Category «United States Law»

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, June 28, 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: Scale AI’s Public Google Docs Reveal Security Holes in AI Projects; Judge rules Anthropic’s use of books to train AI model is fair use; US Official Claims DeepSeek Aids China’s Military, Evaded Controls; Who’s guarding the AI? Even security teams are bypassing oversight; and Financial deepfake scams targeted in bipartisan Senate bill.

Subjects: AI, Congress, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Email Security, Legislative, Privacy

We caught 4 more states sharing personal health data with Big Tech

State-run health care websites around the country, meant to provide a simple way to shop for insurance, have been quietly sending visitors’ sensitive health information to Google and social media companies, Colin Lecher and Tomas Apodaca of The Markup and CalMatters found. The data, including prescription drug names and dosages, was sent by web trackers on state exchanges set up under the Affordable Care Act to help Americans purchase health coverage. The exchange websites ask users to answer a series of questions, including about their health histories, to find them the most relevant information on plans. But in some cases, when visitors responded to sensitive questions, the invisible trackers sent that information to platforms like Google, LinkedIn, and Snapchat. The Markup and CalMatters audited the websites of all 19 states that independently operate their own online health exchange. While most of the sites contained advertising trackers of some kind, The Markup and CalMatters found that four states exposed visitors’ sensitive health information.

Subjects: Big Data, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Health, Healthcare, Legal Research, Privacy, Search Engines, Social Media

3 years after abortion rights were overturned, contraception access is at risk

On June 24, 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization eliminated a nearly 50-year constitutional right to abortion and returned the authority to regulate abortion to the states. The Dobbs ruling, which overturned Roe v. Wade, has vastly reshaped the national abortion landscape. Three years on, many states have severely restricted access to abortion care. But the decision has also had a less well-recognized outcome: It is increasingly jeopardizing access to contraception. Physician scientist Cynthia H. Chuang and sociologist and health services researcher Carol S. Weisman study women’s health care and policy, including access to contraception. They see a worrisome situation emerging.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Health, Healthcare, Insurance Law, Legal Research, Legislative, Privacy, United States Law

Unholy Counsel: Stephen Miller, the Constitution, and the Vampiric Assault on States’ Rights

In this Mostly Lawful deep dive, we’ll examine how Trump (abetted by his most ghoulish advisor, Stephen Miller – basically Trump’s Count Dracula with a law degree and a hate for due process) has clashed with legal limits and states’ prerogatives—earning sharp rebukes from courts, generals, and even some conservatives. Strap in for a journey through Trump’s federalist faceplant, with your expert legal guide Kyle K. Courtney, complete with case law, statutory showdowns, vampires, and a healthy dose of dry wit.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Constitutional Law, Government Resources, Legal Research, United States Law

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, June 21, 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: How to Avoid a Huge Customs Bill on a Cheap Online Order; ‘No Kings’ Protests, Citizen-Run ICE Trackers Trigger Intelligence Warnings; 16 billion passwords exposed in record-breaking data breach, opening access to Facebook, Google, Apple, and any other service imaginable; How to Find the Owner of a VoIP Number: Easy Lookup Methods; and AI Chatbots Are Impersonating Students to Steal Financial Aid.

Subjects: AI, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Financial System, Legal Research, Privacy

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, June 7, 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: Deepfake Scams Are Distorting Reality Itself; Why does Amazon use palm scanners at Whole Foods and doctors’ offices? Crypto news: Why shocking and violent “wrench attacks” are going to get worse; Privacy Alarm: Meta Caught De-Anonymizing Android Web Activity; and When the FBI Has a Phone It Can’t Crack, It Calls These Israeli Hackers.

Subjects: AI, Big Data, Cryptocurrency, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Financial System, Government Resources, Privacy, Shopping, Social Media, Technology Trends

Pete Recommends – Weekly highlights on cyber security issues, May 31, 2025

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: Most AI chatbots devour your user data – these are the worst offenders; The US Is Building a One-Stop Shop for Buying Your Data; Digital Corruption Takes Over DC; A Starter Guide to Protecting Your Data From Hackers and Corporations; and Cybercriminals exploit AI hype to spread ransomware, malware.

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Cryptocurrency, Cybercrime, Cybersecurity, Economy, Financial System, Legal Research, Privacy

Trump Administration Continues Scrubbing Statistics and Disappearing Data

What is the status of the official data published by U.S. federal statistical agencies? As the current administration continues its disassembling of huge swaths of the federal government, not only are the workers and services gone, so of course is much of the data generated by those employees. And federal statistical data and datasets, whether census data or statistics on the economy, health, education, or other critical public matters, are what librarians and information professionals rely upon to answer patron questions and perform research and analysis for internal, data-driven projects. This article by Robert Berkman is a roundup of where these cuts and significant changes are happening and offers alternatives to locate datasets and statistical data that are no longer available.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Climate Change, Economy, Education, Energy, Government Resources, Health, Healthcare, Legal Research, Medical Research

How redefining just one word could strip the Endangered Species Act’s ability to protect vital habitat

Dr. Mariah Meek asserts that it wouldn’t make much sense to prohibit people from shooting a threatened woodpecker while allowing its forest to be cut down, or to bar killing endangered salmon while allowing a dam to dry out their habitat. But that’s exactly what the Trump administration is proposing to do by changing how one word in the Endangered Species Act is interpreted: harm. The definition change is a quiet way to gut the Endangered Species Act.

Subjects: Animals and the Law, Climate Change, Environmental Law, Government Resources, Legal Research, Legislative

Cultivating obedience: Using the Justice Department to attack former officials consolidates power and deters dissent

Political science scholars who study the origins of elected strongmen, Professors Joe Wright and Erica Franz discuss how President Donald Trump’s first three months in office has been distinguished by how his administration has targeted dozens of former officials who criticized him or opposed his agenda. They believe Trump’s use of the Justice Department to attack former officials who stood up to him isn’t just about revenge. It also deters current officials from defying Trump.

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Criminal Law, Ethics, Legal Research