Profit-friendly data privacy laws in the U.S. are out of step with public sentiment and hinder uses the public supports, from reducing opioid overdose deaths to curbing the COVID-19 pandemic.
A U.S. Army soldier scans the irises of an Afghan civilian in 2012 as part of an effort by the military to collect biometric information from much of the Afghan population.
Jose Cabezas/AFP via GettyImages
The potential failure of the US military to protect information that can identify Afghan citizens raises questions about whether and how biometric data should be collected in war zones.
Switching web service providers and providing almost $40 million from the federal budget means the census 2021 website should be safe from crashing at the crucial time this evening.
With proof of vaccination likely to become mandatory for travel – and possibly other activities – a careful balancing of individual and collective rights will be essential.
HIPAA allows you to control disclosure of certain types of personal health information.
Heath Korvola/DigitalVision via Getty Images
While the HIPAA Privacy Rule prevents health care providers from sharing your health information without your permission, it doesn’t prevent other people from asking you about it.
Mobile apps on smartphones are threats to digital privacy
Yasuyoshi Chiba/AFP via Getty Images
Parties who design the technologies and platforms on which mobile apps are built and marketed must be brought within the legal accountability framework to close the privacy loop.
Revelations that WA police accessed data from the state’s QR code contact-tracing app threaten to put a serious dent in the public’s trust. And this trust is a crucial element of our COVID defences.
AirTags promise to help find your lost wallet or bag. But at worst, they could be used for stalking, and at best they involve signing up to a global tracking network most users aren’t truly aware of.
Companies are allowed to track users as much as they like — as long as they spell it out in the fine print. But a ground-breaking Australian legal judgement should give them pause.