From the Magazine: Cybersecurity, Privacy and the Law
Big Data Means Big Questions
by Stephanie Wilkinson
In June of 2013, Edward Snowden, a former employee of the CIA and contractor for the National Security Agency, blew the whistle on the U.S. government’s vast intelligence gathering programs. Snowden’s revelations sparked a vigorous public debate on the proper trade-off between personal privacy and national security and raised the larger issue of privacy in the Internet age.
Who has the right to examine records of our phone calls or e-mails? What about our shopping habits, library check-out records or travel routes recorded by EZ Pass, parking-lot cameras or cell-tower pings? Does using a smartphone or signing onto a social media platform mean you’ve forfeited your right to privacy? These questions have led to a slew of legal challenges that strike at the very core of our democracy.
Examining these issues are a number of W&L Law faculty and alumni who bring insightful perspectives on big data, cybersecurity, privacy and the use of technology by the government and law enforcement on the local and national level.
