Chris Hoofnagle writes: Are our institutions up to the challenge of protecting users from information-age problems? This is the high-level question emerging from the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica debate. While on one hand Facebook and similarly-situated companies will pay some regulatory price, our public institutions are also in the crosshairs. In the U.S., the much-praised and admired…
Category: Govt
AU: Abusive mother wins payout over privacy breach
Angus Thompson reports: An abusive mother who was the “face” of a foster care agency has won a payout after the child welfare authority disclosed details of her history to her employer. The Department of Family and Community Services must compensate the woman $4539 after she was fired from her position at the agency over…
GAO Says EPA Violated Spending Law on Pruitt’s Privacy Booth
Well, I know I really value my privacy and take steps to protect it, but a $43,000 privacy booth in my office would seem a bit over the top. But what if you’re a government official handling sensitive information? Nah, not even then, says the GAO. Brandi Buchman reports: Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt’s…
Homeland Security to compile database of journalists and ‘media influencers’
The Chicago Sun-Times reports: The Department of Homeland Security wants to track the comings and going of journalists, bloggers and other “media influencers” through a database. The DHS’s “Media Monitoring” plan, which was first reported by FedBizOpps.gov, would give the contracting company “24/7 access to a password protected, media influencer database, including journalists, editors, correspondents, social…