Amy Stoller writes: Colleges are intensifying their search for new ways to identify struggling students, because 42% of American college students drop out before finishing their degree. Arizona State university professor Matt Pittinsky believes that tracking students’ movements and purchases on campus through their student ID card could show which students are disengaging from college. However, this data-gathering raises major concerns about…
New data protection law should cover search engines and social networks says EU committee
Search engines, social networks and certain cloud computing services should be brought within the scope of the forthcoming European data protection reforms, according to an EU consultative body. In an official opinion (8-page / 761KB PDF) the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), which represents economic and social interest groups across the 27-state bloc, said that the…
Congress Resists Efforts to Reduce Secrecy
Steven Aftergood writes: Ordinarily, critics of government secrecy focus their ire — and their strategy — on executive branch agencies that refuse to release certain national security-related information to the public. But to an extent that is not widely recognized or understood, it is Congress that has erected barriers to greater openness and has blocked…
Is Your Neighbor a Democrat? Obama Has an App for That
by Lois Beckett ProPublica, Aug. 3, 2012, 3:52 p.m. Curious how many Democrats live on your block? Just download the Obama campaign’s new mobile app. The app, released last week, includes a Google map for canvassers that recognizes your current location and marks nearby Democratic households with small blue flags. For each targeted address, the…