Tag Archive | Ars Technica
March 8, 2013  

Texas proposes one of nation’s “most sweeping” mobile privacy laws

by Cyrus Farivar, Ars Technica, March 6, 2013

Privacy experts say that a pair of new mobile privacy bills recently introduced in Texas are among the “most sweeping” ever seen. And they say the proposed legislation offers better protection than a related privacy bill introduced this week in Congress.If passed, the new bills would establish a well-defined, probable-cause-driven warrant requirement for all location information. That’s not just data from GPS, but potentially pen register, tap and trace, and tower location data as well. Such data would be disclosed to law enforcement “if there is probable cause to believe the records disclosing location information will provide evidence in a criminal investigation.”

For full text of the article, please visit Texas proposes one of nation’s “most sweeping” mobile privacy laws | Ars Technica.

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March 8, 2012  

Obama admin wants warrantless access to cell phone location data

By Timothy B. Lee, Ars Technica, March 7, 2012

A Maryland court last week ruled that the government does not need a warrant to force a cell phone provider to disclose more than six months of data on the movements of one of its customers. … Judge Richard D. Bennett ruled that a warrant is not required to obtain cell-site location records (CSLR) from a wireless carrier. … The Obama administration laid out its position in a legal brief last month, arguing that customers have “no privacy interest” in CSLR held by a network provider. Under a legal principle known as the “third-party doctrine,” information voluntarily disclosed to a third party ceases to enjoy Fourth Amendment protection. …

For full text of this article, visit Obama admin wants warrantless access to cell phone location data.

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October 21, 2011  

Op-ed: The shocking strangeness of our 25-year-old digital privacy law

By Jim Dempsey, ArsTechnica Published October 21, 2011 11:07 AM

Op-ed: Twenty-five years after it was passed, the Electronic Communications Privacy Act still governs much of our privacy online, and the Center for Democracy and Technology argues that ECPA needs an overhaul. The opinions in this post do not necessarily reflect the views of Ars Technica.

Cell phones the size of bricks, “portable” computers weighing 20 pounds, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and the federal statute that lays down the rules for government monitoring of mobile phones and Internet traffic all have one thing in common: each is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year.

For full text of the article, visit Op-ed: The shocking strangeness of our 25-year-old digital privacy law.

May 17, 2011  

Social influences kill the wisdom of the crowd

Social influences kill the wisdom of the crowd

By John Timmer | Ars Technica, Published May 17, 2011 2:09 PM

The “wisdom of the crowd” has become a bit of a pop cliché, but it’s backed up by real-world evidence. When groups of people are asked to provide estimates of obscure information, the median value of their answers will often be remarkably close to the right one, even though many of their answers are laughably wrong. But crowds rarely act in the absence of social influences, and some researchers in Zurich have now shown that providing individuals information about what their fellow crowd-members are thinking is enough to wipe out the crowd’s wisdom. …

For full text of the article via Social influences kill the wisdom of the crowd.

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April 23, 2011  

Rep. Ed Markey wants privacy answers from Steve Jobs (again)

By Nate Anderson, Ars Technica,  April 22, 2011

Questioning Apple’s privacy policies has become a bicameral proposition. Twenty-four hours after researchers provided a new open-source tool for iPhone users to view their phone’s logged location history, Senator Al Franken (D-MN) and Representative Ed Markey (D-MA) have both issued sets of questions for Apple CEO Steve Jobs. While Franken’s letter requests a “prompt” response, Markey wants answers “within fifteen business days.”

For full text of the article, visit Rep. Ed Markey wants privacy answers from Steve Jobs (again).

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March 1, 2011  

Defining Internet “freedom”: Ars interviews Senator Al Franken

Al Franken, Senator from Minnesota

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Defining Internet “freedom”: Ars interviews Senator Al Franken

By Nate Anderson, Arc Technica, February 28, 2011

Since winning election to the US Senate in 2008, Al Franken (D-MN) has become one of that chamber’s top net neutrality defenders. With the House uninterested in compromise on the issue, the real push to gut the FCC‘s existing net neutrality order will take place this year in the Senate. … Franken has even gone so far as to call net neutrality the “First Amendment issue of our time.” Those are tough words, but Franken remains convinced of their truth, even as he supports a controversial plan to censor websites over concerns about piracy and counterfeiting. (That legislation, called the Combating Online Infringement and Counterfeits Act or COICA, is currently under consideration.) Franken carved a few minutes out of his busy schedule to speak with Ars about net neutrality, the ways that elected officials talk about it, and why COICA really isn’t a bad idea—it just needs a few tweaks and a new coat of paint. …

For full text of article, visit Defining Internet “freedom”: Ars interviews Senator Al Franken.

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