Month: June 2020

COVID-19 and Privacy, UK

U.K. Government Urged to Publish Details of COVID Datastore Contracts

By Robert Bateman

The U.K.’s National Health Service (NHS) is creating a “COVID-19 datastore” with the help of such tech firms as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and Silicon Valley artificial intelligence company, Palantir.

In a March blog post detailing the project, Matt Gould, chief executive of government unit NHSX, said the goal was to provide “secure, reliable and timely data — in a way that protects the privacy of our citizens — in order to make informed, effective decisions.”

Continue reading “U.K. Government Urged to Publish Details of COVID Datastore Contracts” →
COVID-19 and Privacy

Facebook’s Small Business Grants Come With a Big Catch: Your Data

By Todd Feathers

In March, Facebook announced a $100 million grant program for small businesses struggling from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’ve listened to small businesses to understand how we can best help them,” Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg wrote in a March 17 post on the platform. “We’ve heard loud and clear that financial support could enable them to keep the lights on and pay people who can’t come to work.”

The need is great. As of May 29, for instance, the federal Paycheck Protection Program of the U.S. Small Business Administration had approved more than $510 billion in emergency loans to over 4.4 million businesses, agency officials told Digital Privacy News.

Continue reading “Facebook’s Small Business Grants Come With a Big Catch: Your Data” →
Uncategorized

Experts Recommend Caution as Businesses Turn to Thermal Imaging for Reopening

By Linda Childers

Businesses across the country are now reopening after the COVID-19 lockdown, with many implementing thermal imaging technology to help curb the spread of the disease.

But security experts tell Digital Privacy News that these thermal cameras offer limited accuracy and raise critical privacy concerns.

Continue reading “Experts Recommend Caution as Businesses Turn to Thermal Imaging for Reopening” →
Uncategorized

‘Dreamers’ Live in Fear of ICE Accessing Data as SCOTUS Weighs DACA’s Fate

By Mary Pieper

Arizona resident Jose Ramos (not his real name) came to the United States from Mexico with his family when he was 8 years old.

In 2013, when he was 18, he obtained deportation protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. He was in his first semester of community college.

In his DACA application, Ramos gave his address and other personal information to U.S. Customs and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Now, Ramos is 25 and has a master’s degree in engineering. But his future and that of 700,000 other “Dreamers” remains clouded by uncertainty.

Continue reading “‘Dreamers’ Live in Fear of ICE Accessing Data as SCOTUS Weighs DACA’s Fate” →
Q&A

Q&A: Indiana University’s Fred H. Cate

Updating HIPAA for a Modern Time

By Patrick W. Dunne

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) was signed into law in 1996 by President Bill Clinton.

HIPAA restricts who gets access to a patient’s private health data. This allows Americans to keep their health status and identity a secret from unwanted third parties. 

However, the law has not been without its share of critics. One is Dr. Fred H. Cate, a professor and vice president for research at Indiana University in Bloomington. As an expert in privacy and security laws, he has much to say about HIPAA. 

Continue reading “Q&A: Indiana University’s Fred H. Cate” →
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