privacy

Alexa, I’m Home! – The Risks & Regulation of the Internet of Things

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Written by, Nora Hanson, Chris Knight, Blake McCartney & Dale Rappaneau, Class of 2022

I. Introduction

There are a variety of definitions of the “Internet of Things” (“IoT”). IoT has been described as “the concept of . . . connecting any device with an on and off switch to the Internet” and/or to another device.[1] It may also be explained as “[t]he interconnection via the Internet of computing devices embedded in everyday objects, enabling them to send and receive data.”[2] The concept of IoT encompasses many types of devices, including home technologies, wearable devices, and technology used by countless industries such as farming, manufacturing, transportation, and oil and gas.

This paper focuses on IoT in the consumer’s home, a space ripe with privacy considerations. First, this paper considers IoT in the home and the corresponding privacy risks. Next, this piece explains the manner in which the United States currently regulates IoT. Finally, this paper considers how the United States will regulate IoT moving forward.

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The Legal Footholds of Three States and the District of Columbia Against a Technological Goliath

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Written by Hannah G. Babinski, Class of 2024 

I. Introduction

To no one’s surprise, Big Tech is in trouble yet again for attempting to overstep the boundaries of consumer privacy. From the notorious Facebook controversy involving Cambridge Analytica in 2018 to the most recent ballad of chronic misinformation stemming from Spotify’s perpetuation of Joe Rogan’s podcast, it seems that Big Tech’s complacency or even compliance with problematic practices connected to its online presence consistently leaves many Americans scratching their heads. Google is the latest tech conglomerate to stumble in the public arena.

This is not a historic moment for the California-based tech giant whose business model is heavily dependent on its prolific digital advertising, collection, surveillance, and auction of user data, including location tracking which alone earned the company an estimated $150 billion dollars in 2020.[1] In October 2020, the U.S. Justice Department and eleven states sued Google in federal court, alleging that Google abused its dominance over the search engine market—comprising 90% of web searches globally—and online advertising.[2] Then, in December of 2020, ten states separately sued Google in federal court on the grounds of alleged anti-competitive conduct.[3] Undoubtedly, Google’s utter electronic control over the online market is equally as impressive as it is troubling—a sentiment resounded by the bombardment of state-instigated suits—but it pales in comparison to the basis of the most recent lawsuit.

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Cyber Harassment: A Global Issue Within Evolving Technology

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Written by Roosevelt Bishop, Devon Draker, Shelbie Mora, and Gabrielle Schwartz as a final paper for the Fall 2021 session of Information Privacy Law

Introduction

Cyber harassment “involves threats of violence, privacy invasions, reputation-harming lies, calls for strangers to physically harm victims, and technological attacks.”[1] Though all of these elements fall under harassment or abuse, online harms can be divided into different mediums and subsections. The various types of cyber harassment “capture the different ways[s] the Internet exacerbates the injuries suffered . . . by extend[ing] the life of destructive posts.”[2] This paper addresses evolution and increased incidences of cyber-harassment such as revenge porn, cyberstalking, Zoom-bombing, and doxxing, and the need for a federal legal solution. Congress must address this harm by enacting a comprehensive cyber-harassment legislation containing the elements detailed below.

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