Since the European Court of Justice (ECJ) startled the Internet sector and world at large last week by its finding in the Google v. AEPD case that there is a “right to be forgotten” under the EU Data Protection Directive, there has been extensive speculation what the decision will mean for Google and other search
privacy
Is Snowden a Spy?
That’s the possibility raised by Edward Jay Epstein in a (paywalled) Wall Street Journal op-ed. Epstein offers some new evidence for his theory. In particular he says that NSA investigators now know that Snowden’s tactics included breaking into two dozen compartments using forged or stolen passwords. Once there, Snowden loosed an automated “spider” with…
Smith v. Maryland: A good first-order estimate of changing expectations of privacy
By Stewart Baker on
Posted in Privacy Regulation
Yesterday, I promised a post that would make the positive case for the third-party doctrine and Smith v. Maryland.
The case against it seems pretty obvious. Privacy advocates are glad to tell us that the pace of technological change requires that we expand fourth amendment protections. “We’re putting our entire lives on line,”…
Drawing a line on the third-party doctrine
By Stewart Baker on
Posted in Privacy Regulation
The third-party doctrine of Smith v. Maryland, 442 U.S. 735 (1979), is getting a bad rap from libertarians of the left and the right. Smith holds that the police don’t need a search warrant to get information about me from a third party. If I keep a diary in my desk drawer, the police…
Public Safety, Privacy, and Particularity: A New Approach to Search Warrants for Digital Evidence
By Jason M. Weinstein on
Posted in Privacy Regulation
In the wake of recent coverage of the “Magistrates Revolt,” BNA has published an article in which my colleague Will Drake and I argue that judges can exercise appropriate oversight of search warrants for digital evidence without imposing search protocols or requiring prosecutors to forego reliance on “plain view.”
Retain Locally, Comply Globally
By Maury Shenk on
We used to talk about the “borderless” environment of the Internet. These days, that view is looking increasingly outmoded and utopian, in large part because of the intersection of law enforcement and privacy concerns. Steady increases in regulation (and enforcement of existing regulation) in these areas is increasingly prompting two types of responses by global…
Is the New IRS Rule Good or Bad for Bitcoin?
By Jason M. Weinstein on
Posted in Privacy Regulation
Last week the IRS announced that Bitcoin would be treated as property, rather than currency, for tax purposes. That means the virtual currency will be subject to very real capital gains taxes when used to make purchases. So is this good or bad for Bitcoin? Well, that depends on whether you view the glass on…
The New Phone Metadata Program
By Stewart Baker on
Posted in Privacy Regulation, Security Programs & Policies
According to the New York Times, the President has decided to kill the existing NSA phone metadata program and come up with a substitute that leaves the metadata with the phone companies. The decision will limit the government’s ability to find older connections, since few companies hold records for three or more years; it…
Debating Snowden
For some reason, debates about Snowden are thick on the ground these days, and I’ve joined a couple of them. The most fun was the Oxford Union, which has been preparing future Parliamentarians (and Prime Ministers) all around the British Commonwealth since 1823. The Oxford Union debate was “This House would call Edward Snowden a…
Are You Prepared for a Data Breach?
By Jason M. Weinstein on
Posted in Data Breach, Security Programs & Policies
I recently spoke to mainjustice.com (subscription required) about how companies can help prepare for a data breach in this “blame the victim” environment. The video of that interview can be found here: