1. What are the four categories in Daniel Solove’s
taxonomy of privacy? Come up with your own examples of activities conducted by
government agencies falling into each of these categories.
“Information collection
refers to activities that gather personal information." An example of
information collection by a government agency would be educational records held
by a public university.
“Information processing
refers to activities that store, manipulate, and use personal data that has
been collected." An example of information processing would be making a
prediction about the number of graduates who are going to fall behind in
repaying their federal student loans.
“Information dissemination
refers to activities that spread personal information." An example of
information dissemination is when a state government releases a list of felons who
are ineligible to vote.
“Invasion refers to
activities that intrude upon a person's daily life." An example of a government
activity in this category is requiring those who wish to purchase a gun to have
a criminal background check and to register their gun.
2. How does the Employee Polygraph Protection Act help
job applicants and company employees maintain their privacy? What is the most
significant loophole in the Employee Polygraph Protection Act?
The Employee Polygraph
Protection Act helps jobs applicants and company employees maintain their
privacy by making it illegal for companies to require polygraph tests as a condition
of employment (except for a few types of job). The EPPA also makes it illegal for
companies to give polygraph tests to current employees, with a few exceptions.
The most significant loophole of the Employee Polygraph Protection Act is that
it does not apply to federal, state, or local government agencies.
3. What is the purpose of the Children’s Online
Privacy Protection Act?
The purpose of the
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act is to reduce the amount of personal
information gathered from children using the Internet.
4. What are the two principal purposes of the
Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act?
The two principal
purposes of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act are:
(1) To prevent health
insurance companies and health plan administrators from using genetic
information when making decisions about “coverage, rates, or preexisting conditions;”
(2) To prohibit most
employers from taking genetic information into account when making decisions
related to the terms of employment (e.g., hiring, firing, and promotions);
5. Give two examples of the Census Bureau illegally
revealing census data to other federal agencies.
During World War I, the
Census Bureau provided the names and addresses of young men to the military,
which was searching for draft resistors. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, the
Census Bureau provided the Justice Department with information about the
general location of Japanese-Americans. The Army used this information to round
up Japanese-Americans and send them to internment camps.
6. Name two notable successes claimed by the
National Crime Information Center.
o The National Crime Information Center helped the FBI
identify James Earl Ray as the assassin of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
o The NCIC helped the FBI capture Timothy McVeigh, who
was later convicted of the bombing of the Federal Building in Oklahoma City.
7. What is the purpose of the OneDOJ database? What
are its weaknesses, according to the critics of this database?
The purpose of the
OneDOJ database is to give state and local police officers accessto information
generated by five federal law enforcement agencies. Since the database contains
incident reports, interrogation summaries, and other such information, there is
information about people who have never been arrested or charged with a crime. Critics
say local police should not have access to this kind of information, which may include
unsubstantiated and erroneous reports that will never be corrected or removed.
8. Which country leads the world in the deployment
of closed-circuit television cameras?
Great Britain leads the
world in the deployment of closed-circuit television cameras.
9. Provide an example of overt surveillance by a
government agency in the United States.
An example of overt
surveillance by a government agency in the United States is the use of closed-circuit
television cameras to provide security in public places.
10. Provide two examples of covert surveillance by
the U.S. government.
Two examples of covert
surveillance by the U.S. government are wiretapping and the use of hidden
microphones (bugs).
11. What right is guaranteed by the Fourth Amendment
to the U.S. Constitution?
The Fourth Amendment to
the U.S. Constitution protects people from unreasonable searches and seizures
of their property by law enforcement authorities.
12. Why was the U.S. Supreme Court decision in
Nardone v. United States so important?
The U.S. Supreme Court
decision in Nardone v. United States established that evidence collected from
warrantless wiretaps is inadmissible in court.
13. What was the key ruling of the U.S. Supreme
Court in the case of Weiss v. United States?
In Weiss v. United
States, the Supreme Court ruled that the the ban on the admissibility of
evidence collected from warrantless wiretaps included intrastate as well as interstate
telephone calls.
14. How did the decision of the U.S. Supreme Court
in the case of Katz v. United States change the concept of privacy?
In Charles Katz v.
United States, the U.S. Supreme Court broadened the concept of privacy by affirming
that citizens should be protected from all electronic surveillance conducted
without warrants, including bugs.
15. How did Operation Shamrock begin? What abuses
arose from the continuation of Operation Shamrock?
Operation Shamrock
began during World War II, when the U.S. government decided it needed to
monitor all telegram traffic entering and leaving the United States, presumably
as a way of combating espionage. Eventually the Johnson and Nixon administrations
used this surveillance infrastructure to monitor the activities of American citizens
opposed to the Vietnam War, including the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.,
The Reverend Ralph Abernathy, Black Panther Leader Eldrige Cleaver, pediatrician
Dr. Benjamin Spock, folk singer Joan Baez, and actress Jane Fonda.
16. What was the purpose of the Carnivore system?
The purpose of the
Carnivore system was to enable the FBI to monitor Internet traffic, including
email messages.
17. Why did the National Security Agency begin its
secret wiretapping program?
The National Security
Agency began its secret wiretapping program after 9/11 in the hope that it
could gather information that could prove valuable in preventing further terrorist
attacks.
18. Why did the TALON database spark controversy?
The TALON database was
supposed to store reports about suspicious activities or terrorist threats near
military bases. Controversy ensued when it was revealed that the database was
also being used to store reports about anti-war protests and emails from
university students planning protests against on-campus military recruiting.
19. What is a pen register?
A pen register is a
surveillance device attached to a suspect's phone line that displays the number
being dialed.
20. What is a trap-and-trace device?
A trap-and-trace device
is a surveillance device attached to a suspect's phone line that displays the
phone numbers of people calling the suspect.
21. What is a roving wiretap?
A roving wiretap is a
wiretap that moves from phone to phone. Roving wiretaps are authorized by the
Electronic Communications Privacy Act when a suspect attempts to avoid
surveillance by using many different phones.
22. What are the implications of the Stored
Communication Act for all those who let an Internet service provider handle
their email?
The Stored
Communications Act allows police to read emails more than 180 days old stored
by an Internet Service Provider, without a search warrant. This is an important
issue because most people allow their email provider to store their email
messages.
23. What are the three most controversial provisions
of the USA PATRIOT Act?
The three most
controversial provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act are
o Allowing the use of roving wiretaps;
o Permitting the surveillance of “lone wolf” suspects
not linked to terrorist groups;
o Allowing the FBI to seize business, medical,
educational, and library records without showing probable cause.
24. Why has the expansion in the use of National
Security Letters raised privacy concerns?
The expansion in the
use of National Security Letters has raised privacy concerns for a variety of
reasons. The FBI can issue these letters without showing probable cause, and it
has been issuing about 50,000 National Security Letters every year. Typically a
gag order is associated with a National Security Letter. The gag order prevents
the recipient of the letter (such as a library or educational institution) from
disclosing receipt of the letter.
25. Briefly summarize in your own words the five
tenets of the Code of Fair Information Practices.
The Code of Fair
Information Practices has these five tenets:
·
There cannot be
any secret databases;
·
People have the
right to know what information about them is stored and how it is being used;
·
People should be
able to prevent information collected for one purpose to be used for another
purpose;
·
People have the
right to correct errors in the information about them;
·
Organizations
maintaining databases should make sure the data are reliable and secure.
26. Robert Bellair has said, “The Privacy Act, it
turns out, is no protection at all. You can drive a truck through the Privacy
Act”. Explain why Bellair and other privacy advocates feel the Privacy Act of
1974 is a weak piece of legislation.
The Privacy Act is
criticized by Bellair and others because it applies only to government databases;
only covers records indexed by a personal identifier, do not assign any federal
agency the responsibility of enforcing its provisions, and allows federal
agencies to share records.
27. The Fair Credit Report Act says that information
which may negatively affect an individual’s credit rating must be removed after
seven years. What are two exceptions to this guideline?
Information about
criminal convictions may be kept indefinitely, and bankruptcy information may
be held for 10 years.
28. How does the Fair and Accurate Credit
Transactions Act help consumers verify the accuracy of their credit reports?
The Fair and Accurate
Credit Transactions Act helps consumers verify the accuracy of their credit
reports by giving them the right to request a free copy of their credit report
once a year from each of the three major credit reporting bureaus.
29. Summarize the major provisions of the Financial
Services Modernization Act.
The major provisions of
the Financial Services Modernization Act are: allowing banks to offer insurance
and brokerage services, requiring financial institutions to disclose their
privacy policies to their customers at least once a year, and requiring financial
institutions to take measures to prevent the unauthorized access of customers'
confidential information.
30. Give two examples of data mining programs run by
governments.
The IRS uses data
mining to determine whom it should audit. New York City's Syndromic
Surveillance System looks for epidemics, environmental problems, or bioterrorism.
The Terrorist Information Awareness project is a third example of data miningby
the U.S. government.
31. What are the problems with using the Social
Security number as an identification number?
Social Security numbers
are not unique. They are rarely checked, so criminals can get away with
supplying fake SSNs. They have no error-detecting capability, so SSNs are prone
to data-entry errors.
32. Give two arguments in favor of a national
identification card for the United States. Give two arguments against creating
a national identification card.
Proponents of a
national identification card argue that a modern identification card with
biometric data would be harder to forge than a Social Security card or a
driver's license. A national identification card would reduce illegal
immigration by making it impossible for an illegal alien to find work.
Opponents of a national
identification card say that corrupt offcials inside government agencies would
make it possible for people to obtain fake national identification cards. A
national identification card will simply make it easier for the government to
perform data mining on the activities of its citizens.
33. What are the rights provided by the Family
Education Rights and Privacy Act?
The Family Education
Rights and Privacy Act gives students 18 years old and older the right to
review their educational records. It also gives them the right to request changes
to records containing errors. Students may prevent others from accessing these records
without permission, except under certain circumstances. If a student is less than
18 years old, these rights are held by the student's parents or guardians.
34. How does the Video Privacy Protection Act
enhance privacy?
The Video Privacy
Protection Act enhances privacy by making it illegal for videotape service
providers to disclose rental records without the consent of the customer. The law
also requires stores to destroy information about who rented what within a year
of when the information is no longer needed for the purposes of the original
transaction.
35. Describe the privacy protections resulting from
the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act.
The Health Insurance
Portability and Accountability Act limits how doctors, hospitals, pharmacies,
and insurance companies can use medical information collected from patients.
The regulations forbid health care providers from releasing information to life
insurance companies, banks, or other businesses without specific signed
authorization from the person being treated. Health care providers must provide
their patients witha notice describing how they use the information they
gather. Patients have the right to see their medical records and request
corrections to errors they find in those records.
36. What is the purpose of the Freedom of
Information Act?
The purpose of the
Freedom of Information Act is to ensure that the public has access to the records
of the U.S. government.
37. Name two important exemptions in the Freedom of
Information Act that allow the government to withhold information.
The Freedom of
Information Act has nine exemptions, but two are particularly important. The
Government does not have to release documents if they contain trade secrets or
other confidential nancial or commercial information. The Government does not have
to release documents related to law enforcement investigations.
38. Give an example of how information gathered by
the E-ZPass system has been used for a purpose other than collecting tolls.
Information collected
by the E-ZPass network have been used to help obtain civil and criminal
convictions in court. For example, E-ZPass records were used as evidence in the
murder trial of Melanie McGuire. The records helped the prosecutor reconstruct her
movements.
39. How did the Federal Trade Commission reduce
unwanted telemarketing?
The Federal Trade
Commission reduced unwanted telemarketing by creating the National Do Not Call
Registry.
40. What is the purpose of the CALM Act?
The purpose of the CALM
Act is to ensure that television commercials are broadcast at the same volume
as the television programs they are interrupting.
41. Why have federal and state governments passed
laws limiting access to cold products containing pseudoephedrine?
Federal and state governments
have passed laws limiting access to cold products containing pseudoephedrine
because they are trying to eliminate the illegal manufacturing of
methamphetamine, and pseudoephedrine is an ingredient of methamphetamine.
42. Why has privacy groups objected to the
installation of advanced imaging technology scanners at airport security
checkpoints? How has the Transportation Security Administration responded to
these objections?
Privacy groups objected
to the installation of advanced imaging technology scanners at airport security
checkpoints because the scanners revealed anatomical features in great detail.
The Transportation Security Administration responded to this criticism by
developing new software that eliminates passenger-specific images and indicates
the location of threatening items on a generic outline of a person.
