Ms. Smith reports: On October 12, DHS will implement its database of “suspicious activity reports” (SAR). SAR programs encourage intelligence and homeland security officials, law enforcement officers, emergency responders, and even the public to report “suspicious” activities of neighbors and strangers to law enforcement and intelligence agencies. According to the Center For Investigative Reporting, (CIR) “Reports will…
Category: Featured News
State Sen. Turner proposes increasing penalties for privacy invasions
As I predicted, it was only a matter of time before we’d start hearing about new laws being proposed following Tyler Clementi’s suicide. Now Matt Friedman reports that a New Jersey legislator is proposing increased penalties for invasion of privacy. While prosecutors are still considering whether to throw in some bias crime charges against the…
Drip, drip, drip: your smartphone apps are leaking data
To follow up on the item I posted the other day about a new study showing that a lot of apps are leaking personal information: there have been a flurry of other news reports and comments on the findings. Here are some other places where the topic is being discussed: Out-Law.com: Study finds that apps…
OnStar, Rental Vehicles and the 4th Amendment
Susan Brenner wrote a very interesting post about whether law enforcement obtaining OnStar data constitutes a “search” and implicates Fourth Amendment protections: I’ve done a couple of posts about cases in which law enforcement officers’ use of OnStar listen in on conversations occurring in a vehicle violates the 4thAmendment. As I explained in the post I did…