privacy — Online Journal — Columbia Undergraduate Law Review

Extending Corporate Tort Liability to Social Media Algorithms

In September 2021, whistleblower reports about social media platforms’ use of artificial intelligence (AI) that promote certain platform content over others raised critical questions about the relationship between AI algorithms and corporate liability standards. Facebook consistently claims that AI is an “efficient” and “proactive” means to stop hate speech and other problematic content on its platform. However, internal documents reveal that AI removes less than ten percent of harmful content, such as hate speech or misinformation, from the platform.

Metaverse: The End of Privacy As We Know It?

The Metaverse aims to blur the distinction between reality and virtual worlds to create an unprecedented extended reality (XR) universe for human social interactions. A revolutionary proposal by Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg, the Metaverse consists of a network of three-dimensional virtual worlds where people can interact with others using virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies to work, learn, and socialize.

Is the Gang Database Unconstitutional? An analysis of the 1988 STEP Act against Fourth Amendment Rights

As the New York City Department of Investigation continues its three-year probe of the New York Police Department’s gang database, questions are being raised about the database’s constitutionality. To determine the constitutionality of the database, we have to look at the decades-long practice of criminalizing gangs in the United States and what implications it has had for policing. In order to prosecute gangs, the term itself must firstly be defined. Yet the term “gang” in U.S. law remains full of ambiguity. As such, while the penalties for alleged gang members are harsh, the grounds on which gang affiliation is determined are unclear—as is demonstrated by an analysis of gang-prosecution laws across the country.

Rainier HarrisFebruary 23, 2022gang database, fourth amendment, NYPD, gangs, police, privacy

The FBI’s Searches of Black Lives Matter Activists: A Budding Fourth Amendment Issue

Following the murder of George Floyd in 2020, many activists initiated protests of all forms to voice their discontent with the American government. Social media emerged as one prominent medium for activists to advertise their beliefs and organize protests—predominantly under the umbrella of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement. However, law enforcement, especially the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), has utilized the very social media platforms that BLM activists make use of in an effort to connect them to terrorist activity.

Raymond SterlingJanuary 19, 2022media, Fourth Amendment, Black Lives Matter, activism, privacy

HIPAA Constraints on Brain Fingerprinting Evidence in Criminal Court: Pitfalls & Possibilities

Orwellian fears of mass-government use of neurotechnologies and the rise of a “thought police'' are seemingly moving beyond fiction to the status quo. Novel neurotechnological applications have emerged in the courtroom, in public policy decision-making, and even in legal education through conferences and coursebooks. Municipalities are aware of this move: they have actively funded it. Sustaining this proliferation is millions of dollars worth of research grants from government agencies like The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. [1] Yet, these investments are not without reason. The current applications of neuroimaging technologies—namely fMRI, EEG, and PET scan evidence—are extensive and versatile when verifying the credibility of witness testimony. From proof of inability to waive Miranda rights to inability to form criminal intent, as well as evidence that certain plaintiffs are still experiencing pain after their accidents, the possibilities are endless. [2] The most recent development, the P300 EEG response tool, is already in use by the CIA, though details surrounding usage are currently undisclosed. [3]

Isabella SouzaJanuary 18, 2022HIPAA, neurotechnologies, EEG, privacy

Vicarious Liability in Modern Data Regulation

The GDPR has broadly introduced more extensive laws regarding how personal data is defined as well as how firms process and store data personal data, ultimately giving the owner of the data more agency over how it is used. In light of this law coming into force, firms have been reviewing their data protection procedures. However, some firms fail to realize this is not enough to protect them from liability in data breaches.

fall 2019Zara TayebjeeJanuary 29, 2020data, privacy, Europe, employersComment

Social Media in Civil Law

Online content provides valuable evidence to all kinds of civil cases, including, but not limited to, divorce cases and accident cases. But obtaining that evidence often clashes with the legal right to privacy. While the issue of online evidence has begun to be addressed in several civil cases, the law must continue to adapt to accommodate confrontations between the right to privacy and the growing online domain.

summer publishing 2019Rachel HalpernNovember 7, 2019civil law, social media, privacy, discovery, spoliationComment

Protecting Your DNA: The Unraveling of Privacy in Genetic Testing

When one saliva sample can reveal anything from a customer’s hair color to their risk of Alzheimer’s, it is understandable that each individual would want to protect this information. GINA’s broad jurisdiction in the workplace and in health insurance as well as constitutional rights to privacy provide such security; but holes in GINA’s jurisdiction and a lack of court precedent also remind us that genetic privacy is not guaranteed.

Sophia AhmedAugust 24, 2017privacy, GINA, DNA, 9th circuit, supreme courtComment

U.S. Mass Surveillance: Striking the Balance Between Security and Liberty

Over a year before the Snowden leak, Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s concurrence in United States v. Jones raised light on issues of government surveillance that came with the public disclosure of the NSA programs. Sotomayor warned that the digital age should reconsider whether “an individual has no reasonable expectation of privacy in information voluntarily disclosed to third parties.”

Tanya ReynaAugust 24, 2017mass surveillance, privacy, 2nd circuit, ACLUComment