PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

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An Interview with Ronald Collins on Justice Holmes and Free Speech

Ron Collins The Fundamental Holmes

  In his new book, The Fundamental Holmes: A Free Speech Chronicle and Reader (Cambridge University Press, 2010), Ronald Collins guides us through the free speech writings of Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.   Ron is the Harold S. Shefelman scholar at the University of Washington School of Law and a fellow at the Washington, D.C., office […]

Naked Lies and the Airport Body Scan

Airport Screening Privacy TSA

Despite many objections, the TSA has been moving forward on using new airport body scan machines that show people’s naked bodies.   I blogged about these machines here [link no longer available].  “Never fear,” they told us.  “We care about privacy.  We really care!  And so we promise we won’t store the images.” So much for […]

Is it Illegal to Post an Image of the FBI’s Seal?

FBI 01

According to CNN: The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation has threatened Wikipedia with legal action if the online encyclopedia doesn’t remove the FBI’s seal from its site. The seal is featured in an encyclopedia entry about the FBI. Wikipedia isn’t backing down, however. The online encyclopedia — which is run by a nonprofit group and […]

How to Fix the Supreme Court Justice Confirmation Process

Supreme Court Justices

There are few defenders of the Supreme Court Justice confirmation process. Every time it occurs, we go through a charade of hearings, where candidates are coy about their positions on most issues and talk about “neutrality” and being a mere “umpire.” Who are they kidding? We all know that no judge is neutral or a […]

An Interview with Dawn Nunziato on Virtual Freedom: Net Neutrality and Free Speech in the Internet Age

Virtual Freedom

My colleague at George Washington University Law School, Professor Dawn Nunziato, has recently published a provocative book about the First Amendment and the Internet — Virtual Freedom: Net Neutrality and Free Speech in the Internet Age (Stanford University Press 2009). Her book explains that, contrary to the prevailing understanding of the Internet as a haven […]

City of Ontario v. Quon: The Rights of Other Parties to the Communication

City of Ontario v Quon

I blogged about City of Ontario v. Quon a few days ago, and I want to raise another important issue in the case, one my colleague Orin Kerr has astutely pointed out.  The case is on appeal to the U.S. Supreme from the 9th Circuit: Quon v. Arch Wireless Operating Co., Inc., 529 F.3d 892 […]