The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) of the DOJ has issued a highly suspect interpretation of the original HIPAA that seriously undermines the enforceability of HIPAA. Some background: In 1996, Congress Passed the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The Act, at 42 U.S.C. § 1320d-6, provided in part for the protection of medical privacy – […]
Category: Archive Solove Blog Posts
Older Posts by Professor Daniel J. Solove for his blog at TeachPrivacy, a privacy awareness and security training company.
Anonymity on the Internet Is Often a Mirage
This interesting AP story demonstrates how illusory anonymity can be on the Internet:
Data Security Breach Supersized: 40 Million People Affected
I’m getting tired of posting about data security breaches, but this one is a whopper — actually, more like a double whopper. From the AP [link no longer available]:
Notice Much Delayed: The FDIC Data Security Breach
A Washington Post article discusses the letter the FDIC recently mailed to about 6,000 of its employees that describes a data security breach where employee personal information was compromised:
Is the FTC Finally Getting Serious About Security?
The FTC just announced a settlement with BJ’s Wholesale Club, Inc. From the FTC press release:
Identity Theft Fears and Online Shopping
From a recent survey: Nearly half of U.S. voters say they don’t shop online because they fear identity thieves may capture their bank-account information, according to a survey released on Wednesday by a technology-industry trade group. These fears are heightened because of the rash of security breaches in recent months. I previously posted about these breaches here and here.
How Much Are Supreme Court Clerks Worth?
An article discusses the courtship of Supreme Court clerks. Some firms are giving $150,000 signing bonuses.
Biometrics and the “Titanic Phenomenon
A Washington Post article discusses the growing use of biometric identification, which involves authenticating identity by using immutable characteristics of the human body. Some methods include fingerprint readers, iris scanners, and facial recognition systems. According to the article:
Soup for Me at $5 but No Soup for You (Or Maybe at $10)
There is still more interesting grist from the national telephone survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The report has an extensive discussion of price discrimination – offering different prices for the same product or service to different customers based on behavioral profiling. This practice is already happening. Supermarket discount cards are an example […]
Don’t Know Much About Privacy . . .
More interesting results from a recent national telephone survey by the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The report states: The survey further reveals that the majority of adults who use the internet do not know where to turn for help if their personal information is used illegally online or offline. The study’s findings suggest a […]