Archive | Privacy

Symposium Announcement: Defining a Search in the 21st Century

By on January 24, 2013 in Privacy

I’m a little late in getting the word out on this, but tomorrow (January 25) the Center is partnering with the North Carolina Journal of Law & Technology to host a symposium entitled “U.S. v. Jones: Defining a Search in the 21st Century.”  U.S. v. Jones, decided by the United States Supreme Court on January 23, 2012, involved an effort by police to track the whereabouts of a suspect by installing, without a warrant, a GPS device on his car and continuously monitoring the vehicle for 28 days. The Court held that the attachment of the GPS device constituted a search under the Fourth Amendment and therefore (might have) required a warrant.

The case raises all kinds of interesting questions about the limits on the government’s investigatory powers in a time of rapidly changing technology.  The symposium will be held at the Friday Center, which will provide plenty of free parking.  You can read more about the symposium on our events page.

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Interdisciplinary Faculty Lunch: Privacy and Human Subject Research

By on January 12, 2013 in Privacy

Next Friday, January 18, the Center is hosting the first of our spring interdisciplinary faculty lunches on the topic of “Privacy and Human Subject Research” from 12:00 to 1:15 p.m. in the Cowell Boardroom (Room 5003) at the UNC School of Law.

The lunch, which is open to all UNC faculty, will focus on how advances in technology have changed the ways human subject research, both biomedical and behavioral, is conducted and the many privacy issues that accompany such research. The discussion will be led by Professors John Conley and Andrew Chin. Our previous lunches, which rotate around the UNC campus, have brought together approximately 30-40 faculty and graduate students from across the University of North Carolina.  For more information — and background on the topic — please see our event page.

Please RSVP to Liz Woolery by January 15, as space will be limited.  The Center will provide lunches and drinks.

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Best New Internet Law Books?

By on October 31, 2012 in Copyright, First Amendment, Internet, Privacy

Each fall I informally survey my media law colleagues and former Ph.D. students in search of great, new books to assign for my Internet law class.  The class is a mix of UNC School of Journalism and Mass Communication undergraduates who already have completed a basic media law class and graduate students.  I’m looking for books that are focused on law and policy issues and that are enjoyable to read.  The latter criterion is important because I’m trying to show students how much fun it can be to study law, especially Internet law.

These are the books reported in this fall’s survey that might fit my criteria, although I haven’t yet looked at them closely enough to assess whether they will be enjoyable to read.

  • Hector Postigo, The Digital Rights Movement: The Role of Technology in Subverting Digital Copyright (2012).
  • Robert Levine, Free Ride: How Digital Parasites Are Destroying the Culture Business, and How the Culture Business Can Fight Back (2012).
  • Kembrew McLeod and Peter DiCola, Creative License:  The Law and Culture of Digital Sampling (2011).
  • Rebecca MacKinnon, Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom (2012).

This is a book that was suggested that sounds good but probably doesn’t have enough law for my purposes:

  • Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman, Networked:  The New Social Operating System (2012).

These are the books I assigned last year:

  • Jack Goldsmith and Tim Wu, Who Controls the Internet?  Illusions of a Borderless World (2006). (This is getting dated but provides valuable background on a number of issues.)
  • Lawrence Lessig, Free Culture:  The Nature and Future of Creativity (2004). (When my student read this they begin to get excited about studying law.)
  • Daniel J. Solove, The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor and Privacy on the Internet (2007).
  • Siva Vaidhyanathan, The Googlization of Everything (2011).

I also have used these books in the past, with good results:

  • Dawn C. Nunziato, Virtual Freedom:  Net Neutrality and Free Speech in the Internet Age (2009).
  • Lawrence Lessig, Remix:  Making Art and Commerce Thrive in the Hybrid Economy (2008).

Does anyone have any additional suggestions?  Any comments on these books?  Thanks!

 

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Interdisciplinary Lunch: Who Owns Research Data?

By on August 29, 2012 in Copyright, Privacy

Last year, the Center began hosting a bi-monthly gathering of faculty and graduate students from across UNC-CH to discuss the challenges and opportunities posed by new communication technologies, including social media, mobile platforms, and the Internet, and the impact they are having on governments, the economy, and cultural and social values throughout the world.

Our first lunch of the fall will address the question, “Who owns research data?”  There are many stakeholders who may have a legitimate interest in determining what happens to data that are collected and generated as part of scholarly research. “Ownership” can be seen as a right to control the data but also as having the responsibility to responsibly care for the data over time. Data ownership issues touch on legal constraints and commitments (e.g. FERPA, intellectual property, human subjects protections, open records laws), requirements of funding agencies (e.g. data management plans), and social norms and behaviors. Perceptions of ownership often do not align well with formal, institutional mandates. And those responsible for creation of data are not always well positioned to provide for long-term access.

The September lunch will be held from noon to 1:15 p.m. on Friday, September 14 in room 208 in Manning Hall. We will provide box lunches and drinks for those who register. All you need to bring is an inquiring mind.

To RSVP for the lunch and to see the list of suggested background readings, please go to our events listing.

And a big thank you to Christopher “Cal” Lee, an associate professor in the UNC School of Information and Library Science (SILS), for taking the lead on this topic and to SILS for hosting the lunch!

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Privacy and Libel on the Internet

By on April 2, 2009 in Defamation, Internet, Privacy

Privacy law expert Daniel J. Solove, professor in the George Washington University School of Law, was a featured speaker in the Mary Junck Research Colloquium series in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication. He also spoke in professor Cathy Packer’s “Law of Cyberspace” class. He discussed his book, “The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor and Privacy on the Internet.”

View this event on iTunes U

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