Brian Bergstein writes in an AP article about the issue of law enforcement surveillance and technology: With each new advance in communications, the government wants the same level of snooping power that authorities have exercised over phone conversations for a century. Technologists recoil, accusing the government of micromanaging — and potentially limiting — innovation. Today, this tug […]
Category: Surveillance
Posts about Surveillance by Professor Daniel J. Solove for his blog at TeachPrivacy, a privacy awareness and security training company.
Making Universities Pay for Government Surveillance
In 1994, Congress passed a law called the Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (CALEA), which requires telecommunication providers to build wiretapping and surveillance capabilities for law enforcement officials into their new technologies.
Why Orwell’s 1984 Is So Bleak
According to this article, the drab and dismal world portrayed in George Orwell’s 1984 was in part influenced by his bouts with illness:
Using Cell Phones to Catch Speeders
A glimpse into the not-too-distant future . . . You’re driving along the highway. There is only light traffic on the road, and there’s not a cop in sight. You decide to give in to that dastardly rebel within and go 10 miles over the speed limit. You get to your destination without incident, a […]
Do We Really Want Perfect Law Enforcement?
I just wrote a post about the possibility of cell phones being used to nab speeders. This raises a larger question regarding law enforcement. If we employ new technologies of surveillance to achieve a more efficient enforcement of various laws, the most obvious concern that comes to mind is the threat posed to privacy. There’s also another […]
The Airline Screening Playset: Hours of Fun!
After blogging a few weeks ago about the airline screening playset, I went ahead and ordered one. Each day, I would check my mailbox, eager with excitement about its arrival. Today, it finally arrived. I rushed to open it and began what would be hours of exciting play. Here’s what came in the playset: I […]
When Clacks Squawk: The New Keystroke Surveillance
You thought keyboard clacking was just annoying noise. Little did you know your clacking is broadcasting what you’re typing! Berkeley researchers have developed a way to monitor your keystrokes without installing a device into your computer. Thus, far, keystrokes can be monitored via special software or other devices installed into people’s computers (either directly or […]
Councilman: Just What Does it Take for a Law to Be Vague?
To nobody’s surprise, my colleague and electronic surveillance law expert extraordinaire Orin Kerr at the VC beat everybody to the punch in announcing that the 1st Circuit reversed the panel in United States v. Councilman. As Kerr concisely explains the panel decision in an earlier post:
How Private is Our Email? Councilman’s unfinished business
In United States v. Councilman, a 1st Circuit panel held that email intercepted contemporaneously with its transmission did not fall under the protections of the Wiretap Act. The case went en banc and an opinion has yet to issue. Orin Kerr at the VC just wrote a post about recent developments about the issue. He writes: Congress has […]