Technology and Privacy Update

Today, a coalition of more than 140 technology companies and other experts and organizations--including Google and Apple--sent a letter to President Obama urging him to protect privacy rights by not undermining strong encryption technologies as the government considers law enforcement's need to access increasingly encrypted data.  The background of the letter and related issues are discussed in a Washington Post article by national security reporter Ellen Nakashima, available here. 

Looking at technology and privacy from from another angle, focusing on surveillance and data use by vendor-produced machines and apps, is a recent Guardian article by Bruce Schneier, a security technologist, author, and fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard Law School.  Together, the letter and the two articles shed light on some of the competing and coalescing interests shaping our developing privacy policy.

Ernster, the Virtual Library Cat