Privacy Law Commons^™

Regulating Mass Surveillance As Privacy Pollution: Learning From Environmental Impact Statements, A. Michael Froomkin

Articles

Encroachments on privacy through mass surveillance greatly resemble the pollution crisis in that they can be understood as imposing an externality on the surveilled. This Article argues that this resemblance also suggests a solution: requiring those conducting mass surveillance in and through public spaces to disclose their plans publicly via an updated form of environmental impact statement, thus requiring an impact analysis and triggering a more informed public conversation about privacy. The Article first explains how mass surveillance is polluting public privacy and surveys the limited and inadequate doctrinal tools available to respond to mass surveillance technologies. Then, it provides …

The First Amendment And The Rpas, Caren M. Morrison

Faculty Publications By Year

No abstract provided.

An Introduction To The Intellectual Property Law Implications Of 3d Printing, Michael Rimock

Canadian Journal of Law and Technology

Put simply, 3D printing allows people to print physical objects that are scanned, downloaded, or created digitally. There are an astonishing number of uses, benefits, and advantages associated with 3D printing. However, as with any new technology with so much potential, 3D printing presents a number of threats and challenges to many who benefit from the way manufacturing currently operates. While 3D printers will likely have a tremendous economic and socio- cultural impact, the following will provide an overview of some of its implications relating to intellectual property law. I will begin by briefly discussing the history of 3D printing …

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 …

Regulating Drones Under The First And Fourth Amendments, Marc Blitz, James Grimsley, Stephen E. Henderson, Joseph Thai

Faculty Articles

The FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 requires the Federal Aviation Administration to integrate unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), or drones, into the national airspace system by September of this year. Yet perhaps because of their chilling accuracy in targeted killings abroad, perhaps because of an increasing consciousness of diminishing privacy more generally, and perhaps simply because of a fear of the unknown, divergent UAV-restrictive legislation has been proposed in Congress and enacted in a number of states. Ultimately, given UAV utility and cost effectiveness over a vast range of tasks, widespread commercial use seems certain. So it is imperative …

"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, …

Information Privacy Law Scholars' Brief In Spokeo, Inc. V. Robins, Neil M. Richards, Julie E. Cohen, Chris Jay Hoofnagle, William Mcgeveran, Paul Ohm, Joel R. Reidenberg, David Thaw, Lauren E. Willis

Scholarship@WashULaw

This brief, submitted to the Supreme Court of the United States by 15 information privacy law scholars in the case of Spokeo, Inc. v. Robins (No 13-1339), argues that in enacting the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), Congress crafted a bargain between aggressive, secretive data-aggregating businesses and the public: if those businesses limited disclosures and made reasonable efforts to adhere to practices ensuring “maximum possible accuracy,” they would enjoy a safe harbor from litigation under many other state and federal theories. The FCRA’s consumer transparency requirements and remedial provisions were designed to encourage steady improvement in consumer reporting practices and …

Digital Laws Evolve, Neil M. Richards

Scholarship@WashULaw

The essay from Wired Magazine (UK)'s special volume, "The Wired World in 2015," argues that although digital laws have lagged behind technological advances, they are starting to catch up, and this trend will continue in 2015. When it comes to privacy and technology, the law is catching up all over the world.

Big Data And Predictive Reasonable Suspicion, Andrew Ferguson

Scholarly Articles in Law Reviews & Journals

The Fourth Amendment requires “reasonable suspicion” to seize a suspect. As a general matter, the suspicion derives from information a police officer observes or knows. It is individualized to a particular person at a particular place. Most reasonable suspicion cases involve police confronting unknown suspects engaged in observable suspicious activities. Essentially, the reasonable suspicion doctrine is based on “small data” – discrete facts involving limited information and little knowledge about the suspect.But what if this small data is replaced by “big data”? What if police can “know” about the suspect through new networked information sources? Or, what if predictive analytics …

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 …

Robots In The Home: What Will We Have Agreed To?, Margot E. Kaminski

Publications

A new technology can expose the cracks in legal doctrine. Sometimes a technology resists analogy. Sometimes, through analogies, it reveals inconsistencies in the law, or basic flaws in framing, or in the fit between different parts of the legal system. This Essay addresses robots in the home, and what they reveal about U.S. privacy law. Household robots might not themselves uproot U.S. privacy law, but they will reveal its inconsistencies, and show where it is most likely to fracture. Just as drones are serving as a legislative “privacy catalyst” — encouraging the enactment of new privacy laws as people realize …

Regulating Real-World Surveillance, Margot E. Kaminski

Publications

A number of laws govern information gathering, or surveillance, by private parties in the physical world. But we lack a compelling theory of privacy harm that accounts for the state's interest in enacting these laws. Without a theory of privacy harm, these laws will be enacted piecemeal. Legislators will have a difficult time justifying the laws to constituents; the laws will not be adequately tailored to legislative interest; and courts will find it challenging to weigh privacy harms against other strong values, such as freedom of expression.

This Article identifies the government interest in enacting laws governing surveillance by private …

Secondary Data: A Primary Concern, Kelsey L. Zottnick

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

This Note addresses privacy concerns implicated by rising secondary data mining. Secondary data mining is the use of personal information for a purpose other than the original. This complex technology drives billions of dollars in commercial industry yet remains largely unregulated. This Note examines the current state of the data mining industry and the behavioral fallacies that belie societal concerns about online privacy. Further, relevant federal, state, and constitutional laws appear outstripped by these technological advances. An analysis of potential privacy solutions examines the advantages and disadvantages of implementing each one through the privacy community, the federal government, and the …

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.

Metadata: Piecing Together A Privacy Solution, Chris Conley

Faculty Scholarship

Imagine the government is constantly monitoring you — keeping track of every person you call or email, every place you go, everything you buy, and more — all without getting a warrant. And when you challenge them, they claim you have no right to expect this kind of information to be private. Besides, they’re not actually listening to what you say or reading what you write, so what’s the big deal anyhow?

Unfortunately, this scenario is more real than imaginary. Government agencies ranging from the NSA to local police departments have taken advantage of weak or uncertain legal protections for …

When Enough Is Enough: Location Tracking, Mosaic Theory, And Machine Learning, Steven M. Bellovin, Renée M. Hutchins, Tony Jebara, Sebastian Zimmeck

Faculty Scholarship

Since 1967, when it decided Katz v. United States, the Supreme Court has tied the right to be free of unwanted government scrutiny to the concept of reasonable xpectations of privacy.^[1] An evaluation of reasonable expectations depends, among other factors, upon an assessment of the intrusiveness of government action. When making such assessment historically the Court has considered police conduct with clear temporal, geographic, or substantive limits. However, in an era where new technologies permit the storage and compilation of vast amounts of personal data, things are becoming more complicated. A school of thought known as “mosaic theory” …

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 …

E-Discovery: Reasonable Search, Proportionality, Cooperation, And Advancing Technology, 30 J. Marshall J. Info. Tech. & Privacy L. 433 (2014), Steven Bennett

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Rule 26(g)(1)(A) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (the “Federal Rules”) requires that an attorney responding to a discovery request verify by signature, after “reasonable inquiry,” that the disclosure is, to the best of the attorney’s knowledge, “complete and correct.” In a digital environment, with masses of data in multiple formats and locations, the determination of whether a “reasonable” effort to meet the completeness requirement has occurred may turn on an assessment of the practices used to conduct a search of electronic materials. Those practices, in turn, must be judged on a standard of “proportionality” (i.e., that the effort …

From Morris To Nosal: The History Of Exceeding Authorization And The Need For A Change, 30 J. Marshall J. Info. Tech. & Privacy L. 465 (2014), Vasileios Karagiannopoulos

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

This Article discusses and examines the various cases that pertain to the issue of exceeding authorized access throughout the years from United States v. Morris to the recent United States v. Nosal. Further, this Article thoroughly examines the Ninth Circuit’s approach regarding the issue of exceeding authorization; specifically, the need for the Ninth Circuit’s narrower interpretation in United States v. Brekka and Nosal. Finally, this Article proposes an alternative phrasing for the term “exceeding authorization,” and a revised interpretation of the phrase and the relevant offenses under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. This recommended interpretation suggests establishing different degrees …

Cloud Computing, Regulatory Compliance, And Student Privacy: A Guide For School Administrators And Legal Counsel, 30 J. Marshall J. Info. Tech. & Privacy L. 511 (2014), Steve Mutkoski

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

Rapid change in the technology landscape has resulted in the introduction of a range of new technologies into the classroom. But unlike the past use of technology in schools, many of these new products and services introduce two new dynamics that school counsel (and the teachers and administrators they support) need to understand fully. First, many of these new products and services are run “in the cloud” by a third party service provider as opposed to on servers operated by the school’s information technology (IT) staff. This third party operation and control can raise important new regulatory compliance issues, including …

Bitcoins: Technological Innovation Or Emerging Threat?, 30 J. Marshall J. Info. Tech. & Privacy L. 535 (2014), R. Joseph Cook

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

The Problems With Prism: How A Modern Definition Of Privacy Necessarily Protects Privacy Interests In Digital Communications, 30 J. Marshall J. Info. Tech. & Privacy L. 571 (2014), Adam Florek

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

No abstract provided.

The Right To Travel And Privacy: Intersecting Fundamental Freedoms, 30 J. Marshall J. Info. Tech. & Privacy L. 639 (2014), Richard Sobel

UIC John Marshall Journal of Information Technology & Privacy Law

As a fundamental right inherent in American citizenship and the nature of the federal union, the right to travel in the United States is basic to American liberty. The right precedes the creation of the United States and appears in the Articles of Confederation. The U.S. Constitution and Supreme Court recognize and protect the right to interstate travel. The travel right entails privacy and free domestic movement without governmental abridgement.

In the era of surveillance, the imposition of official photo identification for travel, watchlist prescreening programs, and invasive airport scans and searches unreasonably burden the right to travel. They undermine …