Like many, I am considering leaving Facebook due to its most recent round of privacy failures -- Instant Personalization & Connections -- which represent only the latest in a continuing de-evolution of privacy protection on the popular social networking platform.…
Read More What Happens to Your Facebook Data When You Leave? (Updated)
Anthony Hoffmann, a UW-Milwaukee School of Information Studies PhD student, has posted an excellent analysis of the Twitter-Library of Congress deal, in 4 parts, at his blog: Part I: Intro and Privacy Roundup: Hoffmann discusses how the LoC acquisition of…
While my Freedom of Information Act request to the Library of Congress requesting a copy of its agreement with Twitter remains unanswered, interviews with Library personnel at The American Prospect and Ars Technica provide us some insight into the nature of the agreement and the plans for the data.
Today's announcement that the Library of Congress will be archiving all public tweets since March 2006 prompts many questions. But most people, I suspect, are comfortable with the concept since the LOC is only archiving public tweets; those who decided…
Read More How Your Private Tweets Might Be Included in the Library of Congress Public Archive
The Library of Congress tweeted today that they are acquiring the entire archive of public Twitter activity since March 2006. While the LOC stresses that they're doing this for historical and scholarly reasons, there are major implications regarding the privacy and contextual expectations of Twitter users. Now, suddenly, all their tweets are being archived by the world's largest library. Yes, the tweets were always public and discoverable, but the searchability and accessibility will increase drastically if/when the LOC processes this archive. Due to these concerns, there are some vital questions that must be addressed prior to implementing such an expansive archive of public Twitter activity.
Please join us for the UW-Milwaukee Center for International Education's 2010 conference, "Law and Disciplinarity: Thinking Beyond Borders," which will take place on April 23-24 at UWM's Hefter Conference Center. Registration is free and open to the public. Law and…
Read More Law and Disciplinarity: Thinking Beyond Borders (UW-Milwaukee, April 23-24)
I am pleased to announce that I've joined a diverse coalition of privacy groups, think tanks, technology companies, and fellow academics in an effort to update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) to better reflect the realities of modern communication…
Read More Digital Due Process: Modernizing Surveillance Laws for the Internet Age
Facebook recently announced a variety of proposed changes to its Privacy Policy and Statement of Rights and Responsibilities. The changes to these governing documents point to the following matters, each with its own unique privacy implications: hints of a new location-based service, clarifying that sharing with "Everyone" means everyone, and, most notably, that Facebook may share your visible data directly with certain third party websites. This final point has gotten significant attention, but would like to point out a few aspects of Facebook's new language that reveals -- yet again -- that Facebook simply fails to understand the nature of privacy, especially in our online information ecosystem.
For those nearby, I'll be the featured speaker at the Pub Politico gathering on Sunday, March 21, 2:00pm at Brocach Irish Pub in Madison, Wisconsin. I'll be speaking, informally, about "Failures in Self-Regulation in Online Privacy", focusing on recent examples…
Read More Pub Politico talk in Madison: Failures in Self-Regulation in Online Privacy
From May 2 through May 8, 2010, libraries across the nation will celebrate Choose Privacy Week for the first time. This American Library Association campaign invites library professionals, users, and friends into a national conversation about privacy rights in a…
Read More Event: Emerging Privacy and Ethical Challenges for Libraries in the 2.0 Era
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