Is Facial Recognition the New Fingerprinting—or Something Much Worse?
State DMVs are building a vast national digital identification database for federal law enforcement.
Privacy
Is Wrongful Search Engine Optimization a Tort?
An anonymous lawsuit claims that it's tortious to try to artificially boost the prominence of an embarrassing article.
Hong Kong Protests Show Dangers of a Cashless Society
Many digital payments can be tracked, potentially assisting an authoritarian crackdown.
The Sinister, Unconstitutional Effort to Ban Secure Encryption Is Back
It’s the ‘90s all over again, and the White House is in no mood to humor tech companies right now.
Incensed by Warrantless Border Searches of Americans' Tech Devices? These Senators Have the Cure.
Ron Wyden and Rand Paul team up to stop Border Patrol from snooping in your stuff without good reason.
Vermont Supreme Court Reads Revenge Porn Law Narrowly
Alice sends nude picture to her ex, Bob. Bob's new girlfriend (or maybe would-be girlfriend) Carol gets it and posts it online. Carol wouldn't be guilty under the state revenge porn statute, the court rules.
Can the Fourth Amendment Save Us from the Coming Era of Pervasive Biometric Surveillance?
New technologies mean new crimesolving techniques—and new threats to privacy and liberty.
We're From the Government and We're Here to 'Ghost' Read Your Emails
Habitually untrustworthy snoops still demand we trust them to monitor our communications.
The Costs of Monitoring Your Prescriptions
State databases that track the medications we take invade our privacy without reducing opioid-related deaths.
Customs and Border Protection Photo and License Plate Database Hacked
The agency is mum on how many people are impacted
Don't Trust the FBI to Properly Use Its Massive Facial Recognition Database
You might consider buying a hat to cover your face—and hoping you’ll be allowed to wear it.
New Hampshire Resists the DEA's Demands for Warrantless Access to Patients' Prescription Records
An ACLU brief bolsters the state's case, arguing that people reasonably expect information about the medications they take will be kept confidential.
Now Microsoft Supports an American GDPR. Which Tech Giant Wouldn't?
Government-mandated privacy regulations will allow the most powerful companies to game it to their advantage.
A Sniff by a Pot-Detecting Dog Requires Probable Cause and Does Not Justify a Search, Says Colorado Supreme Court
Marijuana legalization changes the constitutional status of canine olfactory inspections.
San Francisco Bans Police Use of Facial Recognition
Preventing a slow march toward automated authoritarianism?
Oregon Supreme Court: Cops Can't Collaborate with Garbage Haulers to Paw Through Your Trash Without a Warrant
Police now have to get a judge's permission before they rummage through your bins.
Bitcoin Isn't Anonymous. Is That a Dealbreaker?
As the cryptocurrency continues use, issues of privacy and fungibility crop up.
Publishing Court Records Containing Home Address Not Actionable Invasion of Privacy
A district court decision from several years ago, which I just ran across.
Massage Parlor Surveillance Videos Can't Be Used in Court, Says Florida Judge
Plus: the biggest trouble with Devin Nunes' Twitter lawsuit, the Senate fails to override Trump's Yemen veto, bad news for the gig economy, and more...
White House May Seek Renewal of Domestic Snooping Powers the NSA Has Stopped Using. It Shouldn't.
Section 215 has been used to secretly access our private data, but hasn't accomplished much.
The NSA Defended the Domestic Surveillance That Snowden Exposed. Now the Agency Wants to End It.
After years of political fights over our privacy, a potential end in mass phone metadata collection
Nabbing Robert Kraft Helped Florida Prosecutors Get Headlines. Now Kraft and Other Orchids of Asia Customers Are Fighting Back
They're joined by an arrested spa owner and manager in fighting the release of surveillance video, with an array of big media companies on the other side.
Are Food-Stamp Receipts Beyond the Reach of FOIA? Supreme Court Hears Arguments Today
Plus: Violence in Sri Lanka leads to social media suppression, and the White House wants to make it harder for pretrial diversion participants to get government jobs.
Zuckerberg's Plea: Regulate Me Before I Violate People's Privacy Again!
Facebook would prosper in a less robust market.
District Court Allows Challenge to School's Locker-Room-of-Your-Choice Policy
The court held that plaintiffs' sexual harassment claims (under Title IX) and religious objection claims (under the Illinois RFRA and under the Free Exercise Clause) could go forward, at least for now.
Privacy-Minded Lawmakers Introduce Bill to Stop NSA from Collecting Your Phone Records
The feds have allegedly abandoned the program. These four want to make sure it stays dead.
ICE Tracking Immigrants with Huge License Plate Database
The privately maintained database has billions of records on drivers across the country.
If the Feds Have Stopped Snooping on Our Phone Records, Watch Out for the Anti-Encryption Propaganda
Backdoors into your texts and private message provide far more information than your phone metadata.
Preventing Government Facial Recognition Oppression
Pervasive real-time police surveillance is not just theoretical anymore.
Feds Used a Secret Database to Track Journalists Covering the Migrant Caravan: Reason Roundup
Plus: Facebook says it's pivoting to privacy, and congressional Democrats want to "save the internet."
The NSA Has Apparently Stopped the Domestic Surveillance Program Snowden Exposed
For years, security state advocates fought to maintain the authority to snoop on your phone records. Are they really giving up?
Data Surveillance Shows Why We Need Cash, Cryptocurrencies
A cashless society is a monitored (and potentially controlled) society.
Here's Why Rand Paul Will Vote 'No' on AG Nominee William Barr
Paul cited Barr's past support for warrantless surveillance. He's right to be worried.
London To Require GPS Trackers for Certain Residents Convicted of 'Knife Possession'
The latest in London Mayor Sadiq Khan's war on knife ownership.
San Francisco's Accidental Surveillance State and the Future of Privacy
Good intentions, private fears, and innovative entrepreneurs vying for government contracts are killing privacy in public places.
Sex-Trafficking Hysteria Is Eroding Privacy in Hotels, Airplanes, and More: Podcast
Elizabeth Nolan Brown talks about DHS's "Blue Campaign," which is pushing hotel and airline workers to call the feds if they suspect human trafficking.
San Francisco Facial Recognition Ban Proposed
It's a good idea that libertarians should applaud.
Hate Long TSA Lines? Hate Them Enough to Get Your Eye Scanned Instead?
The possibilities and perils of voluntary, privately operated biometric screening
Bombshell Report About Americans Helping UAE Hack Phones Is a Warning Against Compromising Encryption
Hacking tools end up in the hands of some dangerous people. So, apparently, do our government hackers.
Judge Rules Police Cannot Require People to Unlock Their Own iPhones With Thumb or Iris
Compelled use of facial and finger recognition features runs afoul of the Fifth Amendment.
N.Y. Bill Would Violate Gun Rights, Free Speech Rights, and Privacy
Among other things, it would call for investigators to review three years' worth of a would-be gun buyer's social media postings for "excessive discriminatory content."
REAL ID Puts Personal and National Security At Risk
Your new national ID is hacker-bait that complicates journeys but won't make you any safer.
Suit Against Grindr Over Harassment Is Part of a Trending Assault on Internet Freedom
On Monday, a federal appeals court considered Grindr's guilt in a case involving app-based impersonators.
6 Reasons to Hate the TSA When You Travel This Christmas
Santa Claus is coming to town with all his liquids in a single quart-sized baggie.
Sundar Pichai: Google Supports an American Data Privacy Law
The tech giant actually stands to gain by legally hamstringing competition with tough regulations.
