Privacy Part 3: Government Surveillance

March 3

Over the past two weeks we’ve looked at big-picture concepts of privacy and how the Internet reflects these issues in the context of corporations and people. This week, we dive into the specific question of surveillance by governments: how the Internet allows governments to observe their (and other governments') citizens, how these issues are different than from the corporate context, and what government surveillance does to us and the Internet as a system. We'll also look at how companies are working to inform citizens about surveillance, and the issues they encounter.

Assignment 2

Your final project prospectus is due today before class. Please upload your prospectus here.

Readings

Government vs. Corporate Surveillance

• Brian Fung, Yes, There Is Actually a Huge Difference Between Government and Corporate Surveillance

• Bruce Schneier, The Trajectories of Government and Corporate Surveillance

Surveillance Theory and Practice

• Neil Richards, The Dangers of Surveillance (pages 1934-96; 1942-45; and 1952-58)

• Kit Walsh, The NSA's Spying Powers: Reading the Statute

• Jack Goldsmith, We Need an Invasive NSA

• Steve Vladeck, Laura Donohue's Comprehensive Case Against Bulk Metadata Collection

• If you're interested, the Donohue article can be found here.

• Re/Code, An Interview with President Obama (10:50-15:25 only)

• Orin Kerr, Apple's Dangerous Game and Apple's Dangerous Game, Part 2: The Strongest Counterargument

Transparency and Accountability

• Ryan Budish, What Transparency Reports Don't Tell Us

• Electronic Frontier Foundation, Timeline of NSA Domestic Spying (skim)

• IC on the Record (skim)

• Google Transparency Report: United States (skim)

• Twitter Transparency Report (skim)

Optional Readings

• The Jennifer Granick / Orin Kerr debates on metadata and the Fourth Amendment

• Granick's opening
• Kerr's response
• Granick's reply
• Kerr's sur-reply

• Emily Bell et al., Comment to Review Group on Intelligence and Communication Technologies Regarding the Effects of Mass Surveillance on the Practice of Journalism (pages 9-12 ("Mass surveillance raises issues beyond individual surveillance," "Secret and confusing law," and "Chilling Effects") only)

• The Guardian, NSA Surveillance Revelations Decoded (skim)

• Ryan Gallagher, Meet the Machines That Steal Your Phone's Data

Class Discussion

Please remember to sign your postings by adding four tildes (~~~~) to the end of your contribution. This will automatically add your username and the date/time of your post, like so: Andy 15:12, 7 November 2013 (EST)