Category «Legal Research»

Automakers are collecting sensitive data and selling it without your permission

The public is increasingly familiar with the scale of data collection, surveillance, marketing and sale, and privacy violations that routinely occur when using apps, browsers, social media, the internet, and cell phones. But extensive data collection and privacy violations also routinely occurs when we use cars and trucks [regardless of manufacturer], much if not all of it likely without our knowledge or consent. Sabrina I. Pacifici’s article will inform you about how, where, when and by whom your transportation data is collected, and ways in which is it used, including sale by data brokers.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Legal Research, Privacy, Spyware, Technology Trends, Travel

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, January 18, 2025

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: Apps That Are Spying on Your Location; AI-supported spear phishing fools more than 50% of targets; Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), once celebrated as an unbreakable defense, is crumbling under the weight of its outdated technology; NSA Warns iPhone And Android Users – Disable Location Tracking; and Chinese Innovations Spawn Wave of Toll Phishing Via SMS.

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Email Security, Financial System, Privacy

Even 1 drink a day elevates your cancer risk – an expert on how alcohol affects the body breaks down a new government report

The past few decades, mounting scientific evidence has shown that as little as 1-2 alcoholic drinks per day can lead to increases in the likelihood of several cancers. This prompted the U.S. surgeon general, Dr. Vivek Murthy, to release a new Surgeon General Advisory on Jan. 3, 2025, warning about the link between alcohol and cancer. Nikki Crowley, Professor of Biology, Biomedical Engineering and Pharmacology at Penn State highlights the evidence and associated with the call for new cancer warning labels on alcoholic beverages.

The association between alcohol and cancer isn’t new news – scientists have been trying to determine the link for decades – yet most people aren’t aware of the risks and may only associate drinking with liver disease like cirrhosis. In a 2019 survey from the American Institute for Cancer Research, less than half of Americans identified alcohol as a risk factor for cancer.

Subjects: Government Resources, Healthcare

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, January 4, 2025

Privacy and cybersecurity issues impact every aspect of our lives – home, work, travel, education, finance, health and medical records – to name but a few. On a weekly basis Pete Weiss highlights articles and information that focus on the increasingly complex and wide ranging ways technology is used to compromise and diminish our privacy and online security, often without our situational awareness. Five highlights from this week: The biggest cybersecurity and cyberattack stories of 2024; It’s a Risk of Driverless Taxis That May Come as a Surprise; Apple to pay $95 million to settle Siri privacy lawsuit; iOS 18’s Photos app sends data to Apple without your consent; and Modern cars have sensors, cameras, GPS for location tracking, and more, all collecting data.

Subjects: AI, Cybersecurity, Healthcare, Privacy, Travel

January 1, 2025 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1929 are open to all, as are sound recordings from 1924

On January 1, 2025, thousands of copyrighted works from 1929 will enter the US public domain, along with sound recordings from 1924. They will be free for all to copy, share, and build upon. This year’s literary highlights include The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner, A Farewell to Arms by Ernest Hemingway, and A Room of One’s Own by Virginia Woolf. In film, Mickey Mouse speaks his first words, the Marx Brothers star in their first feature film, and legendary directors from Alfred Hitchcock to John Ford made their first sound films. From comic strips, the original Popeye and Tintin characters will enter the public domain. Among the newly public domain compositions are Gershwin’s An American in Paris, Ravel’s Bolero, Fats Waller’s Ain’t Misbehavin’, and the musical number Singin’ in the Rain. This expansive guide by Jennifer Jenkins selectively highlights a wide range of works that will be in the U.S. public domain in 2025. For librarians, educators and everyone who loves iconic books, music, film, plays, art and cartoons, this is a wonderful, welcome gift with which to begin 2025.

Subjects: Copyright, Education, Libraries & Librarians, Search Engines

AI in Finance and Banking, December 31, 2024

This semi-monthly column by Sabrina I. Pacifici highlights news, government documents, NGO/IGO papers, conferences, industry white papers and reports, academic papers and speeches, and central bank actions on the subject of AI’s fast paced impact on the banking and finance sectors. The chronological links provided are to the primary sources, and as available, indicate links to alternate free versions. Five highlights from this post: Report on the Uses, Opportunities and Risks of Artificial Intelligence in the Financial Services Sector; How AI could change the work of bank CEOs; US Treasury Releases Reports on AI in Financial Services; IMF – Artificial Intelligence, Dollar, Growth, and Debt Drove 2024 Blog Readership; and OECD – Artificial Intelligence and tourism.

Subjects: AI in Banking and Finance, Big Data, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Privacy, Technology Trends

Artificial Intelligence, ABA Formal Opinion 512 And Access To Justice

Jerry Lawson evaluates the American Bar Association’s Formal Opinion 512, “Generative Artificial Intelligence Tools” as a mixed bag. Lawson states that the Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility took a significant step in the right direction by legitimizing the idea that it is appropriate for lawyers to use AI. Equally important, it suggests guardrails necessary for the safe use of artificial intelligence. It also provides valuable guidance on other related topics, with client confidentiality significant. It should not be surprising that the ABA would face challenges regulating a complex new technology.

Subjects: AI, Ethics, Legal Education, Legal Marketing, Legal Profession, Legal Research, Privacy