Issues and developments related to ethics, information, and technologies, examined in the ethics and intellectual property graduate courses I teach at the University of Pittsburgh School of Computing and Information. My Bloomsbury book "Ethics, Information, and Technology" will be published in January 2026. Kip Currier, PhD, JD
Sheelah Kolhatkar, New Yorker; Walter Shaub’s Brave, Quixotic Ethics Battle with Trump "After leaving his post at the O.G.E., Shaub will join the Campaign Legal Center, a nonpartisan organization based in Washington, D.C., as the director of its ethics program. According to Lawrence Noble, the Center’s general counsel, Shaub learned about the job opening only recently. “When the opportunity came for us to hire Walt, we couldn’t pass it up,” Noble said. He added that, to the best of his knowledge, Shaub “was under no outside pressure” to leave the O.G.E. before his term ended, and Shaub told the Washington Post much the same. In his new role, Shaub will be helping the Center to expand its ethics program, strengthen its watchdog role, and help design potential fortifications to the ethics rules, which have been “stress-tested” under President Trump, as Noble put it. He added that Trump had exposed many weaknesses in ethics laws. With Shaub’s help, his organization will be looking at ways to strengthen and update conflict-of-interest rules for the President specifically, as well as ways to potentially give more power to the O.G.E., which, currently, can only offer advice and suggestions and has no enforcement role."
Todd Shields, Bloomberg via News Chief; States consider tougher web privacy laws "Soon after President Donald Trump took office with a pledge to cut regulations, Republicans in Congress killed an Obama-era rule restricting how broadband companies may use customer data such as web browsing histories.
But the rule may be finding new life in the states.
Lawmakers in almost two dozen state capitols are considering ways to bolster consumer privacy protections rolled back with Trump’s signature in April. The proposals being debated from New York to California would limit how AT&T, Verizon Communications and Comcast use subscribers’ data."
State Rep. John Gannon, Idaho Mountain Express; Federal commission invades voting privacy "This new federal commission will cost plenty of our taxpayer dollars and our privacy. What are they going to do with this data? How are they going to track those that move and what right does the federal government have to even do that? Are federal investigators going to contact landlords, look at assessor records and interrogate voters regarding residences in order to determine “vulnerabilities”? The monetary expense will be substantial and voter participation less likely."
"“For the machine to know you’re talking to it, it has to be taking that voice information that it’s recording and sending it back and processing,” said [cyber security expert Sean Lawson. "The technology is really cool, especially if you grew up watching ‘The Jetsons’ or ‘Star Trek.’ The problem is, I also know how they work and the privacy implications. The costs versus the benefits of what this device will do for me is just not worth paying in terms of the privacy you give up. But everyone needs to make that decision for themselves.”"
Nicholas Fandos, New York Times; Government Ethics Chief Resigns, Casting Uncertainty Over Agency "“I don’t think anyone who comes after Walter is going to challenge the White House publicly the way that I think he did,” said Richard W. Painter, who served as ethics counsel for the George W. Bush White House. “It is a great loss.” Mr. Painter said the administration would do itself a favor by naming a successor with experience in ethics law and a reputation for independence. A permanent replacement for Mr. Shaub would require confirmation in the Senate, where Democrats would probably use confirmation hearings to raise grievances about what they see asMr. Trump’s potential conflicts of interest, and Republicans are unlikely to act as a rubber stamp."
Jennifer Putnam Davis, American Libraries; Intellectual Freedom and Open Access: Working Toward a Common Goal? "How do the principles of intellectual freedom and open access intersect? That was the topic of the “Intellectual Freedom and Open Access: Working Toward a Common Goal?” panel discussion, sponsored by the Intellectual Freedom Round Table, which addressed the relationship from several different perspectives."
Wendy Davis, Digital News Daily; Privacy Rules Apply To Connected Toys, FTC Says "A federal law that limits companies' ability to collect data from children applies to businesses that gather data from connected toys and other devices, the Federal Trade Commission says. The Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, which initially regulated data collection at Web sites, also "can apply to the growing list of connected devices that make up the Internet of Things," the FTC said inguidanceissued last week."
Hannah Meisel, Law360; Legislature Passes Geolocation Privacy Protection Act "A bill in the Illinois General Assembly seeking to limit the collection and disclosure of a smartphone user's geolocation data within applications will be sent on to Gov. Bruce Rauner after the House narrowly approved the legislation Tuesday. The so-called Geolocation Privacy Protection Act was already approved by the state Senate last month — one of a handful of bills proposed in the Illinois legislature this spring aimed at protecting mobile phone user data."
SF: It has already got their attention. It certainly is the one area where C-level executives are starting to pay attention. Four percent of a global annual revenue is pretty substantial and will put some companies out of business.
It will still be those large multinational organisations that their entire business relies on data that will try to push back and in their head they might think: there is no way we will be fined this.
However, what is going to happen is that the data protection authority is going to look for that first case, and that first case that they find, that first company that they can actually hold it accountable and sanction will become the poster child to get companies to rethink their position. They cannot be arrogant any longer."
Olivia Solon, Guardian; Facebook can track your browsing even after you've logged out, judge says "A judge has dismissed a lawsuit accusingFacebookof tracking users’ web browsing activity even after they logged out of the social networking site. The plaintiffs alleged that Facebook used the “like” buttons found on other websites to track which sites they visited, meaning that the Menlo Park, California-headquartered company could build up detailed records of their browsing history. The plaintiffs argued that this violated federal and state privacy and wiretapping laws. US district judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California, dismissed the case because he said that the plaintiffs failed to show that they had a reasonable expectation of privacy or suffered any realistic economic harm or loss."
Carolyn Y. Johnson, Washington Post; Louisiana considers radical step to counter high drug prices: Federal intervention "Gilead, a company that hasprojectedbetween $7.5 billion and $9 billion in sales for 2017 for its hepatitis C drugs, says federal intervention would threaten future progress. In a statement, the company said the proposal “puts in jeopardy further medical innovation by undermining the patent system and de-incentivizing research and development.” Gilead said that the state’s predictions of the budget impact are unrealistic, based on the idea that the entire infected population could be screened, treated and connected to treatment in a year. Gilead offers states that do not restrict access to treatments deep discounts — less than $30,000 for a 12-week treatment... Gee said that she is not wedded to one approach and that she simply thinks the equity and access problems that are an outgrowth of high drug prices need to be tackled. After receiving the expert panel’s recommendation, Gee put out the proposal for public comment and received 102,a majority of which were in favor of taking some action. She expects to make a decision soon about a strategy to try to eliminate hepatitis C in Louisiana."
Workshops such as Mitchell’s are often called “crypto parties” in reference to cryptography, a field of math and computer science that underlies digital security.
The idea was launched in 2012 as a grassroots movement, and since then hundreds of crypto parties have been held worldwide, including events in at least 26 states. The clinics teach everything from how to lock down a smartphone to methods for limiting online tracking by marketers. Attendees are urged to bring their laptops and phones. “No chips, dip, awesome music, or drinks,” Mitchell says. “Just food for the mind.”
These workshops are free, and you can find a list of upcoming events online. People who can't find a crypto party in their community may be able to learn about digital security at their public library.
“Libraries do a lot of digital training, and part of learning how to use a computer is making decisions about your online privacy,” says Mike Robinson, chairman of the Intellectual Freedom Committee’s privacy group at the American Library Association. “We don’t tend to call them crypto parties,” he says, “but in essence it’s what they are.”
If your library doesn’t yet offer this sort of training, Alison Macrina, a former technology librarian in Watertown, Mass., who co-wrote a self-published guide to online privacy called “We Are All Suspects,” suggests that you ask at the reference desk. “Libraries are incredibly quantitative and data-driven. If people call or ask, librarians can better show the board of directors or administrators that there’s a big interest in it and a need for this.”"
Stephen Buranyi, Guardian; Is the staggeringly profitable business of scientific publishing bad for science? "The idea that scientific research should be freely available for anyone to use is a sharp departure, even a threat, to the current system – which relies on publishers’ ability to restrict access to the scientific literature in order to maintain its immense profitability. In recent years, the most radical opposition to the status quo has coalesced around a controversial website called Sci-Hub – a sort of Napster for science that allows anyone to download scientific papers for free. Its creator, Alexandra Elbakyan, a Kazhakstani, is in hiding, facing charges of hacking and copyright infringement in the US. Elsevier recently obtaineda $15m injunction(the maximum allowable amount) against her. Elbakyan is an unabashed utopian. “Science should belong to scientists and not the publishers,” she told me in an email. In a letter to the court, she cited Article 27 of the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, asserting the right “to share in scientific advancement and its benefits”. Whatever the fate of Sci-Hub, it seems that frustration with the current system is growing. But history shows that betting against science publishers is a risky move. After all, back in 1988, Maxwell predicted that in the future there would only be a handful of immensely powerful publishing companies left, and that they would ply their trade in an electronic age with no printing costs, leading to almost “pure profit”. That sounds a lot like the world we live in now."
Tim Herrera, New York Times; How to See What the Internet Knows About You (And How to Stop It) "The relentlessly unyielding (but highly profitable) personalization of the products and services we use is getting deeper and creepier than ever. This type of data is incredibly valuable, we’re producing a ton of it every day, and it’s all being used to turn us into products. As one Facebook developer famously said: “The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to make people click ads.” Let’s go down this rabbit hole. Start with this neat and medium-scary site, which our friends at Gizmodo flagged, that shows you everything your browser knows about you the second you open it. Here’s another one."
"How much of your privacy are you willing to surrender in exchange for security? How concerned are you that the government has the capacity to trace your comings and goings? How bothered are you by license tag readers, surveillance cameras, red light monitors, websites that track your movements, retailers that collect and share your buying habits?...
In this age of the ubiquitous surveillance camera and the airport pat down, have we surrendered our expectation of privacy?
Is it too late to get it back? Do we feel safer without it?
"Computer coders will face more ethical dilemmas as people's trust in technology strengthens, but one expert is shocked that IT students are not being taught to uphold morals.
Most of New Zealand's computer science university degrees do not include papers or courses that cover ethics.
Auckland University computer science associate professor Ian Watson, said this was a problem because the mostly 20-something-year-old, caucasian males creating apps were making race and gender divides worse.
Their narrow world view meant they did not consider the impact their digital creations could have on society, Watson said.
[Computer scientists] have become extremely arrogant and rather naive and are completely overlooking what their code might end up doing."
Watson said Auckland University's computer science course did not teach its students about the ethical implications their future jobs and creations could have on society, but that had to change.
Ethics was a problem for all software developers and their educators needed to consider teaching it, he said.
Old Time Radio Downloads; Quiet Please, Episode 89: "If I Should Wake Before I Die" [Kip Currier: Heard this cautionary tale--first aired in 1949--on Radio Classics this weekend. Especially prescient and timely, in light of real-world stories like this one, calling for ethics education in IT programs: Lack of ethics education for computer programmers shocks expert] "Plot: He is the epitome of the word "mad scientist." This top scientist doesn't care whether his inventions have already vastly altered the world, all that he cares about is the vast amount of knowledge that he acquires in his research. What the world sees as a destructive weapon is nothing more but a mere scribble of equations for him. The world is starting to reach a crucial point when human knowledge has become dangerous and unwise."
Jennifer Schlesinger, CNBC; Robocalling soars despite 'Do Not Call' registry, as scammers 'couldn't care less' about bothering consumers [Kip Currier: Posting this in response to a timely question from an attendee at the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh's "Conversations That Count" "Privacy in a Digital Age" program, for which I was a co-panelist last night.] ""The 'Do Not Call' registry actually works for legitimate businesses," said Alex Quilici, CEO of YouMail. "The problem is all the people who don't respect it, who are the scammers who [couldn't] care less."
The calls are often coming from overseas, where scammers try to stay out of the reach of regulatory authorities, according to the FTC...
Register your number on the Do Not Call List, donotcall.gov. "After that if you get a call that is trying to sell you a good or service, you have a pretty good idea that that call is illegal and the person behind that call is a law violator, and so you have a good sense of knowing that that's a call that you don't want to engage in," Kopec said.
Report illegal robo-sales calls to the FTC at complaints.donotcall.gov. The government passed on these numbers to services that block calls."
Thursday, June 29, 2017
PRIVACY IN A DIGITAL AGE
June 29th 5:30–7:00pm Carnegie Mellon University Cohon University Center McKenna-Peter Rooms (second floor) 5032 Forbes Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15213Free Parking is available in the East Campus Garage off Forbes Avenue
REGISTER BELOW
Discussion led by Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff
Featuring James “Kip” Currier, PhD, JD Assistant Professor, University of Pittsburgh, School of Computing & Information
The Men’s Philanthropy Division is dedicated to providing meaningful outreach and engagement opportunities for men at all stages of life. Whether it is Jewish men gathering to socialize, network, consider important world issues or give back to the community our goal is to create an active and engaged community of Jewish men with a focus on Jewish philanthropy.
$10 includes light hors d'oeuvres and refeshment.Dietary Laws Observed.
Jan Levinson Men’s Philanthropy Chair
Chuck Snyder Men’s Philanthropy Co-Chair
David Steinbach Shofar Society Chair
Todd Rosenfeld, CFP® Shofar Society Co-Chair
Conversations that Count is a program of the Men’s Philanthropy Division of The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh.
The full inclusion of people of all abilities is a core value of the Pittsburgh Jewish Community.To RSVP or for more information, contact Chrissy Janisko at cjanisko@jfedpgh.org or 412-697-6652.
[Press Release] CONVERSATIONS THAT COUNT SERIES PRESENTS “PRIVACY IN A DIGITAL AGE" Rabbi joins cybercommunication expert to provide insights in June 29 discussion WHO and WHAT The Men’s Philanthropy Division of the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh presents
“Privacy in a Digital Age” as the next event in its Conversations That Count engagement
series, which is open to registered guests. In a time when cyberattacks can affect businesses worldwide and when the Internet and
social media have increasing access to personal data and play a key role in disseminating
fake news and anti-Semitism, “Privacy in a Digital Age” will provide a timely examination
that will emphasize the Jewish perspective. Foundation Scholar Rabbi Danny Schiff, DHL, DD, of the Jewish Community Foundation,
and James “Kip” Currier, PhD, JD, assistant professor, University of Pittsburgh School of
Computing & Information, will bring their expertise and perspectives to a presentation
about how information-related needs and wants, in personal and corporate spheres, affect
daily life — and the ethical questions involved. Rabbi Schiff has lectured widely — in Pittsburgh and internationally — on matters of
ethics, particularly as they inform and affect the Jewish community. He holds a doctor of
Hebrew letters degree and an honorary doctor of divinity degree from Hebrew Union College–Jewish Institute of Religion. Rabbi Schiff’s presentations typically combine
penetrating scholarship and humor. Dr. Currier holds a doctor of philosophy degree in library and information science from the
University of Pittsburgh and a law degree from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law.
His research interests include open government, censorship, human information behavior,
and the effect that the “Internet of things” will have on privacy. His proficiency in Japanese
allows him to analyze cybertrends as they develop outside the English-speaking world. As a co-author of “Legal, Ethical, and Policy Issues of ‘Big Data 2.0,’” Dr. Currier received
the 2016 LIBER Innovation Award, presented annually in Helsinki to recognize innovative
and relevant research. Admission is $10. Drinks and light hors d’oeuvres will be served. Kosher dietary laws
observed. WHEN and WHERE Thursday, June 29, 5:30–7 p.m.
Carnegie Mellon University’s Cohon University Center, second floor,
McKenna–Peter Rooms, 5032 Forbes Ave., Pittsburgh 15213 WHY The Men’s Philanthropy Division is dedicated to providing meaningful outreach and
engagement opportunities for men at all stages of life. Whether Jewish men gather to
socialize, network, consider important world issues or give back to the community, the goal
is to create an active and engaged community of Jewish men with a focus on Jewish
philanthropy. HOW To register online, visit www.jfedpgh.org/men-conversations To register or for more information, contact Chrissy Janisko at
cjanisko@jfedpgh.org or 412.992.5268. The full inclusion of people of all abilities
is a core value of the Pittsburgh Jewish community; please email or call to discuss
disability accommodations. Park free in the East Campus Garage, off Forbes Avenue. About the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh
The Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh raises and allocates funds to build community
locally, in Israel and around the world. With the vision of a thriving, vibrant and engaged
Jewish community, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh aims to carry out its work in
the context of cooperation and inclusiveness. For more information, visit www.jfedpgh.org
Conor Friedersdorf, The Atlantic; Privacy in the Information Age Is Not a Lost Cause "The Pro Publica journalist [Julia Angwin] argues that those fighting to better protect privacy aren’t wasting their time, even as the Information Age accelerates. And she explained her optimism at the Aspen Ideas Festival, co-hosted by The Aspen Institute and The Atlantic, with an analogy. Consider the Industrial Revolution, she urged... And for now, Angwin offers a list of privacy tools on her web site that anyone can use to better protect information that they would otherwise give over to third parties."
Makeda Easter, Los Angeles Times; Google takes 2 steps to protect user privacy "Google announced two new steps to protect user privacy — moving to scrub personal medical records from search results and halting its long-standing policy of scanning emails to deliver targeted ads. Previously, Google surveyed the contents of emails to provide personalized ads to users of its free Gmail service. Although paying Gmail customers were never subject to such scanning, Diane Greene, a senior vice president at Google, toldBloombergthat there was confusion about the policy among businesses that pay for its service."
Andrea Peterson, Slate; Key Government Privacy Watchdog Muzzled During Surveillance Debate "ThePrivacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, or PCLOB, is a little-known agency that’s had an outsize influence in recent years on the debate over government spying. The board’s job is to make sure that when the executive branch takes action to defend the country, Americans’ privacy rights and civil liberties aren’t forgotten. To carry out that mission, the board has almost unparalleled access to classified information across the intelligence agencies. PCLOB uses that access to advise agencies on how to roll out surveillance programs while minimizing privacy and civil liberties violations, review programs already in operation, and raise the alarm when it uncovers problems. But right now, despite the high stakes, the board is beingheld hostage by a personnel shortage... The board is supposed to be led by a bipartisan group of five people: a full-time chair and four part-time members who are nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Due to a string of departures over the last year, it’s down to just one part-time member."
ABC News; Snapchat's new Snap Map feature raises privacy concerns "A new update to the popular social networking app Snapchat that allows certain users of the app to track down your exact location is raising privacy concerns for parents and child safety advocates. The new Snapchat feature, called "Snap Map," lets you decide whether or not to share your location with your friends in the app, or stay in "ghost mode," the app's default setting. If you decide to share your location, then an emoji representing you will appear to pinpoint your exact location on a map to your friends within the Snapchat app. The emoji marking where someone is on the map will "only update when you open Snapchat," the tech company explained in ablog post."
Asma Khalid, NPR; Facial Recognition May Boost Airport Security But Raises Privacy Worries "JetBlue is pitching this idea of facial recognition as convenience for customers. It's voluntary. But it's also part of a broader push by Customs and Border Protection to create a biometric exit system to track non-U.S. citizens leaving the country... [Adam Schwartz, a lawyer with the Electronic Frontier Foundation] says facial recognition is a uniquely invasive form of surveillance. "We can change our bank account numbers, we even can change our names, but we cannot change our faces," Schwartz says. "And once the information is out there, it could be misused.""... Back at Logan Airport, passenger Yeimy Quezada feels totally comfortable sharing her face instead of a barcode. "Even your cellphone recognizes selfies and recognize faces, so I'm used to that technology already," she says. "And, I'm not concerned about privacy because I'm a firm believer that if you're not hiding anything, you shouldn't be afraid of anything."
Hayley Miller, HuffPost; Hillary Clinton Says Libraries Are Essential In Fight To Defend ‘Truth And Reason’ "“The work you do is at the heart of an open, inclusive and diverse society,” Clinton told a crowd at the American Library Association’s conference in Chicago. “I believe libraries and democracy go hand-in-hand.”... “You have to be on the front lines of one of the most important fights we have ever faced in history in this country: the right to defend truth and reason, evidence and facts,” she said... The former first lady added that libraries are critical to the well-being of rural communities and provide invaluable resources to help immigrants and refugees learn English and “know their rights.”"
Lisa Granshaw, Comic Book Resources; Spider-Man: Homecoming Cast and Crew Address Film’s Diversity "Everything that’s been released so far about Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios’ upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming film has shown an impressive range of diversity among the cast. Its level of inclusion and representation is something not seen often enough in superhero films — or movies in general — and has not gone unnoticed before its July release... Actor Tony Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel), who plays Flash Thompson in the film, discussed how it felt to represent the Latino community in the well-known comic book franchise. “It’s wonderful,” Revolori, who is American of Guatemala descent, told reporters including CBR. “I think the fact that when you see the film, there’s not a single line of exposition as to explain why I look the way I look and I think that’s wonderful that I just am in the movie. It’s not about being a certain race, it’s not about doing anything. I think that’s the kind of diversity we need in Hollywood now."
Travis M. Andrews, Washington Post; Some white ‘Star Trek’ fans are unhappy about remake’s diversity "Indeed, the ‘Star Trek’ series, as Manu Saadia put it in the New Yorker, has always been about inclusion, diversity and breaking down human-made social barriers. Saadia wrote:
Each successive “Star Trek” cast has been like a model United Nations. Nichols’s black communications specialist worked alongside George Takei’s Japanese helmsman and Walter Koenig’s (admittedly campy) Russian navigator. Leonard Nimoy’s Spock was half-human, half-Vulcan, and he bore traces of the actor’s own upbringing in a poor Jewish neighborhood in Boston. The Vulcan hand greeting, for instance, which Nimoy invented, is the Hebrew letter shin, the symbol for the Shekhinah, a feminine aspect of the divine. The original series aired only a few years after the Cuban missile crisis, at the height of the Vietnam War and the space race, and its vision of a reconciled humanity was bold. Nichols, who considered leaving the show after the first season, has said that she was persuaded to stay on by Martin Luther King, Jr., who told her that he watched “Star Trek” with his wife and daughters.
This isn’t the first time an entry in the “Star Trek” series has come under fire for including ever more diverse characters. Just last year, the film “Star Trek Beyond” portrayed Sulu as a gay man. It was the first time the series featured an openly gay character, and some fans were furious."
Erik Wemple, Washington Post; Three CNN employees resign over retracted story on Russia ties "CNN announced on Monday afternoon that three network officials are leaving their jobs over the incident: Frank, the reporter on the story; Eric Lichtblau, a recent CNN addition from the New York Times who edited the piece; and Lex Haris, the executive editor of “CNN Investigates.” The moves follow an investigation carried out by CNN executives over the weekend, with the conclusion that longstanding network procedures for publishing stories weren’t properly followed. “There was a significant breakdown in process,” says a CNN source. “There were editorial checks and balances within the organization that weren’t met.”... Regarding the personnel changes, a CNN source said, “The individuals all stated that they accepted responsibility and wanted to resign.”... Critics will long cite this episode as evidence that CNN is precisely what Trump has called it — “fake news.” Yet the departure of three journalists immediately following a mangled story provides a counterpoint to this particular slander. Purveyors of fake news, after all, don’t take drastic personnel moves following a bogus story. They rejoice in it."
Rich Demuro, KTLA.com; 5 Tools To Help Protect Your Privacy Online "There are lots of ways that websites track you online - here are 5 useful tools to help protect your privacy.
Insecure connections and trackers galore are just a few of the things we're up against when we surf online. Websites want to know our location, shopping habits, and more. Here are some of the tools you can use to take back at least some of your privacy."
Samuel Gibbs, Guardian; Google begins removing private medical records from search results "Googlehas started removing private medical records from its search results, after adjusting its policy regarding personal information. The changewas made on Thursdayto include the “confidential, personal medical records of private people” in the bracket of information Google may remove unprompted from search results. Other examples of such information include national or government issued identification numbers, bank account numbers, credit card numbers and images of signatures. The leaking of private medical records can be extremely damaging to the victims, both financially and emotionally, with future prospects affected and private lives of the vulnerable exposed. Given that Google’s indexing system will capture anything that’s publicly accessible on the internet, leaks such as those created by an Indian pathology lab which uploadedmore than 43,000 patient records in December, including names and HIV blood test results, can be particularly damaging. Thelast change to the removal policywas made in 2015 with the addition of “nude or sexually explicit images that were uploaded or shared without your consent” to cover so-called revenge porn."
