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Daily Archives: July 13, 2020

Google Meet adds new zoombombing protections for online classes

The Verge – Anonymous users to be blocked from educational meetings – “Google is turning on new security features in its Google Meet video chat service for meetings held by education subscribers, the company has announced. The changes, which are due to go into effect over the next 15 days, will mean that anonymous users won’t be able to join meetings organized by G Suite for Education or G Suite Enterprise for Education subscribers. An anonymous user is anyone not signed into a Google account, the company says. The new features appear to be designed to prevent “zoombombing,” where unauthorized users connect to meetings and disrupt them by broadcasting shock videos, or hurling insults. ZDNet notes that as school lessons have moved online due to the pandemic, some students have shared links to their classes and have asked pranksters to disrupt them in the hope that they’ll be allowed to leave early…”

EFF Launches Searchable Database of Police Agencies and the Tech Tools They Use to Spy on Communities

“San Francisco—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), in partnership with the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, today launched the largest-ever collection of searchable data on police use of surveillance technologies, created as a tool for the public to learn about facial recognition, drones, license plate readers, and other devices law enforcement… Continue Reading

The Increasingly Essential Role Of The Law Librarian

Above the Law – Robert Ambrogi – Robots are not coming for law librarians’ jobs. “…Already, law librarians’ evolving roles require them to wear a variety of hats. Increasingly, one of those is legal technologist. These days, one can hardly be an information professional without also becoming a technology professional because the two disciplines overlap… Continue Reading

Documenting COVID-19

“Documenting COVID-19 is a repository of searchable documents related to the COVID-19 pandemic obtained through state open-records laws and the Freedom of Information Act. Click on a state for details about the 54 document sets available as of July 13, 2020, and news coverage that have used those materials. Do you need help with COVID-19… Continue Reading

How to get rid of promotional emails and delete old email on Gmail

The Verge – Unsubscribe from and trash all those unwanted messages: “We all know how it goes: one day you look at your Gmail account, and you’ve got several thousand emails. Why be surprised? It’s all too easy to subscribe to dozens of company promotions without realizing it. If you buy anything online from a… Continue Reading

Americans’ Face Mask Usage Varies Greatly by Demographics

Gallup: “It has been more than three months since the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reversed course and recommended that Americans wear face masks in public to limit the spread of the coronavirus. Gallup has been measuring U.S. adults’ use of face masks since early April and has found nearly nine in 10 say they… Continue Reading

Report on Veterans Affairs Use of Laboratory Dogs Concludes Diminished Requirement

“For many years, laboratory dogs have served as important animal models for biomedical research that has advanced human health. Conducted at the request of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), this report assesses whether laboratory dogs are or will continue to be necessary for biomedical research related to the VA’s mission. The report concludes… Continue Reading

House Judiciary Committee Releases Transcript of Interview with Former SDNY Prosecutor Geoffrey Berman

“Today, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) released a transcript of the Committee’s July 9th interview with Geoffrey Berman, former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). Chairman Nadler issued the following statement on the release of the transcript: “While Mr. Berman was U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New… Continue Reading