PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

Bankruptcy Sale of DNA Data: From Toysmart to 23andMe

A recent article in The Atlantic discusses the risk of 23andMe selling its vast stockpile of DNA data on 15 million individuals: 23andMe is not doing well. Its stock is on the verge of being delisted. It shut down its in-house drug-development unit last month, only the latest in several rounds of layoffs. Last week, the entire […]

My Forthcoming Book, ON PRIVACY AND TECHNOLOGY, Available for Pre-Order

I am excited to announce that my forthcoming book, ON PRIVACY AND TECHNOLOGY (Oxford University Press) is now available for pre-order. It will be in print in January 2025. From the book jacket: Succinct and eloquent, On Privacy and Technology is an essential primer on how to face the threats to privacy in today’s age of […]

The Limits of the CDA Section 230: Accountability for Algorithmic Decisions

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit just handed down a very important decision on the Communications Decency Act (CDA) Section 230 and accountability for algorithmic decisions. In Anderson v. TikTok (3rd Cir. Aug, 27, 2024), the Third Circuit held that there are limits to the broad immunity under the CDA Section 230. As […]

U.S. State Privacy Laws – A Lack of Imagination

The U.S. lacks a federal comprehensive privacy law, but the states have sprung into action by passing broadly-applicable consumer privacy laws.  Nearly 20 states have passed such laws – so about 40% of the states now have privacy laws. Are these laws any good? Short answer: No But I am glad they exist.  Well, sort […]

AI’s Fishy Branding

One can learn a lot about AI from fish. The 1990s were a terrible time for the toothfish. An ugly fish inhabiting the deep seas, the toothfish (pictured above) was long considered a “trash fish,” undesirable to eat, a worthless catch. The toothfish’s fate was fine until overfishing decimated the stocks of the long-popular fish, […]

The Great Scrape: The Clash Between Scraping and Privacy

I’m posting a new article draft with Professor Woodrow Hartzog (BU Law), The Great Scrape: The Clash Between Scraping and Privacy. We argue that “scraping” – the automated extraction of large amounts of data from the internet – is in fundamental tension with privacy. Scraping is generally anathema to the core principles of privacy that […]