Category «Civil Liberties»

Half of older U.S. workers are pushed out of longtime jobs before they choose to retire

“A new data analysis by ProPublica and the Urban Institute shows more than half of older U.S. workers are pushed out of longtime jobs before they choose to retire, suffering financial damage that is often irreversible. [h/t Pete Weiss] Many Americans assume that by the time they reach their 50s they’ll have steady work, time …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Economy, Financial System, Legal Research

Measuring the “Filter Bubble”: How Google is influencing what you click

DuckDuckGo Blog: “Over the years, there has been considerable discussion of Google’s “filter bubble” problem. Put simply, it’s the manipulation of your search results based on your personal data. In practice this means links are moved up or down or added to your Google search results, necessitating the filtering of other search results altogether. These …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

An Interview with UN Special Rapporteur David Kaye

Digital Rights Monitor: “The latest 2018 Freedom House report presents a dismal picture of internet freedom. Out of 65 countries studied for the report, internet freedom deteriorated in 26 countries including United States of America. The study also noted that more than a dozen countries were putting in place restrictive measures in the name of …

Subjects: Censorship, Civil Liberties, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents

More than 4.1M students were in a school lockdown last year

Washington Post: “School shootings remain rare, even after 2018, a year of historic carnage on K-12 campuses. What’s not rare are lockdowns, which have become a hallmark of American education and a byproduct of this country’s inability to curb its gun violence epidemic. Lockdowns save lives during real attacks, but even when there is no …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Defense, Education

Cellphones, Law Enforcement, and the Right to Privacy

Brennan Center for Social Justice: How the Government Is Collecting and Using Your Location Data “Cell phones are ubiquitous. As of 2017, there were more cell phones than people in the United States. Nearly 70 percent of those were smartphones, with 94 percent of millennials carrying a smart device. Cell phones go nearly everywhere, and …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, E-Mail, E-Records, Privacy, Social Media

How are algorithms distributing power between people?

Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University: “Why Computer Scientists Need Philosophers, According to a Mathematician – “Lily Hu is a 3rd year PhD candidate in Applied Mathematics at Harvard University, where she studies algorithmic fairness with special interest in its interaction with various philosophical notions of justice. Currently, she is an …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Internet, Legal Research

US Treasury sanctions Russians for hacking and election meddling

engadget: “The US government isn’t done taking action against Russians accused of hacking and interference campaigns. The Treasury Department has leveled sanctions against 16 current and former GRU intelligence officers (some of whom were targeted in earlier indictments) for their involvement in multiple campaigns against the US, including the Democratic National Committee hacks, World Anti-Doping …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, E-Records, Financial System, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Social Media

Merry Christmas – DOJ issues reg banning Bump Stocks

CNN – “The Trump administration rolled out a new federal regulation Tuesday officially banning bump-fire stocks: “Those who possess the devices, which make it easier to fire rounds from a semi-automatic weapon by harnessing the gun’s recoil to “bump” the trigger faster, will have 90 days to turn in or otherwise destroy them from the …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Government Documents, Health Care, Legal Research