PRIVACY + SECURITY BLOG

News, Developments, and Insights

high-tech technology background with eyes on computer display

Two New Cases Regarding NSA Surveillance

NSA

The 9th Circuit has decided a pair of cases involving the NSA Surveillance Program.

In Jewel v. NSA, the 9th Circuit concluded that plaintiffs had standing to raise constitutional challenges against NSA telephone surveillance:

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New Record Possibly Set for Sending an Accidental Email

Wrongly Sent Email

The New York Times may have set a new record for sending an accidental email.  There are tales of email being sent outorganization-wide, but nothing on the scale of what the New York Times just did.  An email meant for 300 people was sent to 8 million.  Oops!

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Student Privacy in Peril: Massive Data Gathering With Inadequate Privacy and Security

In October, personal financial data — including social security numbers, loan repayment histories and bank-routing numbers – of thousands of college students was exposed on the Department of Education’s (ED) direct loan website. For seven minutes, anyone surfing the direct loan website could find personal information about students who had borrowed from the Department of Education.

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Should Teachers Be Banned from Communicating with Students Online?

Education Privacy

Increasingly, states and school districts are struggling over how to deal with teachers who communicate with students online via social network websites.  One foolish way to address the issue is via strict bans, such as a law passed in Missouri earlier this year that attempted to ban teachers from friending students on social network websites.  Such laws are likely violations of the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and association, and I blogged at the Huffington Post that the law was unconstitutional.  Soon thereafter, a court quickly struck down the law.

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The PII Problem: Privacy and a New Concept of Personally Identifiable Information

PII

My article, The PII Problem: Privacy and a New Concept of Personally Identifiable Information (with Professor Paul Schwartz), is now out in print.   You can download the final published version from SSRN.  Here’s the abstract:

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Personal Information: The Benefits and Risks of De-Identification

PII

On Monday, December 5th, I’ll be speaking at a Future of Privacy Forum conference entitled “Personal Information: The Benefits and Risks of De-Identification.”

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Facebook Settles with the FTC

Facebook 01

Facebook has settled with the FTC over its change to its privacy policies back in 2009. According to the FTC complaint, as summed up by the FTC press release, Facebook engaged in a number of unfair and deceptive trade practices:

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