Interesting Headline - "Facebook's Zuckerberg Says The Age of Privacy is Over"

Posted on January 14, 2010 by Peter Vogel

In a recent interview Mark Zukerberg “told a live audience …that if he were to create Facebook again today, user information would by default be public, not private as it was for years until the company changed dramatically in December.” Without question Facebook and social networking have changed Internet users’ perceptions of what should be private and not.

Google CEO Schmidt Comments about Privacy
 

The Electronic Frontier Foundation recently reported:
 

When asked during an interview for CNBC's recent "Inside the Mind of Google" special about whether users should be sharing information with Google as if it were a "trusted friend," Schmidt responded, "If you have something that you don't want anyone to know, maybe you shouldn't be doing it in the first place."
 

Schmidt went to say that under the US Patriot Act the US government may obtain information from Google which they routinely retain. Many Google users are unaware that Google retains each and every search for 18 months. So I guess his advice should make people stop and think.


Privacy – What Do Law Students Think?

When I first started teaching the Law of e Commerce at SMU Dedman School of Law in 2000 privacy was a very important and hot topic. A few years ago the CyberProf listserv did an informal survey of those of us who teach the Law of eCommerce and/or the Internet regarding how our students felt about privacy in 2000 and in 2008. Not much of a surprise that law students in 2008 seemed to care a lot less about privacy. My guess is that social networking, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, texting, et al have been the big drivers of this change in attitude regarding privacy.

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Are We Any Safer Because the NSA Exceeded its Authority to Intercept eMails?

Posted on April 30, 2009 by Peter Vogel

A report that the National Security Agency (NSA) exceeded its authority by intercepting emails and phone calls of Americans make some people feel safer, and others wary. Many speculate that these massive email and phone call interceptions are systematic and intentional. For instance the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) and Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) have been following NSA’s activities for some time and are alarmed at NSA’s actions.

US Patriot Act

In the wake of September 11 terrorist attacks on October 26, 2001 President Bush signed the US Patriot Act after passing both houses of Congress in less than one day. The US Patriot Act gave the federal government unparalleled power to search emails and private communications without many checks and balances in the name of protection from terrorists. The US Patriot Act was renewed in 2005 substantially without major change. Congress and US citizens want certain protections, but EPIC and EFF are concerned that the US Patriot Act is too broad.

Increased in Criminal Data Breaches

Reports that there have been a significant increase in data breaches by organized crime is hardly surprise, but it seems that NSA’s efforts in searching emails and phone calls have not really paid off to make our Internet a safer place in which to conduct business. Last year there were more than 100 confirmed data breaches involving roughly 285 million consumer records, most of which occurred from sites overseas. There needs to be a balance between safety from bad guys and protection of civil liberties.
 

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