Monthly Archives: January 2011

Earlier this week, both Mozilla and Google announced new browser features aimed at giving users greater control over how their personal data is collected online. Microsoft announced a similar initiative in December.

The introduction of browser “Do Not Track” features follows the Federal Trade Commission’s preliminary staff report, “Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change:  A Proposed Framework for Businesses and Policymakers,” which supports a “universal consumer choice mechanism for online behavioral advertising.” In its report,… More

I was on a panel today with Stuart N. Brotman, former Special Assistant to Communications and the President’s principal communications policy adviser and Chief of Staff at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.  My slides are here. More

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), a federal agency within the Department of Commerce, has launched a web site detailing the President Obama’s proposed National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC). NSTIC, initially released for public comment in June 2010, was developed in response to the Obama Administration’s 2009 Cyberspace Policy Review, which called for the creation of a “cybersecurity-based identity management vision and strategy that addresses privacy and civil liberties interests,… More

In NASA v. Nelson, decided today by the U.S. Supreme Court, the high court rejected a challenge to “a section of a form questionnaire that asks employees about treatment or counseling for recent illegal-drug use . . .  [and] to certain open-ended questions on a form sent to employees’ designated references.”

This particular challenge came from 28 employees of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (“JPL”).  JPL is staffed exclusively by contract employees. … More

As so often happens following a hospital’s involvement in a high profile event, the Tucson hospital treating the victims of the recent shooting is reported to have fired several staff, presumably for looking at patient records they should not have looked at:

Katie Riley, the Director of Media Relations in the Office of Public Affairs at the

Arizona Health Sciences Center said in a statement:

“University Medical Center takes the privacy of all patients very seriously. … More

The Council for Responsible Genetics has published a guide to the world’s DNA databases.  According to the guide, 56 countries (and in the U.S., all 50 states) maintain DNA databases.

CRG describes itself as a "catalyst and thought leader in the movement to steer biotechnology toward the advancement of public health, environmental protection, equal justice and respect for human rights."  Although CRG has its own unique perspective on whether DNA databases should exist and how they should be used,… More

If you got a new smartphone over the holidays, you’ve probably figured out how to use it by now.  The next thing to worry about is security.  The good news is that wireless providers are working to fortify their phones against attacks, as explained in this Wall Street Journal article.

There are some personal actions you should consider as well:

1. Set a password and make it a strong one.…

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