Publications

Saving Privacy

Author(s): 
Marvin Ammori
Publication Date: 
May 19, 2014
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

Reed Hundt calls for alternatives to framing surveillance issues in terms of privacy versus security, but the hard fact is that we cannot avoid tradeoffs. We have to assume that at least some surveillance programs do thwart plots and save lives. That leads to a hard question: whether we as a society will preserve privacy knowing that innocent people will die. Will we trade some lives for some privacy? At times, the answer to that question should be yes. Read more about Saving Privacy

The Robot Car of Tomorrow May Just Be Programmed to Hit You

Author(s): 
Patrick Lin
Publication Date: 
May 6, 2014
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

Suppose that an autonomous car is faced with a terrible decision to crash into one of two objects. It could swerve to the left and hit a Volvo sport utility vehicle (SUV), or it could swerve to the right and hit a Mini Cooper. If you were programming the car to minimize harm to others–a sensible goal–which way would you instruct it go in this scenario? Read more about The Robot Car of Tomorrow May Just Be Programmed to Hit You

Obama Policy on Zero Days Craps Out

Author(s): 
Jennifer Granick
Publication Date: 
April 29, 2014
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

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

The Changing Attitudes Towards Cyber Gender Harassment: Anonymous as a Guide?

Author(s): 
Danielle Citron
Publication Date: 
April 27, 2014
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

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?

The FCC’s New Net Neutrality Proposal Is Even Worse Than You Think

Author(s): 
Marvin Ammori
Publication Date: 
April 24, 2014
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

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

How Technology Broke Privacy

Author(s): 
Brian Hayden Pascal
Publication Date: 
April 24, 2014
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

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

Eternal vigilance is a solvable technology problem: A proposal for streamlined privacy alerts

Author(s): 
Arvind Narayanan
Publication Date: 
April 21, 2014
Publication Type: 
Other Writing

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

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