The Center for Internet and Society at Stanford Law School is a leader in the study of the law and policy around the Internet and other emerging technologies.
The client shows his lawyer a video he says he took on his cell phone. It shows the defendant saying things that, if seen by the jury, will be a slam dunk for the client’s case. The attorney includes the video in her list of evidence for trial, but the defendant’s lawyers move to strike. They claim it’s a fake. What’s the plaintiff’s lawyer—and the judge—to do?
Welcome to trial practice in the new world of "deepfake" videos. Read more about Too Good to Be True?
It is only a matter of time before maliciously manipulated or fabricated content surfaces of a major presidential candidate in 2020. The video manipulation of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in May demonstrates the speed with which even a “cheap fake” can spread. Read more about Campaigns Must Prepare for Deepfakes: This Is What Their Plan Should Look Like
Digital conflict and military action are increasingly intertwined, and civilian targets – private businesses and everyday internet users alike – are vulnerable in the digital crossfire. But there are forces at work trying to promote peace online. Read more about In a world of cyber threats, the push for cyber peace is growing
Blocking cookies is bad for privacy. That’s the new disingenuous argument from Google, trying to justify why Chrome is so far behind Safari and Firefox in offering privacy protections. As researchers who have spent over a decade studying web tracking and online advertising, we want to set the record straight.
Our high-level points are:
1) Cookie blocking does not undermine web privacy. Google’s claim to the contrary is privacy gaslighting. Read more about Deconstructing Google’s excuses on tracking protection
Editor's note: This piece originally appeared on TechTank.
Facebook’s recent settlement with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reignited debate over whether the agency is up to the task of protecting privacy. Many people, including some skeptics of the FTC’s ability to rein in Silicon Valley, lauded the settlement, or at least parts of it. Read more about The FTC Can Rise to the Privacy Challenge, but Not Without Help From Congress
Lately, politicians and news sources have been repeating a persistent myth about, of all things, technology law. The myth concerns a provision of the 1996 Communications Decency Act, generally known as Section 230 or CDA 230. Read more about The stubborn, misguided myth that Internet platforms must be ‘neutral’
High-profile data breaches at companies like British Airways and Marriott get a lot of media coverage, but cybercriminals are increasingly going after community groups, schools, small businesses and municipal governments. Read more about 5 ways to protect yourself from cybercrime
Margaret O’Mara is a professor of history at the University of Washington. Her new book, “The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America,” was just published by Penguin Press. I interviewed her about it. Read more about Silicon Valley paints itself as a hotbed of free enterprise. Here’s how the government helped build it.
In the midst of rising tensions between the United States and Iran over tanker attacks and Iran’s downing of a U.S. drone, reports emerged that U.S. Read more about Cyberattack Attribution and the Virtues of Decentralization
Submission to Australia's Parliamentary Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security (PJCIS) regarding its review of the Assistance and Access Act that had passed into law in early December 2018. Read more about Further Submission to PJCIS Regarding Assistance and Access Act