Hi Folk,
Thursday is officially the last day of classes. This year has been a blur! I’m immensely proud of the PLA community not just for making possible our events, but also for sending in privacy news and resources–we have continued to push the boundaries of privacy law at New York Law School. With finals just around the corner, we don’t have upcoming events; study well, and good luck on your exams! Until next year! In the meantime, here are some excellent privacy resources and news to tide you over the summer:
Resources:
Whether you’re a lawyer or not, reviewing lengthy contracts can be a drag. To be sure, the best way to know what you’re agreeing to is to thoroughly read a website’s terms of service. ToS;DR is a close second, though, and it comes with handy-dandy extensions for all modern browsers. Give it a (quick) look, and make your online life easier!
Ever wonder if those extra requirements and special characters really make a difference? Without getting too technical: yes. Yes, they do. Courtesy of Hive Systems, check out this table of compute times required to figure out someone else’s password by brute force (assuming no other security measures):
Privacy News:
Elon Musk – Dead at 52 – Says There Is No Need for Misinformation Laws
For the satire-impaired, let me start by saying that this article is not true. In that respect, though, it shares something with a lot of inflammatory headlines on the internet–and telling truth from fiction is a vital art! The internet today is home to AI hallucinations, bots, and an ever-increasing reliance of politics on social media. Even professional resources are no exception, so hone your bullshit-radars.
If you want a laugh, join me in the crusade against that most under-regulated of environmental hazards, dihydrogen monoxide! (H₂O, for the satire-impaired. It’s water.)
The Problem with “Humans in the Loop”
Modern advances in AI are actually pretty great, but that the engineering side has yet to keep up with the marketing, and algorithms shouldn’t be used to shield bad actors from liability. A “human in the loop” is one of the industry’s biggest dodges.
Hallucinations and Digital Rights
Sensible folk know better than to believe AI unreservedly–after all, it might be lying! But what if it lies about you? Privacy rights group “noyb” (None of Your Business) has filed a complaint against OpenAI for alleged violations of the GDPR.
A Regulatory Roadmap to AI and Privacy
If this email has seemed heavy on AI news, as a lens for emerging issues in privacy, it isn’t alone. New complaints and lawsuits are hitting headlines each day as modern technology violently collides. According to Daniel Solove, Professor of Law at George Washington University, “AI is making it glaringly clear that a privacy law rethink is long overdue.” If you recognize that name, and you’re in Professor Payne-Johnson’s class, it may be because he literally wrote the textbook on information privacy law.
I can’t begin to express how much joy it has brought me to share the pursuit of privacy law and technological literacy with all of you. Knowing next year’s E-Board, though, I am certain that this is only the beginning, and the PLA is in excellent hands. To those of you also graduating this year: don’t be strangers! 🙂
Best,
Kyle Hunt
President, Privacy Law Association