Privacy in the News
The views represented in these articles do not necessarily represent the views of the editor, the Privacy Act Program, or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The end of privacy
Emporia (KS) Gazette - May 4, 2009
"The trend of electronic communication, from Facebook to texting to sexting to Twitter, is more than a record of the advance of technology and ingenuity. It forms the basis of a massive, voluntary flight from the very concept of individual privacy."Massive FBI Data-mining Project Needs Congressional Oversight
Kansas City infoZine - May 3, 2009
"The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) called on Congress recently to examine the Investigative Data Warehouse (IDW) -- a massive FBI data-mining project that includes a billion records, many of which contain personal information on American citizens."Court Orders Review of FBI Records on California Muslim Organizations
OMB Watch - April 30, 2009
"Responding to claims that Muslim organizations have been illegally spied upon in southern California, a federal judge said on April 20, 2009 he will conduct a review of the FBI records."US Lawmakers Target Deep Packet Inspection in Privacy Bill
PC World - April 23, 2009
"U.S. lawmakers plan to introduce privacy legislation that would limit how Internet service providers can track their users, despite reports that no U.S. ISPs are using such technologies except for legitimate security reasons."HHS offers health IT privacy guidelines
Government Health IT - April 20, 2009
"HHS published guidance on April 17 that outlines the ways that health information can be protected from security breaches. It builds on rules in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)."Study: Privacy restrictions may slow rollouts of e-health systems
ComputerWorld - April 20, 2009
"Two researchers from MIT and the University of Virginia claim in a study publicly released last week that increased efforts to protect the privacy of health care data could hamper the deployment of electronic medical records systems."F.B.I. and States Vastly Expand DNA Databases
New York Times - April 18. 2009
"Law enforcement officials are vastly expanding their collection of DNA to include millions more people who have been arrested or detained but not yet convicted. The move, intended to help solve more crimes, is raising concerns about the privacy of petty offenders and people who are presumed innocent."State privacy laws may undercut electronic medical records
Ars Technica - April 14, 2009
"A study looks at correlations between stated medical privacy laws and the adoption of electronic record keeping by the hospitals within a state, and finds that an emphasis on privacy may decrease the rate of adoption of electronic systems."Close call highlights need for overhaul of record-keeping
Boston Globe - April 11, 2009
"This frightening incident underscores the current need for patients to have electronic personal health records that they can easily access, understand, and share."Tampa Bay mug shot site draws ethical questions
Los Angeles Times - April 10, 2009
"A new website that showcases mug shots of people arrested in several Florida counties is like a modern "Scarlet Letter." Some privacy activists are condemning the site, but what's an alleged bad boy (or bad girl) to do?"White House: Obama 'absolutely' stands behind effort to throw out warrantless wiretapping suit
The Raw Story - April 10, 2009
"President Barack Obama endorsed a Justice Department move to dismiss a case in which the National Security Agency is being sued over its warrantless wiretapping program, because he believes the case presents a risk to national security, the White House told Raw Story Thursday."-
Can Lawyers Use Clients' E-Discoveries?
LAW.COM - April 7, 2009
"A suspicious wife accesses her husband's personal e-mail account on their mutually-owned computer... Her review of the e-mails proves that he has not been the faithful husband she thought he was. Wife files for divorce and forwards e-mails to you, her lawyer. Can you use those e-mails as proof in your case...?" Google + Twitter = End of privacy
ComputerWorld - April 6, 2009
"Think Google knows too much about you already? If the company buys Twitter, you can kiss your privacy good-bye."Fusion Centers Should Be Dismantled, Expert Says
Security Management - April 2, 2009
"A constitutional and international lawyer told lawmakers yesterday that the United States should dismantle state-run intelligence fusion centers, which have grown dramatically since 9-11 with the assistance of the federal government."The Senate's Cyber Lightning Rod
Forbes - April 1, 2009
"A new Senate bill introduced Wednesday is poised to extend federal cybersecurity regulations further into the private sector than ever before, and it is already sparking confusion and criticism among watchdog groups."Group Calls for 'Next Generation' of Privacy in Health IT Policy
ARMA Washington Policy Brief - April 1, 2009
"The Health Privacy Project (HPP) at the Center for Democracy & Technology (CDT) released a major policy paper calling for the adoption of "next generation" privacy policies to be built into the nation's rapidly advancing health information technology system."-
A How-To Guide to Keeping Medical Records Private
New York Times - March 31, 2009
"Today, the World Privacy Forum has released a plain-spoken online guide that can help people regain some control and a measure of privacy over their health records." -
E-Mail Theft Case Sparks First-of-a-Kind Ruling
LAW.COM - March 27, 2009
"[A] panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals recently became the first circuit to hold that plaintiffs must prove actual damages in order to be eligible for an award of statutory damages under the federal Stored Communications Act." -
It's Time to Drop the 'Expectation of Privacy' Test
Wired - March 26, 2009
"Between the NSA's massive internet eavesdropping program and Gmail's content-dependent advertising, does anyone actually expect their e-mail to be private? Between calls for ISPs to retain user data and companies serving content-dependent web ads, does anyone expect their web browsing to be private?" Coalition Urges Obama to Defend California Financial Privacy Law
California Progress Report - March 24, 2009
"A coalition of privacy groups today urged the Obama Administration to defend California's landmark financial privacy law against the banking industry's legal efforts to overturn it."House Votes to Create Privacy Officers at DHS
Common Dreams - March 24, 2009
"The House of Representatives passed legislation today that creates a privacy official for each division of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). If established by law, these new positions would be responsible for ensuring privacy laws and regulations are followed by DHS."A Call to Legislate Internet Privacy
New York Times - March 13, 2009
"While he hasn't written the bill yet, Mr. Boucher said that he, working with Representative Cliff Stearns, the Florida Republican who is the ranking minority member on the subcommittee, wants to require Web sites to disclose how they collect and use data, and give users the option to opt out of any data collection."Microsoft-led Privacy Group Backs off Legislation
PC World - March 13, 2009
"A Microsoft-led group set up three years ago has backed away from its original goal of pushing for comprehensive U.S. privacy legislation."People Search Engines: Slam the Door on Info
ComputerWorld - March 11, 2009
"As we slowly put more and more pieces of ourselves online, specialized search engines are making it easier than ever to pull them together into a highly detailed (and potentially invasive) profile of our virtual lives."Security vs. privacy? Reinterpreting the Fourth Amendment
Ars Technica - March 11, 2009
"A Yale legal scholar suggests a radical reinterpretation of the Fourth Amendment, in which "security" replaces "privacy" as the guiding principle."Identity Theft Upgrades to "Identity Assumption"
The Cutting Edge - March 10, 2009
"The dark and increasingly dangerous world of identity theft is often presented to us as mere personal chaos revolving around fake credit card charges. While this is a valid concern, the emerging dimension of this threat is far more sinister."California privacy law challenged by banks
AZCentral - March 9, 2009
"The U.S. Supreme Court signaled interest in a banking industry challenge to a California law that restricts the ability of financial institutions to share information about consumers among company units."Google Health Enables Sharing Health Records
InformationWeek - March 5, 2009
"In keeping with its mission to organize the world's information, make it universally accessible, and confound privacy advocates, Google on Wednesday gave Google Health users the ability to share their online medical records."Lieberman questions courts on information-sharing law
FederalComputerWeek - March 2, 2009
"The federal court system may be charging too much money for public online documents and may not be adequately protecting private information in those documents, according to Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.)."File-sharing networks used to uncover thousands of medical records
NextGov - February 27, 2009
"Just days after President Obama signed a law giving billions of dollars to develop electronic health records, a university technology professor submitted a paper showing that he was able to uncover tens of thousands of medical files containing names, addresses and Social Security numbers for patients seeking treatment for conditions ranging from AIDS to mental health problems."Law requires health data breach notifications
FederalComputerWeek - February 27, 2009
"The recently enacted economic stimulus law includes new requirements for how companies must notify people of breaches to their protected health information."Does Cloud Computing Mean More Risks to Privacy?
New York Times - February 23, 2009
"As people and businesses take advantage of all sorts of Internet-based services, they may well find trade secrets in the hands of competitors, private medical records made public, and e-mail correspondence in the hands of government investigators without any prior notice."Stimulus Law Boosts Health Privacy Rules
Workforce Management - February 23, 2009
"Economic stimulus legislation that President Barack Obama signed into law last week makes sweeping changes to the Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act that could be onerous for employers and their health care plan partners."Feds Propose Storing Internet User Data for 2 Years
Wired - February 20, 2009
"In the name of combating child pornography, federal lawmakers are proposing that internet users' online surfing habits be retained for two years."Survey to check attitudes on privacy, services
FederalComputerWeek - February 19, 2009
"The General Services Administration wants to know if people want to receive information about the federal government via online services such as Facebook and YouTube, according to a GSA announcement on FedBizOpps.gov."SSA takes lead on joining electronic health records program
NextGov - February 18, 2009
"The Social Security Administration will begin using the nationwide health information network on Feb. 28, making it the first agency to test the government's approach to interoperable electronic health records."-
Despite Obama pledge, Justice defends Bush secrets
Associated Press - February 16, 2009
"Despite President Obama's vow to open government more than ever, the Justice Department is defending Bush administration decisions to keep secret many documents about domestic wiretapping, data collection on travelers and U.S. citizens, and interrogation of suspected terrorists." Do We Need a New Internet?
New York Times - February 14, 2009
"What a new Internet might look like is still widely debated, but one alternative would, in effect, create a 'gated community' where users would give up their anonymity and certain freedoms in return for safety."Privacy Trumps Profit in Obama's $19 Billion Health Stimulus
Bloomberg - February 13, 2009
"Patients' advocates claimed victory in a battle over the privacy of health records as the U.S. Congress prepares to vote on the economic stimulus bill, which contains $19 billion for health-care information."40% of hard drives bought on eBay hold personal, corporate data
ComputerWorld - February 10, 2009
"A New York computer forensics firm found that 40% of the hard disk drives it recently purchased in bulk orders from eBay contained personal, private and sensitive information -- everything from corporate financial data to the Web-surfing history and downloads of a man with a foot fetish."Lobbying War Ensues Over Digital Health Data
Washington Post - February 10, 2009
"The Senate and House appear headed for a clash over competing visions of how to protect the privacy of patients' electronic medical records, with the House favoring strict protections advocated by consumer groups while the Senate is poised to endorse more limited safeguards urged by business interests."Daschle received speaking fees from groups opposing patient privacy
NextGov - February 2, 2009
"Tom Daschle, President Obama's nominee for secretary of the Health and Human Services Department, received speaking fees last year from two organizations that are aligned with health industry groups that opposed strong patient privacy protections in the health care section of the stimulus bill..."Industry giants to weigh in on US privacy laws
MacWorld - February 2, 2009
"A group of U.S. companies, led by technology giants Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard and eBay, is set to outline recommendations for new federal data-privacy legislation that could make life easier for consumers and lead to a standard federal breach-notification law."Justice orchestrates TSP hoax to test employees on security
Government Executive - January 30, 2009
"According to the Associated Press, the phony e-mail initially was sent by Justice to its employees two weeks ago, giving them a Jan. 31 deadline to provide personal information that might help them recover money they lost as the value of TSP funds plummeted along with the stock markets."Scalia speaks on digital privacy at NYC conference
Newsday - January 28, 2009
"Discussions of privacy rights in the digital era should distinguish between such confidential data as medical records and information that might be personal but is easy to find out, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Wednesday."Thrift store MP3 player contains secret military files
CNN - January 27, 2009
"Chris Ogle of New Zealand was in Oklahoma about a year ago when he bought a used MP3 player from a thrift store for $9. A few weeks ago, he plugged it into his computer to download a song, and he instead discovered confidential U.S. military files."White House Web Site Revisits Privacy Policy
InformationWeek - January 23, 2009
"With the Obama administration now in place, White House media staff has been reviewing the WhiteHouse.gov Web site this week to address issues raised by privacy advocates."The Balance of Secrecy and Privacy
TPM Cafe - January 20, 2009
"Obama at the moment has unequivocally embraced transparency, promising that his new Chief Technology Officer will ensure that administration holds open meetings with live webcasts, and uses blogging software and wikis to communicate with the public."Economic Stimulus Package Could Impinge on Americans' Health Privacy, Says Group
Government Technology - January 19, 2009
"'HIPAA was never intended for the digital age, because the 1996 HIPAA law never anticipated the emergence of Web-based records.' -- David Brailer, former national coordinator for Health Information Technology."Privacy Issue Complicates Push to Link Medical Data
New York Times - January 17, 2009
"President-elect Barack Obama's plan to link up doctors and hospitals with new information technology, as part of an ambitious job-creation program, is imperiled by a bitter, seemingly intractable dispute over how to protect the privacy of electronic medical records."Audit: IRS ignored risks in deploying online filing system
NextGov - January 15, 2009
"The Internal Revenue Service launched the latest version of its online tax-filing system despite known security gaps that could put taxpayer information at risk, according to an inspector general report released on Thursday."Search Privacy Issue Goes Mobile
PCMag - January 13, 2009
"Two D.C.-based interest groups argue that regulators are ignoring phone-based data mining activities, and are asking that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) open an investigation."E-Discovery Ruling Gives Companies Another Data Worry
Enterprise Storage Forum - January 12, 2009
"[A] U.S. District Court ruled that metadata associated with e-mails and electronic files must be preserved, maintained and produced in the course of legal discovery, particularly when sought by the requesting party in its initial request."How private is your personal information?
Washington Examiner - January 12, 2009
"Would you be alarmed to know that even when you think things are private, a perfect stranger can look you up online, see your address, birth date, past addresses, and even see a photo of your home, down to the detail of your child's play set out in the back yard? Alarmed yet? You should be."Careful what you search for
Fortune - January 6, 2009
"Google recently released its annual rundown of popular searches for 2008 - what they call the "zeitgeist" list - and it's a reminder, once again, of how much we reveal about ourselves every time we type into a search bar."Healthcare compliance gets boost from national HHS privacy framework
SearchCIO - December 30, 2008
"The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) may soon cover not just healthcare organizations but also providers of electronic personal health records (EPHRs), which belong to the patient rather than the medical establishment and are hosted by a number of commercial services."'Fusion center' privacy fears persist
NextGov - December 29, 2008
"Privacy concerns continue to plague state-run intelligence "fusion centers" that the Homeland Security Department has set up around the country despite security provisions contained in a law enacted last year to implement recommendations of the 9/11 Commission, according to an agency analysis released this week."FEMA investigates breach of Katrina victims' private information
Federal Computer Week - December 24, 2008
"Personal information on people who applied for disaster aid after Hurricane Katrina was recently published on the Web without authorization, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said."Rescue plan renews health IT privacy debate
Government Health IT - December 24, 2008
"The plan to add health information technology to the multibillion-dollar economic stimulus package legislators are developing has renewed the debate over how to protect patient privacy in a nationwide health IT system."Protecting e-patient privacy: new government guidelines
Ars Technica - December 18, 2008
"[C]oncerns about the security of medical records remain paramount—as anyone who's had any experience with HIPAA can confirm. To that end, HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt has announced a number of key principles and a tool kit related to health IT privacy."-
New privacy guidelines for e-health records announced
CNET News - December 17, 2008
"The Department of Health and Human Services this week released new privacy guidelines...for electronic health records, the use of which President-elect Barack Obama has promised to support as part of his plan to jump-start the economy." -
Prepare Now for New 'Red Flag' Credit Rules
TechNewsWorld - December 13, 2008
"In order to prevent and properly report identity theft, safeguard data and ensure regulatory compliance, creditors should familiarize themselves with the FTC's new identity theft red flag regulations as soon as possible." -
CDT to Obama: advent of "the cloud" makes privacy laws dated
Ars Technica - December 11, 2008
"The Center for Democracy and Technology issued a transition agenda for the incoming Obama administration Tuesday, outlining measures president-elect Barack Obama should take...to restore privacy safeguards that have been eroded over the past eight years and to promote open discourse and innovation online." Are your medical records secure?
Columbus Dispatch - December 7, 2008
"You might expect health-care providers and insurance companies to use the best security measures to keep your medical information private. But a national expert on patient privacy said it's naive to think that your health record is secure. And with the federal government pushing for more electronic records, security will only get worse."Privacy advocates seek limits on government use of personal data
Federal Times - December 5, 2008
"Privacy advocates this week spoke out against the government's warehousing of citizens' personal data under the guise of homeland security. New legislation is needed to protect privacy and restrict how long the government can keep data, they recommended during congressional roundtables.Better privacy for better security
Government Computer News - December 4, 2008
"The failure of the government in general and the Homeland Security Department (DHS) in particular to adequately ensure the privacy of personal data undermines the nation's cybersecurity, a panel of privacy experts and advocates said Wednesday at a congressional forum."Experts spell out privacy platform for next Congress
NextGov - December 3, 2008
"The Homeland Security Department's first chief privacy officer recommended today that the new Congress consider strengthening the nation's 34-year-old Privacy Act and a 2002 statute on electronic government services to uphold privacy and civil liberties safeguards for national security."Identity Theft: Organizations Putting Private Information at Risk
MarketWatch - December 3, 2008
"While lawmakers and businesses seek to implement safeguards and to better inform the public, one significant threat remains largely unaddressed: the data stored on hard drives inside of digital copiers."Reinstate e-health privacy
Government Health IT - December 3, 2008
"Most people believe the Privacy Rule of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act protects the privacy of health information. Unfortunately, that is a myth."Security, Civil Liberties Experts Question Data-Mining
PC World - December 3, 2008
"No credible study has found predictive data-mining, which involves combing data for trends to help identify possible terrorists or criminals, to work, said Timothy Sparapani, legislative counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)."Canada backpedals on sharing personal database with U.S.
the telegram - December 1, 2008
"Ottawa has quietly dropped plans to let the United States house a database of personal information about Canadians who hold special driver's licences aimed at better securing the border."Why Your Web Site Needs a Content Management System
Allbusiness - December 1, 2008
"A Content Management System (CMS) allows you to easily update text, images, and other media on your Web site without having to write code. Whether you're updating quarterly reports, product details, or your daily online journal, a CMS makes changing your site's content quick and relatively easy."