I am not at all embarrassed to admit that I love working in my pajamas. A lot of us are working from home now to help flatten the curve, and while social distancing has created a lot of challenges for most people, one of the perks is the ability to socially distance yourself from your hairbrush and roll into the office in your sweatpants. I don’t think I’m alone on this. According to one survey, 60% of office professionals report a better work-life balance when working from home, and 74% of workers would like to telecommute more often after social distancing restrictions are lifted. Not coincidentally, the widescale adoption of telecommuting has resulted in a corresponding uptick in employee monitoring tools.
Articles Posted in Privacy
EU Publishes Privacy Guidance on the Use of Contact Tracing Technology in the Fight Against COVID-19
‘Contact tracing’ is a process used by public health officials to identify individuals who may have come into close proximity with a contagious virus, such as COVID-19. Traditionally, infected persons are asked to identify interactions with people whilst infected or in the days leading up to infection being diagnosed. Health practitioners can then contact those at risk to warn them of potential exposure, what steps to take and how to avoid infecting others.
COVID-19, COPPA and the CCPA: Educators Face Privacy Questions as Students Move to Remote Learning
With the shelter-in-place orders imposed by the local and state governments, businesses are scrambling to transition to a virtual workforce and facilitating employees to work remotely from home. Educational institutions are no exception. School administrators and teachers have been working hard to create and implement plans to educate students at home, including maintaining a classroom curriculum through online platforms and incorporating daily or weekly interactions with the teacher and classmates through video chat or remote conferencing services.
TikTok’s Meteoric Rise Causes Privacy Concerns
With over one billion monthly active users, chances are that you have heard of the wildly popular TikTok platform that is now owned and run by the Chinese company ByteDance. Allowing its users to live-stream anything from their latest lip-syncing battles of their favorite pop artist’s songs to controversial video content of government protests or operations—TikTok has understandably caught the attention and ire of governments (and parents) throughout the world.
News of Note for the Internet-Minded (11/12/19) – AI Biases, Deepfake Policies and Millions of Medical Records
Apple gets around to AR, the NHL enters esports, the Internet of Things may bring new meaning to “workers unite,” so many medical records, and more …
Trolls and Consequences: A Racially Motivated Doxing and Social Media Assault Is Ruled a Compensable Offense
We’ve previously written about doxing and how it can be used by both vigilante social activists and malicious cyber bullies. Recently, in a first-of-its-kind ruling, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia concluded that white supremacists using social media to target and harass American University’s first female African-American student body president were liable to her for over $725,000 in damages.
CCPA, GDPR and the Future of Cross-Device Tracking
Efforts to regulate cross-device tracking have increased since we last addressed the topic in 2017, following the release of the FTC’s Staff Report. Significant developments include the implementation and enforcement of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), and the fast-approaching implementation deadline for the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). These regulations, while not targeting cross-device tracking specifically, seek to limit the way in which consumer data is tracked and sold.
Be Careful that Bot Doesn’t Come Back to Bite You
Much like humans, bots come in all shapes and sizes. In social media networks, these bots can like what you post and even increase your followers. Companies use bots for all types of things—from booking a ride to giving makeup tutorials. Some bots can even solve your legal problems. Besides saving time and money, bots have the potential to reduce errors and increase a business’s customer base. But what happens when bots spy on users and share personal information? Or when they make racial slurs and offensive comments?
UK Privacy Regulator Takes Aim at the AdTech Industry
The UK Data Protection Authority, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has published an update report on privacy issues around real-time bidding (RTB) and programmatic advertising. The report is a progress update on the ICO’s investigation into the AdTech industry, which it says is one of its regulatory priorities.
A Reminder that CCPA Compliance and GDPR Compliance Are Not the Same Thing
For any company that has tackled GDPR compliance, the new privacy rights introduced by the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) will seem pretty familiar. It might even be tempting to assume that by being GDPR compliant, one is already most of the way there in terms of preparing for the CCPA. In “Countdown to CCPA #2: GDPR Compliance Does Not Equal CCPA Compliance,” colleagues Catherine D. Meyer, Steven Farmer, and Fusae Nara explain how, similarities aside, there are significant differences between the two privacy laws.