Issues

Privacy and Security

Information technology lets people learn about one another on a scale previously unimaginable. Information in the wrong hands can be harmful. Scholars on this site consider problems of privacy, fraud, identity, and security posed by the digital age.

Back to main Privacy and Security page

Quotes

Are Digital Giants Like Facebook Destructive by Design?

“Perhaps the problem is not irrationality, but instead it’s cold-eyed rationality in response to an observed failure in privacy protection.” — Ed Felton, Computer Scientist, Princeton University

 


Edward Felten
Source: Columbia Journalism Review’s: The Media Today
June 18, 2020

Contact Tracing – The Privacy Vs Urgency Dilemma for Governments in the Fight Against COVID-19

“Either you have a system unlikely to help people navigate their world, to leave their house and feel safe, or you have privacy trade-offs.”
 — Ryan Calo, Professor of Law, University of Washington
M. Ryan Calo
Source: South China Morning Post
June 4, 2020

Phishing Is Surging. Here's How To Spot Online Scams

“Scammers are acting under the guise of the government, hoping unsuspecting people will give out their bank account information.”
— Lorrie Cranor, Professor of Computer Science, Carnegie Mellon University
Lorrie Faith Cranor
Source: NPR’s Here and Now
May 22, 2020

Coronavirus Tracing Apps Are Coming. Here’s How They Could Reshape Surveillance as We Know It

“We are repeatedly told that contact tracing apps and COVID-19-related surveillance are temporary measures for use until the pandemic passes. That’s likely to be a fantasy.”
— Woodrow Hartzog, Professor of Law and Computer Science at Northeastern University
Woodrow Hartzog
Source: Los Angeles Times
May 12, 2020

The Privacy Issues of Letting Big Tech Tackle the Pandemic

"Those who champion the use of smartphone tracking often ignore that the countries that successfully curbed their pandemics used smartphone apps alongside rigorous testing and aggressive physical-distancing measures." — Ryan Calo, Co-director, University of Washington Tech Policy Lab
M. Ryan Calo
Source: The Globe and Mail
April 23, 2020

Be Very Wary of Trump’s Health Surveillance Plans

"This is not the time for technology optimism or pessimism. It’s the time for technology realism, with the full understanding that technology’s promise is as only good as those who control it — and that once the pendulum moves in one direction during a crisis, it is difficult to swing it back." — Danielle Citron, Privacy Law Professor, Boston University


Danielle Citron
Source: The Washington Post
April 16, 2020

Confronting Viral Disinformation

“My worry is that those very important public health officials who have our attention—and should have our attention—will be beset by cyber mobs trying to chase them offline, to discredit them and to silence them.” — Danielle Citron, Privacy Law Professor, Boston University


Danielle Citron
Source: Slate
March 27, 2020

Activate This ‘Bracelet of Silence,’ and Alexa Can’t Eavesdrop

"It creates an arms race, and consumers will lose in that race,” he said. “Any of these things is a half-measure or a stopgap. There will always be a way around it." — Woodrow Hartzog, Professor of Law and Computer Science, Northeastern University


Woodrow Hartzog
Source: The New York Times
February 14, 2020

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
Results 31 - 40 of 337
|< < 1 2 3 4 5 > >|

TAP Blog

Future of Privacy Forum’s 13th Annual Privacy Papers for Policymakers Recognizes TAP Scholars

Articles by Professor Anita Allen of the University of Pennsylvania School of Law and Professor Paul Schwartz of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law have been honored with the FPF’s Privacy Papers for Policymakers Award.

TAP Staff Blogger

Fact Sheets

Social Networking

Social networking websites are places on the Internet where people can connect with those who share their interests. Additionally, they can function as economic “platforms” that serve different groups of many users, including consumers, advertisers, game developers, and others. 

Featured Article

Federal Trade Commission Privacy Law and Policy

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is the most important privacy regulatory agency in the world. The FTC’s ambit also includes competition and deceptive trade practices. “Privacy” refers to FTC consumer protection efforts relating to the regulation of data about people.

By: Chris Hoofnagle