Privacy Law Commons^™

The Internet Of Things And Wearable Technology: Addressing Privacy And Security Concerns Without Derailing Innovation, Adam D. Thierer

Richmond Journal of Law & Technology

The next great wave of Internet-enabled innovation has arrived, and it is poised to revolutionize the way humans interact with the world around them. This paper highlights some of the opportunities presented by the rise of the so-called Internet of Things (IoT) in general and wearable technology in particular and encourages policymakers to allow these technologies to develop in a relatively unabated fashion.

Signing Your Next Deal With Your Twitter @Username: The Legal Uses Of Identity-Based Cryptography, Jillian Friedman

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article will look at the legal framework for electronic signatures under Canadian law and through the UNCITRAL Model Law on Electronic Signatures and evaluate the potential use of identity-based cryptography as a type of electronic signature. While most jurisdictions permit electronic signatures to replace their handwritten predecessors, the criteria of validity for an electronic signature range from liberal to restrictive. Public key infrastructure (PKI) cryptography schemes are considered to meet the juridical conditions of a legal signature under more rigorous legislation that requires an electronic signature to possess certain security attributes. In common law jurisdictions, digital signature schemes such …

"Records Management Law" - A Necessary Major Field Of The Practice Of Law, Ken Chasse

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

‘‘Records management law” will be a necessary area of specialization because: (1) electronic records are now produced by most commercial, communication, transmission of data, and social, formal, and semi-formal interactions; (2) therefore they are the foundation of many kinds of legislation; (3) records are the most frequently used kind of evidence in legal proceedings; and, (4) electronic records are as important to daily living as are motor vehicles, and will become more important. But the legal infrastructure of statutes, guidelines, and case law that controls the use of electronic records as evidence is very inadequate because it ignores these facts: …

Technological Neutrality Explained & Applied To Cbc V. Sodrac, Cameron J. Hutchison

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article explores technological neutrality in the factual context of CBC v. SODRAC, heard before the Supreme Court of Canada in March of 2015 with decision pending at the time of publication. After outlining the history of the case in the first part, this article concludes with an application of the principle of technological neutrality, as non-interference, to the case. The only result coherent with the Supreme Court’s prior case law is to not treat non-usable or dormant incidental copies as reproductions under the Act. The status of permanent copies that serve a useful and identifiable purpose, e.g. archived copies, …

Privacy As Trust: Sharing Personal Information In A Networked World, Ari Ezra Waldman

Articles & Chapters

This Article is the first in a series on the legal and sociological aspects of privacy, arguing that private contexts are defined by relationships of trust among individuals. The argument reorients privacy scholarship from an individual right to social relationships of disclosure. This has implications for a wide variety of vexing problems of modern privacy law, from limited disclosures to “revenge porn.”

The common everyday understanding is that privacy is about choice, autonomy, and individual freedom. It encompasses the individual’s right to determine what he will keep hidden and what, how, and when he will disclose to the public. Privacy …

Disagreeable Privacy Policies: Mismatches Between Meaning And Users’ Understanding, Joel R. Reidenberg, Travis Breaux, Lorrie F. Cranor, Brian M. French, Amanda Grannis, James T. Graves, Fei Liu, Aleecia Mcdonald, Thomas B. Norton, Rohan Ramanath, N. Cameron Russell, Norman Sadeh, Florian Schaub

Faculty Scholarship

Privacy policies are verbose, difficult to understand, take too long to read, and may be the least-read items on most websites even as users express growing concerns about information collection practices. For all their faults, though, privacy policies remain the single most important source of information for users to attempt to learn how companies collect, use, and share data. Likewise, these policies form the basis for the self-regulatory notice and choice framework that is designed and promoted as a replacement for regulation. The underlying value and legitimacy of notice and choice depends, however, on the ability of users to understand …

The Internet Grows Up?, Neil M. Richards

Scholarship@WashULaw

Danielle Citron’s Hate Crimes in Cyberspace is one of the most important publications to date in the emerging fields of privacy and cyberlaw. In her thoughtful and insightful book, Citron explains the uneven playing field and frequently shocking acts of abuse that women face online, and demonstrates practical steps that we can take to remedy the problem of online hate through law, education, and the development of better, more inclusive norms. Other contributors to this Symposium have examined these contributions in great detail, pointing out important nuances of Citron’s argument, urging her in at least one case to be even …

The Dawn Of Social Intelligence (Socint), Laura K. Donohue

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

More information about citizens’ lives is recorded than ever before. Because the data is digitized, it can be accessed, analyzed, shared, and combined with other information to generate new knowledge. In a post-9/‌11 environment, the legal standards impeding access to such data have fallen. Simultaneously, the advent of global communications and cloud computing, along with network convergence, have expanded the scope of information available. The U.S. government has begun to collect and to analyze the associated data.

The result is the emergence of what can be termed “social intelligence” (SOCINT), which this Article defines as the collection of digital data …

Cookie Monster: Balancing Internet Privacy With Commerce, Technology And Terrorism, Nichoel Forrett

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Promoting Innovation While Preventing Discrimination: Policy Goals For The Scored Society, Frank Pasquale, Danielle K. Citron

Faculty Scholarship

There are several normative theories of jurisprudence supporting our critique of the scored society, which complement the social theory and political economy presented in our 2014 article on that topic in the Washington Law Review. This response to Professor Tal Zarsky clarifies our antidiscrimination argument while showing that is only one of many bases for the critique of scoring practices. The concerns raised by Big Data may exceed the capacity of extant legal doctrines. Addressing the potential injustice may require the hard work of legal reform.

Self, Privacy, And Power: Is It All Over?, Richard Warner, Robert H. Sloan

All Faculty Scholarship

The realization of a multifaceted self is an ideal one strives to realize. One realizes such a self in large part through interaction with others in various social roles. Such realization requires a significant degree of informational privacy. Informational privacy is the ability to determine for yourself when others may collect and how they may use your information. The realization of multifaceted selves requires informational privacy in public. There is no contradiction here: informational privacy is a matter of control, and you can have such control in public. Current information processing practices greatly reduce privacy in public thereby threatening the …

Systematic Ict Surveillance By Employers: Are Your Personal Activities Private?, Arlene J. Nicholas

Faculty and Staff - Articles & Papers

This paper reviews the various methods of information and communications technology (ICT) that is used by employers to peer into the work lives and, in some cases, private lives of employees. Some of the most common methods – such as computer and Internet monitoring, video surveillance, and global positioning systems (GPS) – have resulted in employee disciplines that have been challenged in courts. This paper provides background information on United States (U.S.) laws and court cases which, in this age of easily accessible information, mostly support the employer. Assessments regarding regulations and policies, which will need to be continually updated …

Criminalizing Revenge Porn, Danielle K. Citron, Mary Anne Franks

Faculty Scholarship

Violations of sexual privacy, notably the non-consensual publication of sexually graphic images in violation of someone's trust, deserve criminal punishment. They deny subjects' ability to decide if and when they are sexually exposed to the public and undermine trust needed for intimate relationships. Then too they produce grave emotional and dignitary harms, exact steep financial costs, and increase the risks of physical assault. A narrowly and carefully crafted criminal statute can comport with the First Amendment. The criminalization of revenge porn is necessary to protect against devastating privacy invasions that chill self-expression and ruin lives.

A Cloudy Forecast: Divergence In The Cloud Computing Laws Of The United States, European Union, And China, Tina Cheng

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Access Of Evil? Legislating Online Youth Privacy In The Information Age, Agathon Fric

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article seeks to address what constitutes youth online privacy, how youth conceive of their privacy, whether their privacy needs protecting, and, if so, how youth privacy should be regulated online. First, the article begins by rooting the issue of online youth privacy in the current social, technological, economic, political, and legal context, drawing on social science research to demonstrate both the threats and opportunities created by technology for youth privacy.

Second, the analysis focuses on the relative strengths and weaknesses of current federal legislation as the primary law governing the collection, use, and disclosure of youth’s personal information through …

Combining Familial Searching And Abandoned Dna: Potential Privacy Outcomes And The Future Of Canada's National Dna Data Bank, Amy Conroy

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article aims to respond to the government’s request by explaining the nature of that relationship and by arguing that the combined use of familial searching and analysis of abandoned DNA would present a serious risk for genetic privacy. The risk is particularly acute given that it would effectively circumvent the existing justification for the NDDB, leading to inclusion of individuals whose DNA profiles have not been uploaded directly onto the data bank. To substantiate this main argument, this article proceeds in three parts. The first describes the current Canadian law on familial searching and the ongoing interest in amending …

With Great Power Comes Little Responsibility: The Role Of Online Payment Service Providers With Regards To Websites Selling Counterfeit Goods, J. Bruce Richardson

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article will explain the current avenues for intellectual property rights holders to make use of existing anti-counterfeiting policies made available by financial companies dealing in electronic payments, and argue that current policies, while helpful, are not sufficient. The article will conclude by demonstrating that policy makers have options to intervene and regulate the use of online payment services, either directly through legislation or indirectly through facilitating “best practices.”

The Song Remains The Same: Preserving The First Sale Doctrine For A Secondary Market Of Digital Music, Marco Figliomeni

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article will explore the origins and rationale for the first sale doctrine. A review of the most recent American case law shows the court rejecting the doctrine’s applicability in a digital sphere. I suggest that in spite of the court’s rigid interpretation of the U.S. Copyright Act, formulating a digital first sale doctrine is a matter better left to lawmakers. A flourishing digital secondary market can promote competition and innovation while making content more accessible to the public, but its endorsement requires an appreciation of its adverse effect on the primary market for copyright owners. The article fast-forwards to …

Rethinking Online Privacy In Canada: Commentary On Voltage Pictures V. John And Jane Doe, Ngozi Okidegbe

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

This article examines the Voltage decision, with the view that the bona fide standard safeguards intellectual property rights at the cost of online privacy rights and will proceed in three parts. Part I provides a brief contextualization of the issues. Part II is an analysis of the Voltage decision. Part III examines how the bona fide standard is a relatively low threshold. This article concludes by considering the possibility of shifting to a higher standard for disclosure, as well as a possible solution for the effect that a higher standard could have on copyright owners.

Yale Symposium: Unpacking Nsa's Global Problem, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Reviving Implied Confidentiality, Woodrow Hartzog

Indiana Law Journal

The law of online relationships has a significant flaw—it regularly fails to account for the possibility of an implied confidence. The established doctrine of implied confidentiality is, without explanation, almost entirely absent from online jurisprudence in environments where it has traditionally been applied offline, such as with sensitive data sets and intimate social interactions.

Courts’ abandonment of implied confidentiality in online environments should have been foreseen. The concept has not been developed enough to be consistently applied in environments such as the Internet that lack obvious physical or contextual cues of confidence. This absence is significant because implied confidentiality could …

Privacy In Social Media: To Tweet Or Not To Tweet?, Tara M. Breslawski

Touro Law Review

No abstract provided.

Of Relevance And Reform Under Section 215, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

Online Terms Of Service: A Shield For First Amendment Scrutiny Of Government Action, Jacquelyn E. Fradette

Notre Dame Law Review

Part I of this Note will canvas popular opinions and perceptions about First Amendment rights on the Internet using examples of public outcry over recent instances of speech limitation. It will also discuss the state action doctrine generally and how the presence of this doctrine most likely renders certain popular public constitutional intuitions about the First Amendment erroneous.

Part II will provide an overview of how courts have taken an expansive and protective view of private ordering between online parties. It will discuss how courts have developed a robust freedom to contract jurisprudence in the Internet context. Because courts essentially …

Fisc Query Preapproval: Intelligence Burden Or Bump In The Road?, Peter Margulies

Law Faculty Scholarship

No abstract provided.

The Scored Society: Due Process For Automated Predictions, Danielle Keats Citron, Frank A. Pasquale

Faculty Scholarship

Big Data is increasingly mined to rank and rate individuals. Predictive algorithms assess whether we are good credit risks, desirable employees, reliable tenants, valuable customers—or deadbeats, shirkers, menaces, and “wastes of time.” Crucial opportunities are on the line, including the ability to obtain loans, work, housing, and insurance. Though automated scoring is pervasive and consequential, it is also opaque and lacking oversight. In one area where regulation does prevail—credit—the law focuses on credit history, not the derivation of scores from data.

Procedural regularity is essential for those stigmatized by “artificially intelligent” scoring systems. The American due process tradition should inform …

Setting Parental Controls: Do Parents Have A Duty To Supervise Their Children’S Use Of The Internet?, 31 J. Marshall J. Info. Tech. & Privacy L. 309 (2014), Alberto Bernabe

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

“Bring Your Own Glass”: The Privacy Implications Of Google Glass In The Workplace, 30 J. Marshall J. Info. Tech. & Privacy L. 607 (2014), Anisha Mehta

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

Near-Field Communication Technology: Regulatory And Legal Recommendations For Embracing The Nfc Revolution, Allan Richarz

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Despite its ease and convenience, NFC technology raises a number of privacy issues. Chief among these concerns are the collection, retention, and usage of personally-identifying information contained within NFC-enabled devices by both private and public entities. Within that category, the most pressing privacy issues inherent in the collection and usage of such information relate to real-time tracking or after-the-fact habit profiling and identity theft. As well, privacy issues persist around the means used, if any, to secure and protect that information from unauthorized third parties both at the end-user and systemic database levels.

In light of these concerns, it is …

Policing The Social Media Water Cooler: Recent Nlrb Decisions Should Make Employers Think Twice Before Terminating An Employee For Comments Posted On Social Media Sites, Eric Raphan, Sean Kirby

Journal of Business & Technology Law

No abstract provided.