December 2021

31 Dec 21


There aren't many songs in which lawyers are portrayed in a positive light. At best, lawyers are mentioned in order to depict someone in dire straits and desperate for legal help (see Warren Zevon's Lawyers, Guns & Money). At worst, lawyers are scapegoats for all of society's ills (see Tom PaxtonOne Million Lawyers).

The song My Attorney Bernie, by Dave Frishberg, is an exception. One of the better renditions of this song is here, by Blossom Dearie

14 Dec 21


University researchers conducted a study of 543 participants (communication majors studying privacy, big data and surveillance issues) to measure the frequency and depth of online terms review and comprehension. The research was motivated by a desire to point out the fallacy of a privacy regulatory regime that relies exclusively on the notice-and-consent model.
 
The study authors used modified versions of LinkedIn's terms and policies. They asked the students to sign up to a fictitious social network, similar to LinkedIn, that the university, the students were told, had contracted with. The terms required the user to consent to over-the-top terms, including the disclosure of data to the NSA and to "third parties [building] data products designed to assess eligibility", which, the terms state, "could impact … employment, financial service (bank loans, insurance, etc.), university entrance, international travel, and the criminal justice system."