM, Libraries & Librarians, Privacy, Social Media

You have rights when you go to vote – and many people are there to help if there’s trouble at the polls

Despite all the challenges to this year’s election – long lines, calls for voter intimidation, baseless claims of fraud – voting is a fundamental civil right. As a political scientist who studies campaigns and elections, Daniel R. Birdsong has confidence in American democracy. Lots of people are working at the polls and behind the scenes to ensure election 2020 runs smoothly and safely. In this article Birdsong outlines your rights as a voter and explain where to turn if you encounter trouble at the polls.

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Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, KM, Legal Research, Librarian Resources

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 25, 2020

Privacy and security issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and security, often without our situational awareness. Four highlights from this week: Trump Administration Develops Governmentwide Office Reopening Guidelines, With Contractor Help; USPS looks to monetize its mapping data; Amazon Faces Allegations It Harvested Sensitive Voice Data; and Google: Chinese Hackers Are Posing as McAfee to Install Malware.

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Subjects: Civil Liberties, Communications, Congress, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Data Mining, Government Resources, Health, Healthcare, Legal Research, Legislative, Privacy, Social Media, United States Law
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