Emily Langer has this obituary of Alan Westin, one of the most influential privacy scholars of our lifetime. At a time when our society is grappling with issues of domestic surveillance and wide-scale invasions of our privacy by government and businesses, his voice and thoughtful commentaries will be sorely missed, but his work will continue…
Category: Misc
Don Quixote
Peter Fleischer writes: Re-read Don Quixote as you follow the debate about revising Europe’s privacy laws. Is it more noble to pursue the glory of fantasy over the indignities of the real world? Do we want to defend an obsolete chivalric code, while the rest of the world looks on with derision? Do we want a strong privacy…
President Obama’s Cybersecurity Executive Order Scores Much Better Than CISPA On Privacy
Andy Greenberg reports: With the reintroduction of the much-maligned Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act scheduled for the day after the State of the Union, the House of Representatives may have hoped the President’s own cybersecurity initiative would divert some of the attention away from the controversial legislation known as CISPA. Instead, the White House’s…
TX: State Sells Personal Information & You Can’t Opt Out
Mireya Villarreal of CBS in Dallas reports: The State of Texas made millions of dollars selling your private information last year. We’re talking about your name, address, and even what kind of car you drive. The Texas Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) claims protecting your information is a top priority for them. A federal law…