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Daily Archives: April 14, 2019

What e-books at the library mean for your privacy

cnet: “E-books and audiobooks, now standard at libraries, make protecting privacy harder. Titles are usually provided through private companies, which can access your data. And today’s software can create more comprehensive records about you than a simple list of the books you checked out. (You can also get many e-books and audiobooks online free and legally.),,,Cybersecurity experts have found bugs in library apps. Erin Berman, who chairs a privacy subcommittee at the American Libraries Association, said a test of products she oversaw at the San Jose Public Library in 2018 found six apps with serious cybersecurity flaws…”

The Special Counsel’s Report: What Do Current DOJ Regulations Require and Can Congress Get It?

CRS Legal Sidebar via LC – The Special Counsel’s Report: What Do Current DOJ Regulations Require? March 7, 2019: “…This Sidebar examines the current legal obligations of the Special Counsel and Attorney General to report information relating to the investigation to Congress and the public. It also provides historical examples of reports issued for other… Continue Reading

DuckDuckGo vs. Google: An In-Depth Search Engine Comparison

Search Engine Journal: “In the world of search, Google towers above the rest. It’s the “industry standard” search engine that is relied on in most any instance (at least in the United States), and, let’s be honest: it’s for good reason. Google search is an amazing tool. But competitors are always going to be vying… Continue Reading

Law enforcement taps Google’s Sensorvault for location data

The New York Times – The tech giant records people’s locations worldwide. Now, investigators are using it to find suspects and witnesses near crimes, running the risk of snaring the innocent. “…The warrants, which draw on an enormous Google database employees call Sensorvault [Sensorvault, according to Google employees, includes detailed location records involving at least… Continue Reading

Can the President Close the Border? Relevant Laws and Considerations

CRS Legal Sidebar via LC – Can the President Close the Border? Relevant Laws and Considerations, April 12, 2019: “Does the executive branch have authority to “close” the southern border? Recently, President Trump declared that he would order the closure of the U.S.-Mexico border or at least “large sections” of it, unless Mexico acts to… Continue Reading

F-words and T-shirts – SCOTUS weighs foul language trademarks

Reuters – (Editor’s note: contains language that some readers may find offensive, paragraphs 2, 13, 14, 16, 19, 22 and 23) “In the staid world of the U.S. Supreme Court, where decorum and etiquette are prized and silence is enforced by court police, the F-word could create quite a stir. Yet that expletive and others… Continue Reading