Category «Privacy»

FinCEN, Federal Reserve Finalize Rule Amending Definitions in the Bank Secrecy Act

“The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve Board on Tuesday announced a final rule amending the definitions of “funds transfer” and “transmittal of funds” under regulations implementing the Bank Secrecy Act. The final rule adopts the amendments as proposed in November 2012. The amendments …

Subjects: E-Government, Economy, Financial System, Internet, Legal Research, Legislation, Privacy

Report – Linux Worm Targeting Hidden Devices

“Symantec has discovered a new Linux worm that appears to be engineered to target the “Internet of things”. The worm is capable of attacking a range of small, Internet-enabled devices in addition to traditional computers. Variants exist for chip architectures usually found in devices such as home routers, set-top boxes and security cameras. Although no …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Internet, Privacy

EFF Introducing a Compendium of the Released NSA Spying Documents

EFF – “The ongoing NSA leaks, Freedom of Information Act lawsuits and government declassification continue to bring vital information to the public about the the ongoing efforts of the NSA and its allies to spy on millions of innocent people. What started out as news detailing the agency’s collections of users’ calling records, phone calls, …

Subjects: Censorship, Courts, E-Government, E-Mail, E-Records, Internet, Legal Research, Legislation, Patriot Act, Privacy

Mass Surveillance of Personal Data by EU Member States and Its Compatibility with EU Law

Bigo, Didier and Carrera, Sergio and Hernanz, Nicholas and Jeandesboz, Julien and Parkin, Joanna and Ragazzi, Francesco Rossi and Scherrer, Amandine, Mass Surveillance of Personal Data by EU Member States and Its Compatibility with EU Law (November 6, 2013). Liberty and Security in Europe Papers No. 61. Available at SSRN. “In the wake of the …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, EU Data Protection, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

UN General Assembly Third Committee Approves Text Titled ‘Right to Privacy in the Digital Age’

The Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) approved 18 draft resolutions today, including one on “The right to privacy in the digital age”. “Through this resolution, the General Assembly establishes, for the first time, that human rights should prevail irrespective of the medium and therefore need to be protected both offline and online,” Brazil’s representative …

Subjects: Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Privacy

Report on the findings by EU Co-chairs of ad hoc EU-US Working Group on Data Protection

Report on the findings by the EU Co-chairs of the ad hoc EU-US Working Group on Data Protection. Council of the European Union, Brussels, 27 November 2013. “Under US law, a number of legal bases allow large-scale collection and processing, for foreign intelligence purposes, including counter-terrorism, of personal data that has been transferred to the US …

Subjects: EU Data Protection, Government Documents, Patriot Act, Privacy

EPIC Files Lawsuit to Determine Legal Authority For PRISM Program

“EPIC has filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel for the secret legal analyses that justifies the use of the NSA PRISM program. PRISM is a program that allows the FBI and NSA to collect information – including the contents of internet users’ communications – directly from internet …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Courts, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research, Patriot Act, Privacy

Civil Society Groups Demand Transparency and User Protections in Trans-Pacific Partnership

EFF news release: “Civil society groups are coming out in force against the secretive Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations, following Wikileaks’ publication of the “Intellectual Property” chapter. The leaked chapter confirmed our worst fears that TPP carries Hollywood’s wishlist of policies, including provisions to encourage ISPs to police user activities and liability for users for simply bypassing digital locks on content and devices for …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Copyright, Free Speech, Intellectual Property, Legal Research, Privacy

Password Protection Laws Could Protect Much More than Passwords

O’Donohue, Sarah, ‘Like’ it or Not, Password Protection Laws Could Protect Much More than Passwords (August 1, 2013). 20 J.L. Bus. & Eth. (February 2014, Forthcoming). Available at SSRN “Employers and schools in several states are now prohibited from requesting access to the social networking accounts of their employees, students, and applicants as a result …

Subjects: E-Mail, E-Records, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

EFF – Encrypt the Web Report: Who’s Doing What

EFF: “We’ve asked the companies in our Who Has Your Back Program what they are doing to bolster encryption in light of the NSA’s unlawful surveillance of your communications. We’re pleased to see that four companies—Dropbox, Google, SpiderOak and Sonic.net—are implementing five out of five of our best practices for encryption. In addition, we appreciate that Yahoo! just announced several measures …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Mail, E-Records, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines

NYT – N.S.A. Report Outlined Goals for More Power

N.S.A. Report Outlined Goals for More Power By JAMES RISEN and LAURA POITRAS “Officials at the National Security Agency, intent on maintaining its dominance in intelligence collection, pledged last year to push to expand its surveillance powers, according to a top-secret strategy document. In a February 2012 paper laying out the four-year strategy for the N.S.A.’s …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, E-Mail, E-Records, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Patriot Act, Privacy