“The Porch Pirate of Potrero Hill Can’t Believe It Came to This" – The Atlantic. How technology intersects with and possibly exacerbates long entrenched societal problems. A fascinating read starting with someone stealing Amazon packages in a rapidly gentrifying San Francisco neighborhood.“Why Do We Tolerate Saudi Money in Tech?” – The New York Times and … Continue reading Further Reading (15 November)
“I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb” – Vice. A writer discovered through experience about a scam many on the short-term rental site, Airbnb, have experienced: a last-minute cancellation leading to a much inferior property and an interminable process for lodging complaints and obtaining a refund. Airbnb seems lax about enforcing its own policies … Continue reading Further Reading (8 November)
“Russian operatives sacrifice followers to stay under cover on Facebook” – Reuters. Facebooks is using the tactics Russian hackers have used to spread disinformation against them. In order to sow discord, the Internet Research Agency’s (IRA) hackers need to be outrageous and memorable but doing so makes it easier for Facebook’s security team to track … Continue reading Further Reading
Recently, the Senate Intelligence Committee released the second of five planned volumes detailing its findings and recommendations arising from Russia’s actions during the 2016 U.S. election. The committee made a number of recommendations with this preface: This challenge requires an integrated approach that brings together the public and private sectors. This approach must be rooted … Continue reading Second Volume of Senate Intelligence Committee Report On Election Interference, Part III
“China Masters Political Propaganda for the Instagram Age“ – The New York Times. The regime in Beijing has learned more effective techniques to inculcate patriotism and belief in the Communist Party than their forebearers used, including prompting studios to make more appealing films about recent Chinese history, coopting popular cartoons, and developing apps. Of course, … Continue reading Further Reading
“Congress and Trump Agreed They Want a National Privacy Law. It Is Nowhere in Sight.“ – The New York Times. As we have periodically informed you, stakeholders in Congress are not close to reaching agreement on a privacy bill even with the effective date of the CCPA looming. Now it remains to be seen whether … Continue reading Further Reading
Last week, we dived into Senator Catherine Cortez Masto’s (D-NV) “Digital Accountability and Transparency to Advance Privacy Act” (DATA Privacy Act) (S. 583). Of course, Cortez Masto served as the attorney general of Nevada for eight years prior to succeeding former Senator Harry Reid (D-NV), and this bill demonstrates her background as her state’s top … Continue reading Spotlight: A Privacy Bill A Week: “Consumer Data Protection Act”
Last week, we spent a bit of time looking at the “Privacy Bill of Rights Act” (S. 1214), the only bill to get an A in the Electronic Privacy Information Center’s report on privacy bills, and likely outside the realm of the politically possible at present. This week, we will examine Senator Catherine Cortez Masto’s … Continue reading “Digital Accountability and Transparency to Advance Privacy Act” (DATA Privacy Act) (S. 583)
Last week, we delved into the “Social Media Privacy Protection and Consumer Rights Act of 2019” (S. 189), but this week we will look at a bill that probably exceeds bounds of the politically possible: Senator Ed Markey's (D-MA) “Privacy Bill of Rights Act” (S. 1214), the only bill to get an A in the … Continue reading Spotlight: A Privacy Bill A Week: “Privacy Bill of Rights” (S. 1214)
With Congress having returned from the August recess, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, a host of bills are awaiting these eager lawmakers. However, I will focus only on those bills that have been marked up and reported out of committee or have been passed by one chamber as these bills may be the most likely to be … Continue reading Fall Preview For Technology Legislation
Michael Kans 