Russians, Returns, & Running Away: Snowden’s Scary Season
Did Russia Consider Returning Snowden to the US?
We May Never Know…
In February 2017, reports were circulating that Russia was considering sending Edward Snowden back to the US “as a gift for President Donald Trump” as reported by NBC. At the time, NBC cited an unnamed senior US official who has reviewed intelligence on the matter.
Edward Snowden has lived in Russia since 2013 and recently launched a campaign with his legal team to get him pardoned. Snowden still faces being charged with leaking classified information and treason for his pivotal role in the months-long releases of information about America’s digital surveillance programs, should he return to the United States.
In April 2017 however, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said publicly that Edward Snowden can stay in Russia until he decides to leave for himself. When asked, Zakharova did not clarify on if Russia would consider extraditing Snowden to the U.S. at a later point in time.
This post is about more than just an update to a news story about privacy law and policy. The difference in tone, content, and conclusion (or lack thereof) between the stories should lead readers to question the reliability of news stories that speculate. In an age where people of all political leanings and affiliations make claims of fake news, we encourage the students we connect with to consume all media – no matter the source – with critical eyes.
————————– Questions:
1) Why do you believe Edward Snowden’s Leaks were a good or bad thing?
2) Why do you believe Edward Snowden’s should or should not be punished for leaking the information that he did?
3) Why do you believe Edward Snowden’s should or should not be pardoned?
Be sure to provide full explanations for each of your answers. For more details, you can read the articles this piece was sourced from here:
The Patents Behind Facebook’s
Scary Accurate Friend Suggestions…
Have you ever heard of people receiving Facebook “friend suggestions” that were so accurate that they were creepy? Maybe one night they attended a party and only talked to one person, then somehow woke up the next morning to find that Facebook had suggested the person friend-request them!
It happens more often than you think, and there is a perfectly legal reason for it! The social media site uses technology to connect two people based on the metadata from cameras used to upload photos and the data embedded into those pictures (data like GPS coordinates where the picture was taken). Even scratches and dust marks in the pictures could be used to identify a specific camera that was used to take the picture.
Facebook is legally allowed to do all of this, but people only know that the company even had the idea to do that because of a series of patents they filed in 2014 and 2015. If someone else uses their invention (in this case the technology) without permission, they can be taken to court and sued!
One of the patents is titled ‘Systems and methods for utilizing wireless communications to suggest connections for a user’ and explains how logged smartphone data can be used to make friend recommendations. The algorithm incorporates other information as well, like the amount of time between two wireless communications (uploading and receiving a photo) or the signal strength at the time of the data exchange. With those seemingly impersonal bits of information, Facebook is able to recognize and identify when two people are walking together or facing each other.
Another of the patents is titled ‘Associating cameras with users and objects in a social networking system’ and highlights how data from photos uploaded to the site can be used to connect people. The ‘data’ that is compared isn’t just 1s and 0s… The patent details how the information used to identify the photographer could be as simple as a file name or as complex as a dust particle on a camera lens that appears in the same place in multiple photos (which suggest they were taken by the same camera, like a photographic fingerprint).
————————– Questions:
1) Even if the processes Facebook patented are lawful, what are the implications for non-users that get identified by the algorithm?
2) Imagine this: You’re a privacy hound who doesn’t use social media sites because you like to control the use of your data simply because you don’t like mega corporations. Let’s say you’re also a photographer, and you post photos to a website. If a fan of yours shared a photo on Facebook and labeled you as the photographer, would Facebook have a legal right to identify other pictures you’d taken with the same camera even if you weren’t the person uploading them to the website?
3) What could a non-user do to fight this system?
Be sure to provide full explanations for each of your answers. For more details, you can read the article this piece was sourced from here:
Did you know that there is a law in the United States that allows for warrantless surveillance between people in the U.S. and in foreign countries. Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) is pending reauthorization from Congress. Some want to reform this piece of legislation in order to prevent dragnet surveillance, backdoor searches of phone and email records, and unlawful targeting of communities of color and immigrant communities. . This law is due to expire this year and would go away, unless Congress reauthorizes a provision.
This is an issue of privacy and national security. It is an issue of national security because often times it was through this piece that the government watches over conversations between people in the U.S. and people in foreign countries. This is a topic that has sparked quite the discussion!
————————– Questions:!
1) This article is being written in 2017, but Project REAL will be around for many years to come! Given that, find out what happened with this law in 2017, and where the policy stands today. So, (after your research)…What’s the Update?!
2) The policy this article is about was designed in response to the event following 9/11 :: The terrorist attacks in 2001. Given the need for national security, what are your feelings about the policy?
3) What are some ideas you have for striking a balance between the right to privacy with the need for national security?
4) How do laws shaping how the government deals with its citizens’ privacy impact your day-to-day life (and don’t try getting out of answering this by saying ‘it doesn’t’ :: we don’t offer a lot of questions where there can be a wrong answer, but THAT is definitely a wrong answer!
Be sure to provide full explanations for each of your answers. For more details, you can read the article this piece was sourced from here:
Are your mobile phone’s apps listening to you? You might not think so, and yet a recent article on Wired.com reports that there’s a good chance your phone is listening to you right now as your read this article
Disclaimer: If you are reading this in Project REAL’s App, rest assured we are not listening to you, and encourage you to check our app’s permission settings in your phone if you would like verification.
According to the article, a large amount of the most downloaded apps in the iTunes, Google Play, and Windows Apps stores require users to grant them permission to access a phone’ s microphone. This permission is then used by the app to listen for ‘ultrasonic beacons’ – sounds the human ear can’t detect that trigger a reaction in the app. If you’re familiar with Shazam, imagine if you were home listening to music while doing your homework and you opened the app to find it had not only recorded every song that played while you listened, but ordered those songs from an online music store!
To some this revelation is concerning, though to others it just doesn’t matter. Perhaps you don’t mind if a McDonalds app hears an ultrasonic frequency that lets it know you skipped school to catch a matinee of the new movie you’ve been dying to see. Perhaps they’ll use that information to decide to partner with the film’s producers if there’s a sequel. What if you have an app from your workplace on your phone and it tells your employers you were at a movie on a day you called in sick? Suddenly, the thought of your phone listening for ultrasonic beacons without your consent each time becomes rather frightening, doesn’t it?
————————– Questions:
1) Why should there be or not be laws preventing these techniques?
2) Why Should consumers have a right or not have a right to be notified every time an app wishes to listen for beacons?
3) Why should there be or not be time limits (where an app can only listen for so much time after each authorization to do so)?
Be sure to provide full explanations for each of your answers. For more details, you can read the article this piece was sourced from here::
My favorite part of the fieldtrip to the courthouse is when I got to play the part of Ron. I got to go on the witness chair and speaking. I helped Potter to be not guilty. Thank you for the great opportunity.
- Johnathan M [Harmon Elementary - Grade 4]
Project Real
2020-12-16T21:47:04+00:00
My favorite part of the fieldtrip to the courthouse is when I got to play the part of Ron. I got to go on the witness chair and speaking. I helped Potter to be not guilty. Thank you for the great opportunity. - Johnathan M [Harmon Elementary - Grade 4]
Thank you for letting us watch the civil case! It was cool because it was a real case and not one played out. I had a lot of fun watching the other kids act out a session. Thank you for your time.
- Kaylie [Hewetson Elementary - Grade 5]
Project Real
2020-12-11T20:39:35+00:00
Thank you for letting us watch the civil case! It was cool because it was a real case and not one played out. I had a lot of fun watching the other kids act out a session. Thank you for your time. - Kaylie [Hewetson Elementary - Grade 5]
Thank you for letting us experience court for the first time. It was the best experience ever, thank you for everything. You really made me think about being a judge. Thank you
-Mina L [ Twitchell Elementary - Grade 5]
Project Real
2020-12-16T22:04:09+00:00
Thank you for letting us experience court for the first time. It was the best experience ever, thank you for everything. You really made me think about being a judge. Thank you -Mina L [ Twitchell Elementary - Grade 5]