In the last year, that has been increasing focus on the use of aerial drones (also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, “UAVs”) to conduct surveillance in the United States. Last year, the Washington Post had an in-depth report of possible privacy problems with the domestic use of aerial drones, which are commonly used in military operations. (Be sure to take a look at the Post’s graphic on the specs, abilities and uses of different UAVs.) The ACLU released a report on this technology, “Protecting Privacy From Aerial Surveillance: Recommendations for Government Use of Drone Aircraft” (ACLU pdf; archive pdf).

Recently, the Electronic Frontier Foundation filed a lawsuit against the Department of Transportation to learn more about the use of drones in the United States. And the Center for Democracy and Technology has looked into the privacy issues that can arise from commercial and domestic law enforcement use of drones.

Now, Congress has approved and sent to President Obama the FAA reauthorization bill, which includes a provision to integrate the use of aerial surveillance by drones in the United States by Sept. 30, 2015, rather than keeping the drones for their original purpose flying in combat missions. The bill says “(1) COMPREHENSIVE PLAN- Not later than 270 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Transportation, in consultation with representatives of the aviation industry, Federal agencies that employ unmanned aircraft systems technology in the national airspace system, and the unmanned aircraft systems industry, shall develop a comprehensive plan to safely integrate civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system.” Also, “Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall establish a program to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system at not fewer than 4 test ranges.”

The Associated Press reports on the FAA legislation: Read more »

A few years ago, then-DC Mayor Adrian Fenty (D) unveiled plans for a city-wide surveillance system  (VIPS). At the time, the Washington Examiner reported: “The Video Interoperability for Public Safety system, or VIPS, links 5,200 District-owned closed-circuit television cameras within a single monitoring office under the Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency. The goal: Assist Homeland Security ‘to rapidly identify and respond to emergency circumstances that occur within the District.’ Every camera in a school, in a jail cell, in a government building, outside a public housing project or attached to a traffic light has been integrated into the network. The police department’s crime cameras, which require passive monitoring only, are not included.” The Fenty administration gave the DC Council and the public little information on the project, and critics (including me) charged that it did not adequately address the substantial privacy and civil liberty questions that were raised.

Last year, the Washington Examiner reported that DC Mayor Vincent Gray (D) sought to expand the city’s camera surveillance system to watch the public. (Note that the District of Columbia also uses license-plate readers to capture images of vehicles’s plates.)

Now, the Washington Times reports on a public-private partnership on surveillance cameras in D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood that is raising privacy and civil liberties questions:

When D.C. police began installing surveillance cameras in neighborhoods more than five years ago as crime-fighting tools, privacy concerns voiced by civil liberties groups limited their scope and use.

Now a less-formal agreement from a citizens association planning to expand the Metropolitan Police Department’s watchful eye in Georgetown over the next few months is hitting a similar hurdle.

The Citizens Association of Georgetown, a private neighborhood association, plans to pay for the installation of up to 10 cameras in the hopes that the additional surveillance will deter crime. [...] Read more »

Last week, there was discussion of HB 2288 (pdf) in Hawaii, a bill that could have lead to the state keeping tracking of all Web sites visited, which would raise numerous privacy and civil liberties questions. Now, Computerworld reports that lawmakers in Hawaii have dropped the legislation:

Lawmakers in Hawaii on Thursday quietly dropped a bill that would have required Internet service providers to collect the detailed browsing histories of Internet users in the state and store the data for at least two years.

The bill, HB 2288, would have required anyone providing access to the Internet in Hawaii to maintain “consumer records” of every Internet user’s subscriber information and data such as the IP addresses, domain names and host names of the sites they visit.

In theory at least, the bill would have covered not only ISPs but also libraries, coffee shops and employers, the Electronic Frontier Foundation noted in a blog post Thursday. [...]

The bill was scheduled to be heard on Thursday before the Hawaii State Legislature’s House Committee on Economic Revitalization & Business (ERB). It was instead tabled, in what appears to have been a response to overwhelming opposition to the bill from many quarters. Read more »

The Constitution Project has released a new report, “Recommendations for the Implementation of a Comprehensive and Constitutional Cybersecurity Policy” (Project pdf; archive pdf), calling on Congress to include strong privacy protections in any cybersecurity legislation it adopts. The report is “endorsed by legal and policy experts (including former federal judges and prosecutors, retired military and intelligence officers, and law school professors) from across the ideological spectrum,” according to a press release.

From the report’s introduction:

It is important that our nation develop and operate cybersecurity programs and policies to reduce or eliminate these vulnerabilities. These programs, however, pose a potential threat to Americans’ privacy rights and civil liberties. As proposals have arisen that would enable the federal government to move toward monitoring all information transferred over private networks, individuals face the risk of being subjected to the equivalent of a perpetual “wiretap” on their private communications and web browsing behavior. Moreover, the debate regarding cybersecurity has been hampered by excessive secrecy surrounding the true nature and scope of the threat and the best mechanisms for protecting against it.

The report details items that could substantially affect individual privacy rights and civil liberties, cybersecurity programs such as Einstein (a Bush-era pilot program, continued under Obama, that seeks to have private telecommunications companies route the Internet traffic of civilian government agencies through hardware and software that would search for and block malicious computer codes; see more here and here) and legislation such as S. 413, the Cybersecurity and Internet Freedom Act of 2011, which would allow the executive branch to use a “kill switch” to limit Internet traffic in an emergency.

The report also lists recommendations on how to protect privacy rights and civil liberties in cybersecurity programs, including:  Read more »

CNet reports on a new bill in Hawaii, HB 2288 (pdf), which could lead to the state keeping tracking of all Web sites visited:

Hawaii’s legislature is weighing an unprecedented proposal to curb the privacy of Aloha State residents: requiring Internet providers to keep track of every Web site their customers visit.

Its House of Representatives has scheduled a hearing this morning on a new bill (PDF) requiring the creation of virtual dossiers on state residents. The measure, H.B. 2288, says “Internet destination history information” and “subscriber’s information” such as name and address must be saved for two years.

H.B. 2288, which was introduced Friday, says the dossiers must include a list of Internet Protocol addresses and domain names visited. Democratic Rep. John Mizuno of Oahu is the lead sponsor; [...]

Democrat Jill Tokuda, the Hawaii Senate’s majority whip, who introduced a companion bill, S.B. 2530, in the Senate, told CNET that her legislation was intended to address concerns raised by Rep. Kymberly Pine, the first Republican elected to her Oahu district since statehood and the House minority floor leader. [...] Read more »

Saturday, January 28, is International Data Privacy Day. Take the time to think about how privacy is important in your life and how you can protect your rights from being infringed upon. Please also take the time to donate to any number of organizations out there trying to protect your privacy rights.

Visit the official site to find events near your area. Here are a few highlights in the United States and internationally:

Alabama

On Friday, Jan. 27, Cumberland School of Law hosts “Is My Phone Spying On Me or Am I Just An Open Book? An Exploration of Privacy and Mobile Technology.” It will be “a discussion on the legal, ethical, and commercial implications of mobile technology on privacy. Featuring privacy professionals from business, law practice, and the academy, this panel will explore the state of privacy law with respect to mobile technology, the tension between privacy and the utility of data collected from mobile technology, and how organizations handle data collected and transmitted using mobile technology.” Time and location: 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. at Cumberland School of Law at Samford University. For more information: http://cumberland.samford.edu/content/my-phone-spying-me

North Carolina

On Friday, Feb. 3, the UNC School of Information and Library Science and the American Library Association will host “Should Librarians Care About Privacy Anymore?” The free panel/webinar “will feature presentations and panel discussion by Barbara Jones, director of the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom, Anne Klinefelter, associate professor of Law and director of the UNC at Chapel Hill Law Library, Christopher (Cal) Lee, SILS associate professor, Zeynep Tufekci, SILS associate professor, and SILS Dean, Gary Marchionini, as moderator.” Time and location: 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at 08 Peabody Hall, UNC Chapel Hill2 and streaming via webinar. For more information: http://sils.unc.edu/events/2012/data-privacy-webinar  Read more »