Privacy + Security News by Professor Daniel J. Solove

IBM vs. NBA: Using Employee Genetic Information

@daniel-solove.bsky.social

Founder of TeachPrivacy

October 16, 2005

This week, IBM announced that it would not use genetic information in making any employment decision:

On October 10, IBM Chairman Sam Palmisano signed a revision of the company’s equal opportunity policy specifying that IBM would not “use genetic information in its employment decisions.” In doing so, Big Blue became the first major corporation to proactively take this position. “Business activities such as hiring, promotion and compensation of employees will be conducted without regard to a person’s genetics,” wrote Palmisano in a letter to employees announcing the change.

Should We All Be in the National DNA Database?

Daniel Solove

@daniel-solove.bsky.social

Founder of TeachPrivacy

October 14, 2005

The Senate recently voted to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. But nestled in the Act was an amendment by Senator Jon Kyl (R-Arizona) to add arrestee information to the national DNA database. The national DNA database, which is run by the FBI, is called the Combined DNA Index System (“CODIS”), and it includes DNA from over two million convicted criminals. This DNA is used to identify matches with DNA found at crime scenes.

Preparing for a Bird Flu Pandemic

Daniel Solove

@daniel-solove.bsky.social

Founder of TeachPrivacy

October 13, 2005

Bird flu has now captured the attention of the news. While I’m generally not one to become overly concerned with Armageddon scenarios, a flu pandemic strikes me as a particularly realistic and frightening possibility. Pandemics occur periodically, and the experts all seem to be extremely concerned.

Using Cell Phones to Catch Speeders

Daniel Solove

@daniel-solove.bsky.social

Founder of TeachPrivacy

October 12, 2005

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 few minutes early. The sun is shining in the sky; there’s not a cloud in sight. It’s a happy day. Life is good.

But then a few weeks later, you discover that the day wasn’t as cheery as you had thought. That’s because you were caught for speeding that day. Your ticket arrives in the mail. But there were no police officers along the route, no speed traps, no surveillance cameras. How did you get caught?

You were ratted out, betrayed by a traitor in your car. No, not a secret agent, not a rat, not a mole. Instead, it was something you trusted the most, an inseparable companion . . . it was your cell phone.

According to the AP [link no longer avilable]:

Do We Really Want Perfect Law Enforcement?

Daniel Solove

@daniel-solove.bsky.social

Founder of TeachPrivacy

October 12, 2005

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 problem worth thinking about – Is it desirable to have very efficient enforcement of certain laws?

The Airline Screening Playset: Hours of Fun!

Daniel Solove

@daniel-solove.bsky.social

Founder of TeachPrivacy

October 11, 2005

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 was a bit disappointed in the toy’s lack of realism. There was only one passenger to be screened. Where were the long lines? The passenger’s clothing wasn’t removable for strip searching. The passenger’s shoes couldn’t be removed either. Her luggage fit easily inside the X-ray machine. There were no silly warning signs not to carry guns or bombs onto the plane. And there was no No Fly List or Selectee List included in the playset.

Another oddity was that the toy came with two guns, one for the police officer and one that either belonged to the X-ray screener or the passenger. The luggage actually opened up, and the gun fit inside. I put it through the X-ray machine, and it went through undetected. Perhaps this is where the toy came closest to reality.

The biggest departure from reality was that the passenger had a cheery smile on her face.

Hurricane Katrina and Credit Scores

Daniel Solove

@daniel-solove.bsky.social

Founder of TeachPrivacy

October 10, 2005

Bob Sullivan at MSNBC writes:

A second storm surge may soon start slamming into Gulf coast residents hit by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Mounting unpaid bills will lead to a surge of black marks on victims’ credit reports, say consumer advocates, sinking their credit scores. And now, they say, efforts to convince the nation’s credit bureaus to develop new systems to account for victims’ temporary bill-paying troubles have hit a major snag.

Consumers who can’t make their house payments any more – even if that house has been completely swept away by the storm – may face the ultimate penalty in America’s credit-driven society: A credit score so low they won’t qualify for the loans they need to start rebuilding.

Consumer groups, anticipating the coming surge of late payments and account defaults, have asked credit bureaus to help. The consumer groups proposed that the bureaus take a pre-Katrina credit score snapshot of all residents in the affected areas. Later, when victims apply for loans, the pre-Katrina score could be used to identify whether victims were good credit risks before the storm.

Snooping Landlords and the War on Terrorism

Daniel Solove

@daniel-solove.bsky.social

Founder of TeachPrivacy

October 8, 2005

In this interesting AP article [link no longer available], a man won an invasion of privacy lawsuit when his property manager searched his home and reported to the FBI that there were terrorist materials in the apartment. FBI officials detained, fingerprinted, and handcuffed the man, but eventually determined that the man wasn’t a terrorist:

Why Volokh Is Wrong on Public Records and the First Amendment

Daniel Solove

@daniel-solove.bsky.social

Founder of TeachPrivacy

October 7, 2005

In an interesting and thoughtful post, Eugene Volokh (law, UCLA) takes issue with California’s Megan’s Law, Cal. Penal Code § 290.46(j), which places personal data about sex offenders on the Internet yet restricts the uses of this data. The law allows people to use the information “only to protect a person at risk.” It prohibits the use of the information for, among other things, purposes related to insurance, loans, credit, employment, benefits, and housing.

PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

IBM vs. NBA: Using Employee Genetic Information

Should We All Be in the National DNA Database?

Preparing for a Bird Flu Pandemic

Using Cell Phones to Catch Speeders

Do We Really Want Perfect Law Enforcement?

The Airline Screening Playset: Hours of Fun!

Hurricane Katrina and Credit Scores

Snooping Landlords and the War on Terrorism

Why Volokh Is Wrong on Public Records and the First Amendment