
Ryan Calo is an assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Law and a former research director at CIS. A nationally recognized expert in law and emerging technology, Ryan's work has appeared in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, Wired Magazine, and other news outlets. Ryan serves on several advisory committees, including the Electronic Frontier Foundation, the Electronic Privacy Information Center, and the Future of Privacy Forum. He co-chairs the American Bar Association Committee on Robotics and Artificial Intelligence and serves on the program committee of National Robotics Week.
BrightTALK Webcast: The Future of Online Notice
By Ryan Calo • August 13, 2009 at 10:54 am
Amazon Burns Orwell's E-Books
By Ryan Calo • July 17, 2009 at 2:04 pm
Everyone knows Ray Bradbury’s book Fahrenheit 451. First published in 1953, Bradbury imagined a world in which government “firemen” could enter your home at any time and burn your books “for the good of humanity.” This deeply dystopic vision has, thankfully, not come to pass. Nor could it. In the U.S., the First and Fourth Amendments project against unreasonable government intrusion, especially where it implicates ideas. The state will never be able to enter your house and burn your books, even in an age of terrorism. I really believe that.
That’s why I was so disturbed to learn that Amazon has managed to “burn” two other famous dystopias, these ones by George Orwell, without implicating the Constitution. According to reports, people who had purchased Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm for Kindle woke up to find that Amazon had erased the e-books remotely. Read more » about Amazon Burns Orwell's E-Books
Self-Regulatory Principles For Online Behavioral Advertising: "Or" vs. "And"
By Ryan Calo • July 6, 2009 at 12:17 pm
I’ve blogged before about the Network Advertising Initiative’s opt out for behavioral targeting, noting that there is no guarantee that participants will stop tracking users (only that they will stop serving targeted ads with the data they gather). Now a distinct coalition of online advertisers has proposed its own self-regulatory program, modeled on principles released (PDF) by Federal Trade Commission staff earlier this year. I took a closer look at what the new industry program says about opting out of the collection of user browsing habits. Hint: pay close attention to the use of conjunctions. Read more » about Self-Regulatory Principles For Online Behavioral Advertising: "Or" vs. "And"
Technically Women
By Ryan Calo • June 30, 2009 at 11:05 am
Inspired by a blog post last year by ZDNet's Dennis Howlett, a group of prominent women in technology have formed a new blog called Technically Women. Technically Women "comprises a group of women from all walks of technology" and hopes to provide a forum for discussion of the state of the industry. Read more » about Technically Women
Network Advertising Initiative Opt Out Tutorial
By Ryan Calo • June 19, 2009 at 11:28 am
The wonderful website Pogo Was Right posted this video tutorial by the Network Advertising Initiative on how to opt out of behavioral targeting. I'm happy to see easy to follow instructions but continue to note the absence of an explicit promise that users who opt out will no longer be tracked. Read more » about Network Advertising Initiative Opt Out Tutorial
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The Boundaries of Privacy Harm
The Boundaries of Privacy Harm, 86 INDIANA LAW JOURNAL 1131 (2011) Read more » about The Boundaries of Privacy Harm
Peeping Hals
Peeping Hals, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 175(5-6): 940-941 (2011) Read more » about Peeping Hals
People Can Be So Fake
People Can Be So Fake: A New Dimension to Privacy and Technology Scholarship, 114 PENN STATE LAW REVIEW 809 (2010) Read more » about People Can Be So Fake
Robots and Privacy
Robots and Privacy, in ROBOT ETHICS: THE ETHICAL AND SOCIAL IMPLICATIONS OF ROBOTICS (Patrick Lin et al, eds.) (MIT Press 2012) Read more » about Robots and Privacy
Amicus Brief - Bunnel v. MPAA
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Ohio Plans Drones to Hunt Lost Kids as They Bring Jobs
"“Drones have the potential to be transformative technology,” Ryan Calo, a professor at the University of Washington School of Law and a former director at the Stanford Law School Center for Internet and Society, said by telephone from Seattle. “There will be some people who will never get used to the idea of inscrutable flying robots watching, but I think for many, they’ll come to accept this technology.”" Read more » about Ohio Plans Drones to Hunt Lost Kids as They Bring Jobs
Is the LAPD using drones to search for ex-cop Christopher Dorner?
"Ryan Calo, director of privacy and robotics at the Stanford Law School's Center for Internet and Society agreed with Harman, saying: "Any time you have a tool like that in the hands of law enforcement that makes it easier to do surveillance, they will do more of it. This could be a time when people are uncomfortable, and they want to place limits on that technology."" Read more » about Is the LAPD using drones to search for ex-cop Christopher Dorner?
Why Americans Are Saying No to Domestic Drones
"Ryan Calo of Stanford’s Center for Internet and Society suggested in a December 2011 paper that because of their “disquieting” nature, drones “could be just the visceral jolt society needs” to spark broader changes in how Americans conceptualize privacy problems." Read more » about Why Americans Are Saying No to Domestic Drones
Privacy worries may stall commercial use of drone aircraft
""If we don't fix the privacy problems for civil liberties, we'll never realize the benefits from drones," said Ryan Calo, a law professor at the University of Washington who specializes in robotics and privacy. "Folks will be afraid and object."" Read more » about Privacy worries may stall commercial use of drone aircraft
Who’s Watching Those Unblinking Eyes in the Sky?
Ryan Calo, an assistant professor at the University of Washington School of Law, told IPS that privacy issues surrounding the use of drones are also limiting the technology’s constructive potential. Read more » about Who’s Watching Those Unblinking Eyes in the Sky?
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Brain-Computer Privacy: A Discussion with Ryan Calo (Past Event)
Presented by the Center for Law and the Biosciences
Brain-computer interfaces are on the rise, but they may be vulnerable to hacking that reveals users' private information. Join us as Ryan Calo discusses the privacy risks of this emerging technology.
This event is free and open to the public, and will feature lunch from Net Appetit.
Related reading: Read more » about Brain-Computer Privacy: A Discussion with Ryan Calo
Robot Block Party 2013 (Past Event)
In celebration of National Robotics Week, the Silicon Valley Robot Block Party returns to the Volkswagen Automotive Innovation Lab @ Stanford on Wednesday, April 10 2013, from 1 to 6pm. Read more » about Robot Block Party 2013
We Robot: Getting Down to Business (Past Event)
The program committee for We Robot: Getting Down To Business invites you to join us for the second annual robotics and the law conference to take place April 8 and 9 at Stanford Law School. This year’s event is focused on the immediate commercial prospects of robotics and will include panels and papers on a wide variety of topics, including: Read more » about We Robot: Getting Down to Business
Weekend in Washington - What's The Big Idea? Technology & The Future of Privacy (Past Event)
Technology Reporter Steven Henn leads a conversation on new innovations in face recognition technology and the legal & ethical challenges they raise with two leading privacy experts: University of Washington Law's Ryan Calo and Carnegie Mellon University's Alessandro Acquisti
More Info Read more » about Weekend in Washington - What's The Big Idea? Technology & The Future of Privacy
Robots, Privacy & Society (Past Event)
It is not hard to imagine why robots raise privacy concerns. Practically by definition, robots are equipped with the ability to sense, process, and record the world around them. Robots can go places humans cannot go, see things humans cannot see. Robots are, first and foremost, a human instrument. And after industrial manufacturing, the principal use to which we’ve put that instrument has been surveillance. Read more » about Robots, Privacy & Society
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The Center for Law and the Biosciences presents Ryan Calo
April 18, 2013
On April 10, 2013, Stanford's Center for Law and the Biosciences welcomed CIS Affiliate Scholar Ryan Calo to campus for a discussion on law and emerging technology, with an emphasis on spyware for your brain. Read more » about The Center for Law and the Biosciences presents Ryan Calo
The Future of Drones in America: Law Enforcement and Privacy Considerations
March 20, 2013
Hearing before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary on “The Future of Drones in America: Law Enforcement and Privacy Considerations” Read more » about The Future of Drones in America: Law Enforcement and Privacy Considerations
Open Book Club: A Conversation With Neal Stephenson
October 23, 2012
CIS Affiliate Scholar Ryan Calo interviews Neal Stephenson, author of Readme. Topics include privacy, virtual economics and security. Beth Cantrell, Greg Lastowka, and Tadayoshi Kohno also included in panel interview. This event was hosted by the University of Washington Law School. Read more » about Open Book Club: A Conversation With Neal Stephenson
Drone Economies (Panel Discussion)
June 18, 2012
DRONE ECONOMIES (Panel Discussion) Arthur and Marilouise Kroker, David Brin, Ryan Calo, moderated by Ricardo Dominguez. Read more » about Drone Economies (Panel Discussion)
Robots, Privacy & Society- Cal Poly
May 29, 2012
It is not hard to imagine why robots raise privacy concerns. Practically by definition, robots are equipped with the ability to sense, process, and record the world around them. Robots can go places humans cannot go, see things humans cannot see. Robots are, first and foremost, a human instrument. And after industrial manufacturing, the principal use to which we’ve put that instrument has been surveillance. This talk explores the various ways that robots implicate privacy and why, absent conscientious legal and design interventions, we may never realize the potential of this transformative technology. Read more » about Robots, Privacy & Society- Cal Poly
