In every sector, from government to commercial, education, healthcare, and more, organizations collect and use personal data and communications to provide routine and essential activities and services. In some cases, we don’t even know our data is being collected. Such private information is continually at risk of breach, theft, and misuse. Location data, Google searches, and medical apps could expose private health information. Sensitive communications sent via email, posted in private social media groups, or texted to a friend could be revealed to unintended recipients. And there is the seemingly never-ending string of data breaches, any one of which could result in downstream account compromise and identity theft. Private information no longer feels private. People want to know what data is being collected, how it will be used and protected, and what rights they might have as data subjects. Six states have now passed comprehensive privacy laws at the very time the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision has cast doubt on long-established privacy rights. With every technological advance comes more questions for businesses and the lawyers who advise them. This panel addresses the current landscape of threats to private data and communications, including what communications and data are at risk and what impact those threats could have, and looks ahead to emerging threats to privacy post-Dobbs.
Joint Sponsor: ABA Science & Technology Law Section
Co-Sponsors: ABA Criminal Justice Section, ABA Young Lawyers Division
Resources
- HIPAA v. Dobbs | Berkeley Technology Law Journal
- Healthy Data Protection | Michigan Telecommunications and Technology Law Review, Vol. 26, No. 229, 2020, UC Hastings Research Paper No. 349
- California Privacy Law, Fifth Edition | Lothar Determann
- Regulatory Disruption and Arbitrage in Health-Care Data Protection | Nicolas P. Terry
- Assessing the Thin Regulation of Consumer-Facing Health Technologies | Nicolas P. Terry
- Why we need data minimization safeguards now (and how to do it) (Report on Data Minimization) | AccessNow
- New U.S. Cybersecurity Strategy: a strong step forward, with room for improvement | AccessNow
- 10 facts to counter encryption myths (Policy Brief) | AccessNow
- Who we hurt when we attack encryption | AccessNow
- Why encryption is vital to attorney-client privilege | AccessNow
- Digital Security Helpline | AccessNow
- Human rights leaders at Davos 2022: spyware is a weapon (Press Conference) | AccessNow
- How to Protect Yourself Online (Twitter Thread)
- Self-Doxxing Guide | AccessNow
- How to Assess Risk Profile | AccessNow
- Privacy Please (YouTube Video)
- Fight For The Future's Slack-focused campaign: The campaign asks Slack to offer basic platform privacy and safety features such as end-to-end encrypted messaging, blocking, muting, and reporting. It is a part of their broader Make DMs Safe campaign (MakeDMsSafe.com), which Access Now had supported.
- RightsCon Costa Rica | June 5-8, 2023
- Part 2: Zero Trust? Encryption and Other Approaches to Protecting Private Data and Communications
- Part 3: Zero Sum Game? Developing a Winning Approach to Privacy and Security in an Age of Zero Trust
This webinar is part one of a three-part webinar series – Privacy in an Age of Zero Trust – presented by the American Bar Association (ABA) Civil Rights and Social Justice (CRSJ) and Science & Technology Law (SciTech) Sections that boldly explores digital threats to the right to privacy. This innovative and cross-disciplinary series brings together thought leaders, highlights best practices, and identifies next steps in an area where change is the only constant.