PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

high-tech technology background with eyes on computer display

William Stuntz’s Misguided Theory of Privacy and Transparency

Privacy and Transparency

William Stuntz (law, Harvard) has long been advancing thoughtful provocative ideas about criminal procedure. I’ve always found Stuntz to be insightful even when I disagree (and I have disagreed with him a lot). Stuntz’s recent essay in The New Republic entitled Against Privacy and Transparency has me not just disagreeing, but doing so rather sharply.

Total Information Awareness Strikes Back

Total Information Awareness Logo

Government surveillance and data mining programs, it seems, never die. They just get renamed. So it has been with the much maligned airline screening program, which was originally called “CAPPS II.” It was canned, and a new program was started called “Secure Flight.” Recently I blogged about Secure Flight being canned, and I predicted that it […]

Making Sense of Public Attitudes Toward NSA Surveillance

NSA Surveillance

MSNBC journalist Bob Sullivan, in his blog Red Tape Chronicles, writes: Ask Americans something like, “Should the government be allowed to read e-mails and listen to phone calls to fight terrorism?” and you’ll get a much different result than if you ask, “Should the government be allowed to read your e-mails and listen to your phone […]

Whistleblowing, Journalist Privilege, and NSA Surveillance

Whistleblowing NSA

The DOJ has launched a probe into the leaking of the NSA surveillance program to the New York Times: “The leaking of classified information is a serious issue. The fact is that al-Qaida’s playbook is not printed on Page One and when America’s is, it has serious ramifications,” Duffy told reporters in Crawford, Texas, where Bush was […]

Hypothetical: What If President Bush Were Correct About His Surveillance Powers?

Surveillance

There’s been some terrific analysis in the blogosphere about whether President Bush is correct that he had the power to authorize warrantless surveillance. (See here and here for a roundup of posts.) The arguments thus far focus on what the President has already done, but the President has stated that he will continue the warrantless surveillance [link no longer available] […]