Month: February 2022

Internet Governance Irish Data Protection Agency Issues Preliminary Draft Ruling Ordering Meta to Stop U.S. Data Transfers: Ireland, where Meta’s EU headquarters is located, is the latest EU member state to chime in on the legality of data sharing between the EU and the U.S.

Privacy Quick Shift to Remote Learning Led to the Potentially Dangerous Surveillance of Students: At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many schools contracted with edtech companies that monitor school computers and student accounts. Now, LGBT students fear that their schools will out them to their parents before they are ready based on content they search for or write about during remote learning.

Information Security and Cyberthreats EU Creates Team to Help Defend Ukraine from Cyberattacks: The cyber rapid response team, which has members from Lithuania, Croatia, Poland, Estonia, Romania, and the Netherlands, was formed after the U.S. and U.K. blamed Russia for recent cyberattacks against Ukrainian banking and government websites.

Intellectual Property U.S. Copyright Office Affirms Ruling that AI Can’t Copyright Art: A three-person review board confirmed that an AI-generated artwork lacked the element of “human authorship” necessary to earn copyright protection.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship Neighborhood-Based Social Networking App “Nextdoor” Reaffirms Community Moderation Approach: As the U.S. and other countries weigh efforts to tighten regulation of social media, Nextdoor relies on community volunteers to serve as moderators. The app will also show “kindness reminders” or “antiracism warnings,” which, according to the company’s first-ever transparency report, prompted a third of users who received such a notification to delete or edit their post.

Practice Note Metaverse Opens a New World of Employment Law Concerns: Questions are starting to emerge about jurisdiction, privacy, and harassment, among other topics, as employees become geographically disconnected from employers and enter into a digital workforce.

On the Lighter Side Retrofitted 3D Printer Uses Added Smarts to Tackle Wordle: A fan of the puzzle game is trying to become a Wordle master using a 3D printer-turned-robot with a touchscreen stylus and dictionary access.

If you enjoy reading CLIP-ings, please consider making a contribution to Fordham CLIP. Your support provides crucial funding at a time when the study of information law and policy is more important than ever.

Ron Lazebnik Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance Texas Sues Meta for Collecting Facial Recognition Data: Texas alleges that Meta collected facial recognition data from tens of millions of Texans without their consent using a now-defunct Facebook photo tagging feature in contravention of the state’s biometric data law. Facebook discontinued the tagging tool in 2021 and claimed that it had deleted the data collected.

Privacy New York City CCTV Cameras Disproportionately Monitor People of Color: A new report from Amnesty International finds that in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Queens, there are more publicly owned cameras in census tracts with higher concentrations of people of color and that there is a correlation between the number of publicly owned cameras and the frequency of stop-and-frisk searches. Experts fear that the NYPD will use facial recognition technology on the camera feeds, thereby reinforcing discriminatory policing against minority communities.

Information Security and Cyberthreats Cyberattacks Make Ukrainian Websites Unreachable: Distributed denial-of-service attacks, which send a flood of malicious traffic designed to prevent visitors from viewing a website, targeted the websites of Ukraine’s defense ministry, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and two Ukrainian banks. The attacks occurred at a time of continued tension between Russia and Ukraine, but there is no evidence linking the Russian government or citizens to the actions.

Intellectual Property Dutch Regulators to Levy Weekly Fines Against Apple Until It Allows Dating App Developers to Use Alternative Payment Methods: The Dutch Authority of Consumers and Markets (ACM) has fined Apple €20 million so far for not adequately complying with its order, issued last year, to allow dating app developers to use alternatives to Apple’s in-app payment system. At the same time, Apple and Google both face a potential class-action lawsuit in the Netherlands over app store charges.

Freedom of Expression and Censorship Cambodia Launches Full-Time Internet Surveillance: As of this week, all internet service providers and carriers in Cambodia must route their traffic through the country’s National Internet Gateway. In effect, the move “will restrict Cambodians’ ability to access a free and open internet and greatly harm the country’s nascent digital economy.”

Practice Note Pretrial Risk-Assessment Tools Should Only Be Used if They’re Transparent and Unbiased, Warns ABA: The ABA House of Delegates passed a resolution urging government entities to avoid pretrial risk assessment tools unless “the data supporting the risk assessment is transparent, publicly disclosed and validated to demonstrate the absence of conscious or unconscious racial, ethnic or other demographic, geographic or socioeconomic bias.”

On the Lighter Side White Castle Introduces Burger-Flipping Robot to Approximately One-Third of U.S. Locations: The fast-food chain teamed up with Miso Robotics during the pandemic to develop a robot chef that can perform the same tasks as a team of fry cooks. Flippy the robot uses AI to identify, cook, and then deliver food to a hot holding area without any human intervention.

If you enjoy reading CLIP-ings, please consider making a contribution to Fordham CLIP. Your support provides crucial funding at a time when the study of information law and policy is more important than ever.

Ron Lazebnik Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance Meta’s Oversight Board Calls on Facebook and Instagram to Crack Down on Address Doxxing: The opinion, which is in response to a request issued by Meta last year, outlines steps that the social media giant can take to protect against doxxing and other forms of targeted harassment. Recommendations include getting rid of an exception for “publicly available” information and creating a specific enforcement channel to prioritize reports of doxxing, while still allowing protests at publicly-owned official residences and posts in which users share their own addresses.

Privacy French Data Protection Authority Finds that Google Analytics Breaches GDPR: Mirroring a decision last month from the Austrian DPA, France’s CNIL held that Google Analytics’ operations contravened the GDPR and are therefore illegal. The decision came days after a report that Meta allegedly threatened to pull its services from the EU if the United States and European Union can’t reach a data-sharing agreement.  IRS Abandons Plan to Use Facial-Recognition Software to Access Tax Records, Other Online Services: At the urging of nearly two dozen members of Congress, the IRS said that it would “transition away” from using a face-scanning verification service offered by the company ID.me. Four Democratic lawmakers also sent a letter this week urging several other federal departments to limit their relationships with the facial recognition surveillance company Clearview AI.

Information Security and Cyberthreats DOJ Seizes $3.6 Billion in Bitcoin: The Justice Department also arrested a married couple who is accused of laundering the cryptocurrency that hackers had stolen from Bitfinex, a digital currency exchange based in Hong Kong, in 2016.

Free Expression and Censorship TikTok Updates Community Guidelines to Limit Hateful Ideologies, Dangerous Acts and Challenges, and Eating Disorder Content: While the company has already addressed these issues in its Safety Center and in previous versions of its community guidelines, TikTok is now clarifying and redefining these policies by providing more detail and specifics as to how they’ll be enforced.

Practice Note UK Law Criminalizes “Grossly Offensive” Tweets: After a British man was recently found guilty of sending a “grossly offensive” tweet, there has been renewed interest in section 127 of the 2003 Communications Act, which proscribes sending public messages of a “grossly offensive or of an indecent, obscene or menacing character,” and can lead to fines, community service, or even jail time.

On the Lighter Side Mazda Drivers in Seattle Area Find Their Radios Stuck on NPR: The issue apparently began at the end of January, after the local NPR affiliate sent album cover images without a valid file extension. To date, there is no known solution besides replacing an expensive component of the onboard display.

If you enjoy reading CLIP-ings, please consider making a contribution to Fordham CLIP. Your support provides crucial funding at a time when the study of information law and policy is more important than ever.

Ron Lazebnik Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow

Internet Governance State Attorneys General Back Epic in its Antitrust Suit Against Apple: A coalition of 35 state attorneys general, as well as Microsoft, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and others, have filed amicus briefs on Epic’s behalf in its appeal from a decision that the Apple App Store does not violate antitrust laws. Epic, the maker of the popular video game Fortnight, is challenging the up-to-30-percent cut that Apple takes from in-app purchases.

Privacy Crisis Text Line to Stop Sharing Conversation Data with AI Company: Following a report from Politico examining a data-sharing relationship between nonprofit Crisis Text Line, which provides “mental health crisis intervention services,” and AI company Loris.ai, the 24/7 hotline service announced that it will stop sharing conversation data with Loris.ai.

Information Security and Cyberthreats FBI Urges Winter Olympic Participants to Leave Their Cellphones at Home: Citing potential “malicious cyberattacks,” the FBI suggested that those traveling to Beijing for the Olympics use burner phones instead of their personal cell phones. While the FBI is not aware of any specific threats, the warning comes amid rising concerns about Chinese espionage.

Intellectual Property Blackberry Sells Mobile Patents to Non-practicing Entity: The former smartphone giant agreed to sell its non-core patent assets to a company called Catapult IP Innovations for $600 million. Catapult IP Innovations will likely earn a return on its investment by enforcing the patents it acquired.

Free Expression and Censorship Spotify to Put Content Advisories on Podcasts that Talk About COVID-19: The advisory will direct users to a COVID-19 information hub, which will include data-driven and accessible information about the virus. This announcement came after artists including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell removed their music from the streaming service in protest of misinformation.

Practice Note Posting Nude Photos Is an Ethics Violation, Says Kansas Commission on Judicial Conduct: The Kansas Supreme Court accepted a disciplinary panel’s ruling that a county judge violated the rules of judicial conduct by posting nude photos of himself on a swingers’ dating website. According to the Commission, the judge, who had already stepped down prior to the Supreme Court’s ruling, failed to “avoid impropriety or the appearance of impropriety in [his] personal life,” casting a negative light on the public image of the judiciary.

On the Lighter Side iOS Software Update Enables Face ID to Work While Wearing a Mask: The update isn’t perfect—Apple warns that Face ID is less accurate when users are wearing a mask, and glasses-wearers might run into some unique issues—but it will still be convenient while out in public during our third pandemic year.

If you enjoy reading CLIP-ings, please consider making a contribution to Fordham CLIP. Your support provides crucial funding at a time when the study of information law and policy is more important than ever.

Ron Lazebnik Academic Director, Fordham CLIP Tom Norton Executive Director, Fordham CLIP Elyssa Diamond Editorial Fellow