Issues

The Secretive Company That Might End Privacy as We Know It

"Imagine a rogue law enforcement officer who wants to stalk potential romantic partners, or a foreign government using this to dig up secrets about people to blackmail them or throw them in jail." — Eric Goldman, Professor of Law, Santa Clara University

Eric Goldman
Source: The New York Times
January 18, 2020

MacArthur Genius Danielle Citron on Deepfakes and the Representative Katie Hill Scandal

"I don’t think there’s a one-size-fits-all rule for hate speech in the U.S. The definition of what we mean by hate speech and why we care about hate speech, I think, should differ depending on the context." — Danielle Citron, Privacy Law Professor, Boston University

Danielle Citron
Source:

The New York Magazine

October 31, 2019

Government Case Details Sneaky Facebook Behavior

This article reports on Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) efforts to regulate Facebook’s privacy weaknesses. William Kovacic, George Washington University law professor and former FTC Chairman, is quoted.
William E. Kovacic
Source: AP News
July 24, 2019

What Consumers Should Know About Equifax $700M Settlement

"You cannot determine with certainty that the information will never wind up in the hands of people who are going to use it." — Ryan Calo, Professor of Law, University of Washington

M. Ryan Calo
Source: NBC News
July 22, 2019

FTC Reportedly Approves $5 Billion Settlement with Facebook

"This has emerged as a powerful test of the FTC's credibility as a privacy data protection authority. If it seems to conclude this in a way that is weak, it will suffer tremendously."  — William Kovacic, Professor of Law, George Washington University

William E. Kovacic
Source: CNN
July 12, 2019

F.E.C. Allows Security Company to Help 2020 Candidates Defend Campaigns

"The bad guys have had more time to spend on this, and more time to develop new tricks." — Ed Felten, Professor of Computer Science, Princeton University

Edward Felten
Source: The New York Times
July 11, 2019

Facebook’s Face-ID Database Could Be the Biggest in the World. Yes, It Should Worry Us.

"The payoff for Facebook is to have a bigger and broader sense of everybody’s preferences, both individually and collectively. That helps it not only target ads but target and develop services, too." — Siva Vaidhyanathan, Professor of Media Studies, University of Virginia

Siva Vaidhyanathan
Source: Slate
July 9, 2019

Safe Space or Police State: How Far Should You Go in Monitoring Your Kids Online?

"I’m always nervous about any service provider that wants my password. That’s fundamentally insecure." — Lorrie Cranor, Professor of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University

Lorrie Faith Cranor
Source: The Wall Street Journal
June 4, 2019

Deepfake Porn and the Ethics of Being Able to Watch Whatever Your Imagination Desires

"In the US, the legal options are small but potent if (big if) one has the funds to hire an attorney and one can find the creator. Defamation and intentional infliction of emotional distress are potential claims." — Danielle Citron, Professor of Law, University of Maryland

Danielle Citron
Source: Metro UK
May 31, 2019

Facebook's Face Recognition Privacy Setting Missing for Some Users

"Since the company has one of the largest name-face databases in the world and the power to infer significant things about people whom it identifies, it’s especially important that it craft and execute appropriate policies for face recognition. All users should be able to access the same easy-to-use setting for preventing Facebook from recognizing them in photos and videos, and for deleting their templates." — Evan Selinger, Professor of Philosophy, Rochester Institute of Technology

Evan Selinger
Source: Consumer Reports
May 22, 2019