Kashmir Hill writes: Earlier this summer, researchers from Indiana University and the Kinsey Institute launched the ultimate app for the TMI crowd: the Kinsey Reporter, which “crowdsources sexual behavior.” It works how you would expect it to work. The app acts as a digital Dr. Alfred Kinsey — the pioneering sex researcher, a.k.a. Liam Neeson — for those willing to…
Category: Misc
Why smartphones need more protection than ‘not-smartphones’
Tony Bradley reports: A new study from the Pew Internet and American Life Project finds that smartphones are at greater risk for privacy breaches than traditional flip or feature mobile phones. That seems like an obvious conclusion that needed a study about as much as we need research on whether or not water is wet or ice…
Re-Identification Risks and Myths, Superusers and Super Stories (Part II: Superusers and Super Stories)
Here’s a snippet from Part II of Daniel Barth-Jones thoughtful commentary on re-identification studies (Part I can be found here): In part 2 of this essay, I address the broader issues of how privacy law scholars and policy-makers should evaluate various scenarios being presented as motivators for the need for potential privacy regulations. Fortunately, Professor Ohm…
Re-Identification Risks and Myths, Superusers and Super Stories (Part I: Risks and Myths)
Daniel Barth-Jones has a critique of re-identification studies that informs the conversation about risks: In a recent Health Affairs blog article, I provide a critical re-examination of the famous re-identification of Massachusetts Governor William Weld’s health information. This famous re-identification attack was popularized by recently appointed FTC Senior Privacy Adviser, Paul Ohm, in his 2010 paper “Broken Promises of…