Category «Civil Liberties»

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 10, 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: Google is giving data to police based on search keywords; IRS under investigation for buying Americans’ smartphone location data; Why You Should Stop This ‘Hidden’ Location Tracking On Your iPhone; and Privacy of biometric data in DHS hands in doubt, inspector general says.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Criminal Law, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Financial System, Health, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, October 3, 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: CISA Releases Telework Essentials Toolkit; A New Tool for Detecting Deepfakes Looks for What Isn’t There: an Invisible Pulse; Collection and Use of Biometrics by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services; and What to do when someone steals your identity.

Subjects: AI, Big Data, Civil Liberties, Computer Security, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Financial System, Government Resources, KM, Legal Research, Privacy, Technology Trends, Telecommuting

A Time to Act: Putting Awareness into Action

Wendy L. Werner’s call to action is clear: “lawyers have a unique opportunity to intervene on behalf of those with fewer resources, and people who have been under served and under-represented. Many of us have been impacted by the growing knowledge of racial inequities, and recognition of disparities. This is a moment to intervene and no one group has more power to make a difference than lawyers. Now is the time.”

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Continuing Legal Education, Free Speech, Leadership, Legal Education, Legal Profession, Legal Research

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, September 12, 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: Even a Federal Judge Agrees That the FBI and NSA Are Flouting Civil Liberty Safeguards; Chinese hackers go after UNC for COVID-19 vaccine info; COVID-19 and Emerging Global Patterns of Financial Crime; and The State Of Identity Security, 2020.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cyberlaw, Cybersecurity, Economy, Education, Financial System, Government Resources, Health, Legal Research, Privacy