Freedom of Expression

As readers of the InsidePrivacy blog know, we often save some fun reading on privacy issues for the weekend, given the crush of business during the week.  Sure, you’re reading the FTC’s just‑released Internet of Things report (and hopefully Shel’s helpful analysis of it), but a little broader reading might be just right for our (somewhat) snowy weekend.

At the top of my list for this weekend is Neil Richards’ new book, Intellectual Privacy: Rethinking Civil Liberties in the Digital Age.  This book follows up on Neil’s great law review article of the same name, but develops and updates the arguments, examples and use cases.  The subject of the work is the conflict between privacy and free expression, one of the most important issues in our area of law and policy.  Topics such as the “right to be forgotten” place this issue squarely into today’s headlines.  Neil suggests that free speech should win out in the event of a true conflict between the two values, but concludes that true conflicts are exceedingly rare.  It is more likely that privacy should be seen as a precondition for the exercise of free speech — without some assurance that privacy rights will be honored, individuals will not speak freely.  It’s a great premise with which I agree, and one that I look forward to thinking more about.  And if you’re in New York on Monday and can stop by the book launch sponsored by Data & Society, you can ask Neil about it!
Continue Reading Privacy Weekend: Provocative Articles We’re Reading Now

By Philippe Bradley and Dan Cooper

On April 23rd, 2014 Brazil’s president signed into law a wide-ranging civil rights bill for Internet users and service providers (the “Marco Civil da Internet”, or “Marco Civil”).  The law had been in the works since 2009; it was made a priority by the Brazilian government in the wake of Edward Snowden’s revelations about NSA espionage activities targeting Brazilian communications data.  This short article discusses the main provisions of the new law.Continue Reading Brazil Enacts “Marco Civil” Internet Civil Rights Bill

by David Fagan and Alex Berengaut

On November 10, 2011, Judge Liam O’Grady of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued a 60-page memorandum opinion in a dispute over the validity of a special court order issued to Twitter for non-content records for certain users connected to the government’s Wikileaks

Yesterday, the Missouri State Senate voted unanimously to repeal controversial portions of the state’s Amy Hestir Student Protection Act, which restricts how teachers can use the Internet.  If passed by the state House and signed by the governor, the repeal bill would eliminate restrictions on teachers’ maintenance of non-public “work-related” websites and social networking