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Report: Data Mining Ineffective Anti-Terrorist Tool - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
A new National Research Council report cautions that government data mining programs cannot effectively identify patterns of terrorist activity. Pattern-based or predictive data mining was singled out as likely to generate huge numbers of useless leads. Because of this, the authors warned, pattern-based data mining should not be used to deny a person rights and liberties. This mirrors past conclusions that CDT and others have drawn about data mining efficacy.
The Committee that drafted the October 7th report, entitled “Protecting Individual Privacy in the Struggle Against Terrorists,” recommended that all U.S. data mining programs be re-evaluated according to criteria set forth in the 376-page document. The authors – which included former Secretary of Defense William Perry – made the case that even well-managed data mining efforts are of only limited usefulness and can infringe on Americans’ privacy. read more »
NSA Spying on Americans in the Green Zone - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:
The National Security Agency is intercepting and retaining communications of innocent Americans in Iraq's so-called "Green Zone"; agency workers even pass around the most titillating conversations, according to explosive allegations made by two NSA whistleblowers in an ABC News segment airing tonight. According to the report, collection of telephone conversations U.S. soldiers and aid workers in Iraq had with their families in the U.S. continued even after NSA analysts knew that the telephone numbers on which they were eavesdropping belonged to Americans who had no ties to terrorism. The report calls into question assurances the NSA and Justice Department repeatedly gave Congress that internally enforced "minimization procedures" are adequate to protect the private conversations of Americans.
(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)
Next President Must Preserve Free Speech on the Internet - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
[Ed. Note: this is the second in a series of blog posts addressing a range of technology and civil liberties issues we believe America's next President and Congress will have the chance to take a fresh look at, and the opportunity to set a policy course for the Internet that will keep it open, innovative and free.]
It will be critical for the next President to do his part to uphold the Internet’s robust culture of free speech and innovation as we march further into the 21st Century. In stark contrast to the mass media of the last century, the Internet has provided, at very low cost, virtually unlimited forums for both creators and consumers of new content and technologies. This in turn has created a huge boost for participatory democracy and our economy. The next Administration must reject Congressional or agency efforts to censor content or stifle the fire of innovation on the Internet and other communications media.
All Digital Media Deserve Maximum First Amendment Protection read more »
Beyond the Bailout: Congress Passes a Flurry of ‘Child Safety’ Bills - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
While the public’s attention was focused on the drama unfolding around the economic bailout, it was actually a busy time for other bills to get pushed – sometimes under the cover of the bailout darkness. Just before recess, Congress considered parts of four “child safety” bills, acted on three, and sent two to the White House. While not all the provisions in these bills raise red flags, some language gives free expression advocates plenty to worry about.
One bill that is awaiting a Presidential signature confronts child pornography head on in a constructive way is S. 1738, the “PROTECT Our Children Act of 2008. Among the important and positive steps taken in this new law are (a) a dramatic increase in funding for fighting child pornography, (b) a mandate to the Department of Justice that it develop a real strategy to fight such material, and (c) the provision of new forensic and other resources to help state law enforcement protect kids. These provisions should – if the bailout leaves any money to actually spend on law enforcement – really help in the fight against child pornography.
Congress should have stopped there; it didn’t. Some in Congress insisted that the core parts of S. 519 – the “SAFE Act” – be added to S. 1738 before passage. Among the most problematic provisions in S.519 – which was never publicly debated by any committee–is the outsourcing of significant law enforcement investigative functions to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which as a non-governmental entity operates outside of the core constitutional and legal protections that govern (or should govern) our criminal justice system (such as the 4th Amendment, the Privacy Act, the Freedom of Information Act, etc.). Although NCMEC makes valuable contributions in the child safety arena, the growing trend in Congress to outsource law enforcement functions to a nominally private group—without any serious oversight or procedural protections— takes us down a dangerous path. read more »
Facial Recognition Technology Is Here, But Privacy Lags - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
The San Francisco Chronicle recently reported on the rapid development of facial recognition technology. While the increased availability of these robust features are something to celebrate, the privacy implications loom especially large. Combined with online photo storage services and a lack of meaningful limits on government or corporate access to data, facial recognition technology raises serious privacy concerns.
Last month, Google incorporated facial recognition technology in its online photo sharing service, Picasa. The new feature spares us the tedium of hand-tagging personal photos one by one. By analyzing the facial features of the people in your photos, Picasa identifies all the people in your photos for you. No one can deny the positive social benefits of these kinds of services— dozens of digital images filling our pictures folders are begging to be organized and shared. However, policymakers need to address the power of facial recognition technology in the hands of government or corporate snoopers.
What’s to stop a zealous prosecutor from searching the state’s digital database of driver’s license photos for people under 21 whose online Flickr photos show them engaged in underage drinking? What’s to stop an employer from doing the same with a photo taken by a video camera in the lobby of the building where you went for your job interview? read more »
Liberty, Technology and the Next President - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
[Ed. Note: this is the first in a series of blog posts addressing a range of technology and civil liberties issues we believe America's next President and Congress will have the chance to take a fresh look at, and the opportunity to set a policy course for the Internet that will keep it open, innovative and free.]
One of the biggest mistakes a new administration might make in its first 100 days would be to ignore the impact technology has had on the privacy of our communications and the striking need to update the law accordingly. If the President fails to act early in his first term he will miss a window of opportunity that won’t soon reopen, and it will be to the detriment of the Internet economy and to privacy rights.
The next President will have to resolve big-ticket items, like an economic meltdown, an unpopular war and an energy crisis. But when it comes to putting in place policies that will protect and promote Internet commerce, investing in timely solutions now will reap significant dividends for years to come.
Hi-Tech Discrimination read more »
No Funding for a National “REAL ID” Database? - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
Congress couldn’t get its act together in time to pass a proper appropriations bill for the 2009 fiscal year. Instead, last weekend it passed a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the federal government – for homeland security purposes at least – until March.
Perhaps not surprisingly, there was an allocation of $100 million to fund REAL ID, the federal effort that puts us closer to a national ID card by standardizing driver’s licenses. CDT hopes Congress will repeal the exceedingly bad law, especially in light of the 21 states that have come out against REAL ID.
But what was surprising in the CR was the limitation placed on spending for REAL ID. The Act provides that individuals can only be licensed in one state at a time, thus states are required to share information with every other state to ensure that a driver’s license (or state ID card) applicant doesn’t already have a REAL ID card from somewhere else. Referencing this requirement, Section 547 of the CR states that [emphasis added]: read more »
Bill Would Rein In Laptop Searches at the Border - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:
Random, intrusive searches of the contents of laptop computers at the border would be outlawed by legislation introduced on September 26 by Senators Feingold, Cantwell, Wyden, and Akaka. The Traveler's Privacy Protection Act (S. 3612) would require U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officials to have a "reasonable suspicion" of a crime before they could search a laptop computer and other data storage devices; a court order based on probable cause would be needed to seize a device. Travelers could be present while electronic devices were searched, discriminatory searches would be barred, and strict time limits for searching would be imposed. The bill, which limits its protection to residents of the US, would displace recently-disclosed Customs policies permitting suspicionless laptop searches at the border that could last for weeks. September 29, 2008
Text of Bill S. 3612 [PDF] September 26, 2008
(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)
AT&T, Verizon Back Opt-In Approach for Behavioral Advertising - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
Earlier this week, we set out our wish list for what we hoped to hear from witnesses during today’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing on behavioral advertising as this emerging online marketing practice comes under congressional scrutiny.
We are pleased that the telecom companies testifying today, AT&T and Verizon, appear headed in the right direction.
Both companies strongly embraced setting a high bar for engaging in behavioral advertising and challenged the rest of the industry to do the same. Dorothy Attwood, senior vice president of Public Policy and Chief Privacy Officer for AT&T, said her company was committing to a policy of “advance, affirmative consumer consent,” noting that the phrase is “generically referred to as “opt-in.” read more »
Comcasts Spells Out Congestion Management Plans - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
Back in March, CDT welcomed Comcast’s announcement that it would move to a “protocol agnostic” technique for managing network congestion. No technical details were provided, but the announcement certainly seemed to imply that the new technique would steer clear of singling out particular protocols, services, or content for inferior treatment. In other words, it would avoid the kind behavior that gives Internet neutrality advocates fits and that puts network operators in a position to undermine unfettered innovation. To use a potentially loaded term, the announcement seemed to imply that the new technique would be neutral.
But we also noted that we would have to wait and see how the new technique actually works. However promising the term “protocol agnostic” might sound, it doesn’t exactly have a widely accepted meaning.
Well, Comcast has now filed with the FCC a description of the new congestion management technique it is rolling out. Based on that description, it appears to be the real deal. read more »
A National “REAL ID” Database Is Not the Answer - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
Back in January I wrote an op-ed criticizing the Department of Homeland Security for flirting with the idea of creating a national ID database to implement the REAL ID Act. While CDT has been supporting the repeal of REAL ID or its major amendment, we believe that, should the law stand, it must be implemented responsibly.
The American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA), a private organization representing the interests of state DMVs, has been a key proponent of creating a national ID database, which would hold highly sensitive personal information on virtually all Americans, because it already manages a similar central database for commercial drivers.
Although AAMVA is clearly pushing the centralized model, it has heard the cries of privacy advocates who have warned of the significant privacy and security risks of creating a national ID database. To its credit, AAMVA is putting together a white paper, due out in the next few weeks, analyzing the different system models that could ensure that an applicant doesn’t already hold a REAL ID card from another state (which is a requirement of the Act). read more »
What to Listen for During Hearing on Re-write of FBI Investigation Guidelines - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
On September 23, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence will conduct a hearing on new Attorney General Guidelines governing FBI investigations and the collection of domestic intelligence. The Department of Justice first issued guidelines governing FBI investigations in 1974 and has loosened them virtually every time it has re-visited those guidelines.
Now, Justice is engaged in a substantial re-write. CDT was given a peek at the new guidelines while still in draft form. The real news behind the re-write is that when the dust settles, the FBI will be permitted to engage in intrusive investigative techniques without having a tip that a crime may be committed and without having evidence of a particularized threat to national security. read more »
OneWebDay in D.C. - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
Today is the third annual “Earth Day for the Internet,” and there are events all over the country celebrating the Internet, and I hope that you attend one or find a way to help. I’ve just come from an event in D.C. discussing the policy challenges facing the Internet and the ways that the Internet has enhanced the civic dialog. As Ellen Miller of Sunlight Foundation noted, in New York city they’re having an OWD party and rally while we have a policy discussion, but that’s “what we do,” in D.C.; we are creatures of the political climate and policy discussions are what we can offer to the Web. Readers of this blog are well aware what a marvel the Internet is, as well as the obstacles it faces here and abroad. Even so, it’s easy to take the Internet for granted. Luckily, we have a happy hour later today (information below) to balance the policy discussion - we would love to see you there. read more »
What to Keep an Ear Out For at the Next Behavioral Advertising Hearing - Via CDT - PolicyBeta:
The Senate Commerce Committee has a hearing scheduled on Thursday to hear from ISPs about their plans for implementing behavioral advertising. CDT has been in discussions with many of these companies and believe that some have begun to make a commitment to getting policies and practices right and push others in the online industries to do the same, as they make decisions whether or not to go forward with behavioral targeting plans. Decoding congressional testimony is something of an art form; here’s what we’ll be listening for: words and phrases like “meaningful and affirmative consent,” “transparency,” and “user control.” If you check the box next to each of those you’ll know that things are on the right track, which will be a welcome change from the rhetoric we heard from the CEO of NebuAd during the last Senate hearing on behavioral advertising. read more »
CDT Policy Post: Closer Look at ISP-Ad Network Partnerships - Via Center for Democracy and Technology:
CDT issued a policy post today that takes a closer look at the privacy concerns raised by the ISP-ad network partnership model within the online behavioral advertising field. Behavioral advertising involves the compilation of detailed information about an Internet user’s online activities. That data, when collected, can be turned into detailed consumer profiles including articles read, web sites visited, and items purchased. Today's policy post says the ISP-ad network model may violate federal law if it deployed without express consent of subscribers. CDT notes that Congress is taking a closer look at the practice and that online consumer privacy law may be introduced to address concerns.
(Read Original Article - Via Center for Democracy and Technology.)
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