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 Internet uproar about network neutrality tends to come in waves. Right now we’re riding the crest of one. Read more about The Case for Rebooting the Network Neutrality Debate
Yesterday afternoon, the White House put out a statement describing its vulnerability disclosure policies: the contentious issue of whether and when government agencies should disclose their knowledge of computer vulnerabilities. The statement falls far short of a commitment to network security for all and fails to provide the reassurance the global public needs in the midst of the NSA’s security scandal. Read more about Obama Policy on Zero Days Craps Out
In 2007 technologist Kathy Sierra faced graphic rape and death threats on her blog Creating Passionate Users and in her email inbox. Around the same time group blogs run by Chris Locke featured two doctored photos of Sierra: one showed Sierra with a noose beside her neck, next to the comment “The only thing Kathy Sierra is good for is her neck size,” and the other depicted Sierra screaming while being suffocated by lingerie. Sierra spoke out against the threats and photos on her blog. She was terrified, and rightly so. Read more about The Changing Attitudes Towards Cyber Gender Harassment: Anonymous as a Guide?
In 2008 and 2012, President Obama campaigned on the incredibly popular idea of network neutrality—a law that would forbid phone and cable companies from changing the Internet and charging websites new tolls, and different tolls for new fast lanes and slow lanes on the internet. Yet yesterday, the New York Times reported that the man Obama appointed as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Tom Wheeler, has made a complete turnaround on network neutrality. Read more about The FCC’s New Net Neutrality Proposal Is Even Worse Than You Think
One of the greatest challenges of living in the future is that it mostly looks just like the present. We have self-driving cars, commercial spaceflight, powerful computers in our pockets, and a vast, always-accessible online encyclopedia that contains the rough outline of the entirety of human knowledge. Just two decades ago, most of these would have been the stuff of science fiction, but, on a personal level, today feels much like yesterday, which feels much like last month, which feels much like last year. Read more about How Technology Broke Privacy
Consider three recent news articles about online privacy:
Google+ added a new feature that shows view counts on everything you post, including your photos. It’s enabled by default, but if you don’t want to be part of the popularity contest, there’s a setting to turn it off.
There is a new privacy tool called XPrivacy for Android that protects you from apps that are hungry for your personal information (it does this by by feeding them fake data). Read more about Eternal vigilance is a solvable technology problem: A proposal for streamlined privacy alerts
Disclosing someone’s nude image in violation of trust and confidence (often known as nonconsensual pornography or revenge porn) is a destructive invasion of privacy that can cause irreversible harm to a person’s physical and emotional well-being, professional reputation, and financial security. Lawmakers are rightfully paying attention. Read more about Debunking the First Amendment Myths Surrounding Revenge Porn Laws
Technological change is at the heart of much information privacy law. Recall privacy law’s beginning. In 1890, Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis, then law partners, wrote the The Right to Privacy in response to the emerging privacy vulnerabilities of their era. Read more about Protecting Sexual Privacy with Law
This post was co-authored by Professor Daniel Solove. Read more about 5 Key Quotes from the FTC v. Wyndham Decision on Data Security
