Privacy – Page 20 – MichaelZimmer.org

Google Wants To Listen In

Posted by Michael Zimmeron June 13, 2006in Privacy, Search Engines1 Comment

TechCrunch, among others, is reacting to this post at Google's research blog on a paper [PDF] about "Real-Time Ambient-Audio Identification." The proposed technology would enable your computer to listen to the ambient sounds emitted from your TV, automatically determine what…

Obfuscation as a Solution to Web 2.0 Data-Mining Threat

Posted by Michael Zimmeron June 11, 2006in Big Data, Internet, Privacy, Social Media5 Comments

Alice Marwick provides useful thoughts on the privacy and data-mining issues surrounding the sharing of personal data on Web 2.0 apps. She shares three common "solutions" to the "problem" of teenagers' divulgence of personal information: 1. Young people should stop…

Schneier on Contextual Integrity

Posted by Michael Zimmeron June 9, 2006in Privacy, Values In Design

There is a nice conversation at Bruce Schneier's blog on Helen Nissenbaum's theory of "privacy as contextual integrity." (Full disclosure: Prof. Nissenbaum is my doctoral advisor). Some of the commentors struggle with a proper response to the common "If you…

NSA Wants to Mine MySpace & Semantic Web

Posted by Michael Zimmeron June 9, 2006in Privacy, Social Media

Not content with the "limited scope" of collecting phone records on every citizen, the NSA wants to start mining personal data from social networking sites like MySpace, coupled with the intelligence of the semantic web, to help build even stronger…

Why Web 2.0 will end your privacy

Posted by Michael Zimmeron June 3, 2006in Privacy, Social Media2 Comments

Wil Harris at bit-tech.net has written an excellent essay summarizing the privacy threats of Web 2.0. A choice nugget: Why are the companies worth so much money? Why is MySpace worth over half a billion dollars without a proper revenue…

Data Surveillance and Privacy Protection Workshop

Posted by Michael Zimmeron May 23, 2006in Events, Privacy2 Comments

On June 3, I will be attending this workshop on Data Surveillance and Privacy Protection hosted by Harvard University's Center for Research on Computation and Society: Although there has been significant public attention to the civil liberties issues of data…

Does Using Skype Authorize NSA Spying?

Posted by Michael Zimmeron May 19, 2006in Information Law & Policy, Internet, Privacy

A Skype user over at Grain of Salt has discovered an interesting caveat in the "To whom does Skype transfer Your personal information?" section of their privacy policy: Except as provided below, Skype shall not sell, rent, trade or otherwise…

Paxx Telecom: Privacy-assured Long Distance Phone Service

Posted by Michael Zimmeron May 19, 2006in Privacy, Values In Design1 Comment

Paxx Telecom is promising privacy-assured long distance phone service. Their promises include: Guarantee never to turn over any records to the government or anyone else without a court order... Provide you with a short access number to dial in front…

CFP: Identity and Identification in a Networked World Graduate Student Symposium

Posted by Michael Zimmeron May 19, 2006in Events, Information Law & Policy, Privacy, Social Media, Values In Design1 Comment

[I am one of the organizers the following graduate student symposium to be held this fall at NYU] CALL FOR PAPERS Identity and Identification in a Networked World: A Multidisciplinary Graduate Student Symposium When: September 29-30, 2006 Where: New York…

Schneier: The Eternal Value of Privacy

Posted by Michael Zimmeron May 18, 2006in Privacy, Values In Design2 Comments

Bruce Schneier has an excellent essay on the Eternal Value of Privacy in Wired. Highlights include: The most common retort against privacy advocates -- by those in favor of ID checks, cameras, databases, data mining and other wholesale surveillance measures…