Privacy

Lawmakers try to keep kids from social media, porn

Skeptics doubt legislators’ ability to thwart tech-savvy teens.

  • By Elaine S. Povich, Stateline

Better data management makes digital services shine

Leveraging metadata and establishing data sharing frameworks across agencies can help government achieve higher data quality and security.

  • By Kaitlyn Levinson

Lack of emerging tech framework is 'weakening' US stance against China, lawmakers warn

Both Democrats and Republicans said Congress needs to craft national frameworks around data privacy and autonomous vehicles to counter China’s global tech ambitions.

  • By Edward Graham

How to reduce citizen harm from automated decision systems

For agencies that use automated systems to inform decisions about schools, social services and medical treatment, it’s imperative that they’re using technology that protects data.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

Statistical uncertainty could be problematic for evidence-based policies, study finds

Certain privacy measures, as well as general data errors, can skew funding allocations derived from census information.

  • By Kirsten Errick

NIST to launch new guidance on security risks of telehealth and smart home integration

The National Institute of Standards and Technology will outline the safest ways for consumers to use new technologies that provide access to their health care information in a secure digital environment. 

  • By Alexandra Kelley

FTC lawsuit spotlights a major privacy risk: From call records to sensors, your phone reveals more about you than you think

If you use your mobile phone for anything other than a paperweight, your visit to the cannabis dispensary and your personality – how extroverted you are or whether you’re likely to be on the outs with family since the 2016 election – can be learned from metadata and telemetry and shared.

  • By Susan Landau, The Conversation

Lax data privacy rules may expose consumer location information

With states now free to enforce their own data privacy laws, regulators have been on the lookout for mobile carriers sharing sensitive location information.

  • By Mariam Baksh

A new US data privacy bill aims to give you more control over information collected about you – and make businesses change how they handle data

The American Data and Privacy Protection Act cracks down on the loose data protection regulations within the U.S., limiting certain types of personal information that major companies may collect.

  • By Anne Toomey McKenna, The Conversation

NSF invests $25.4M into cybersecurity and privacy research projects

The awardees will aim to strengthen open-source supply chain security, increase computing privacy for marginalized populations and ensure trustworthy cloud computing.

  • By Kirsten Errick

Federated learning uses the data right on our devices

In addition to protecting privacy, federated learning could make training machine-learning models more resource-efficient by cutting down and sometimes eliminating big data transfers.

  • By Zachary Chamption, Futurity

Surveillance is pervasive: Yes, you are being watched, even if no one is looking for you

It’s important to recognize how physical and digital tracking work together.

  • By Peter Krapp, The Conversation

Sales of citizen data worries lawmakers and experts alike

Expert witnesses expressed support for bills that close loopholes in existing laws, which currently allow government purchase of private data.

  • By Alexandra Kelley

Amazon admits to giving police ring footage without owners’ permission

The smart-doorbell company, which has partnered with more than 2,000 law enforcement agencies, said in a letter that it shared multiple videos with police departments without first seeking user consent.

  • By Edward Graham
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Lawmaker says 'crypto driver's license' could deter use of digital currency in ransomware

Proposed legislation calls on federal agencies to harmonize national digital identity infrastructure by leveraging biometric databases states have been building to participate in REAL ID, a standard for accepting state-issued identification.

  • By Mariam Baksh

ICE's 'surveillance dragnet' built with DMV photos, report says

Immigration and Customs Enforcement has used facial recognition to search through the driver's license photos of one in three adults in the U.S., according to a new report by Georgetown Law's Center on Privacy and Technology.

  • By Natalie Alms

Report reveals surveillance abuses in educational technology

Four education technology companies misused surveillance software while students were using their products, resulting in contact with local law enforcement, according to a report prepared by two senators.

  • By Alexandra Kelley

Proposed bill would let people know when law enforcement is surveilling them

The legislation would require law enforcement to disclose surveillance orders covering digital communications, such as e-mails and search histories, as well as more traditional calls and wiretaps. 

  • By Alexandra Kelley

Compliance fatigue: Can states stay on top of privacy monitoring?

States may have crafted data privacy legislation that they don’t have the capacity to enforce, one expert suggests.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

7 cyber defense use cases

Whether facing data loss, ransomware, fraud or privacy threats, agencies can leverage technology and process solutions to help them prevent and respond to attacks.

  • By Stephanie Kanowitz

The 10 biggest doubts executives and IT managers have about the cloud

What do IT leaders have confidence in? Not government regulations, exit strategies or data privacy, according to a new survey.

  • By Rutrell Yasin