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:
A 2,000-year-old terracotta warrior from China had one of its thumbs stolen while in an American museum. The suspected thief was caught on camera sneaking into the warrior’s exhibit, taking a selfie with the statue, and then breaking off its thumb. The camera then caught him pocketing the terracotta thumb and taking it.
Not important but also interesting: the thief burgled the museum during an ugly0-sweater party being held there!
On the way home from the party, a suspect named Michael Rohana bragged to his friends about successfully stealing part of a warrior. A month later the FBI went to his house and questioned him which lead to the return of the missing thumb. As a result he was charged with multiple crimes including “concealment of an object of cultural heritage stolen from a museum” (meaning that he knew the thumb was stolen from the museum yet he kept it like it was his own belonging.)
The warrior statues were discovered by a Chinese farmer in 1974 but originally date all the way back to 209 BC. Sculptures like the one that had its thumb stolen were created in order to protect the tomb of China’s first emperor. At the time of the theft, the statue was worth $4.5 million. Additionally China has to send two experts to the United States to try and repair the thumb.
Chinese officials and citizens are upset at both the museum and the United States for the lack of security for the sculptures and for failing to protect the warrior from harm. Users of China’s Facebook-like service Weibo left critical comments about the incident, including one user who noted that the warriors “are kept far away from the public” (in China) and asked “How come the sculptures in Philadelphia are not displayed inside glass cases?”
The man – Michael Rohana – made a quick decision to mess with the terracotta warrior’s display to try and impress his friends. Now he has to face consequences starting with going to court, though he’s likely to face much worse than that!
————————– Questions:
1) Given the fact that the damaged item was originally worth $4.5 million and that the thumb portion of it was taken illegally, what are the lowest criminal charges or consequences the suspect can face (if they were charged in Nevada)?
2) The artifact was being borrowed while it was damaged. If China decides to take action against the US, what court would the case be taken to (China’s? American Federal Court? An American State Court?) and what charges could the US government face, if any? If not the government, who would end up in court and why would it be a criminal or civil case (pick one or the other and explain why you chose that way)?
3) Everyone know of someone (maybe even themselves) who’ve just done what the thumb-thief did: failed to think about the consequences and just quickly acted on an impulse. What is something you saw – or even did – that could have resulted in a lot of big trouble all because you or that person you saw just didn’t stop to think, and then act? What could the consequences have been?
Controversial White House Tape & Records…
In 2018!?
One of the things the 1969-1974 Nixon Presidential Administration will always be remembered for are the controversial tape recordings made in the Whitehouse. Now thought of as a matter of history, at the time the taped recordings made at the White House were highly controversial. These taped records of conversation in the White House are credited as having played a major role in the resignation of President Richard Nixon.
Given all of that history, a situation where tape, record, president, and white house can be used in the same sentence is one that most administrations would try to avoid. The 45th president of the United States however has a reputation for doing things differently, which may be why we have this interesting story to share with you:
The Presidential Records Act of 1978 states that all presidential records must be preserved. You may not be familiar with the law, since you’re not President of The United States. So, you know – that’s fair.
When someone is elected to the Presidency of the United States for their first term, there’s a transition period during which they are taught about policies, procedures, and laws they need to abide by.
Despite measures like the briefings given to a president-elect, President Donald Trump apparently has a habit of ripping up things like notes, memos and other papers when he has finished with them. White house staffers have reportedly been taping these documents back together after the President has torn, ripped, or shredded them so that the administration remains in compliance with The Presidential Records Act of 1978.
Invitations, letters and newspaper clips with notes are regularly torn up by President Trump. Clear scotch tape was given to employees to piece the ripped documents back together. One employee who was fired early on in 2018 that had claimed he put papers back together on the job said “We’re making more than $60,000 a year, we need to be doing far more important things than this. It felt like the lowest form of work you can take on without having to empty the trash cans.”
The employee who was fired claims that when he left the office, employees were still regularly engaged in the practice of taping documents back together. Some White House staff called the ripping habit Trump’s ‘unofficial filing system.’ The White House had no comment on the situation when asked.
————————– Questions:
1) In America, no person – including – the president is not above the law. Everyone needs to #PlayByTheRules. That being said, if the documents are able to be pieced back together, does President Trump’s tearing up documents count as ‘document destruction’? Could it be successfully argued that tearing up documents is just a really bad system of organization that makes records preservation harder?
2) What if the president were to go further though? Imagine instead of liking to tear up documents when being done with them, a president preferred to set them on fire. Clearly then, the document would be destroyed. What would the legal consequences be for violating The Presidential Records Act of 1978?
3) Pick a side: Do you think that there are any laws a president should be exempt from?
– If you agree: What laws should a president be exempt from, and what are the reasons for exempting the president?
– If you disagree: Why should the president have to follow the same laws as everyone else? Are there benefits, and if so what are they? Is is simply to avoid risks, and if so what risks are being avoided by making presidents follow every single law that everyone else has to follow? Give a thoughtful, detailed, response!
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:
https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/10/trump-papers-filing-system-635164
Contributed by- J. Plummer
Experts Say Leaking Information is
as American as Apple Pie?!
In some cases, leaks have changed the course of American history while shaping the nation’s laws. There are a number of statutes that criminalize leaking information, yet not all leaks are necessarily criminal.
Leaks in modern history that are certain to remain historically notable include those of Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, Shadow Brokers’ NSA Hacking tools data dump, and the early days of The Trump Presidential Administration. Despite taking up significantly more air time in media outlets, the majority of leaks from the offices of President Trump remain unsubstantiated. The leaks of Edward Snowden, Chelsea Manning, and the Shadow Brokers have had an immediate and lasting impact on American history.
In the case of Edward Snowden, we encourage students to read our book ‘The Government, Privacy, and You’ (free copies of which can be requested using the ‘OUR PROJECT’ section of our website – which you’re already on). As of the publication date of this post, Mr. Snowden remains in Russia with the possibility of being charged with treason, espionage, and criminal release of classified information hanging over his head.
Chelsea Manning – who was recently released from prison following a presidential order of clemency issued by President Barack Obama in his last days in office – released information to WikiLeaks that had significant impacts on American foreign policy. Most notably, Manning released a video of an airstrike in Afghanistan in which over 80 civilians were killed by US forces after the details of the operation had been held back from public release, and the release of diplomatic communications which (upon their release) resulted in many of the ‘Arab Spring’ uprisings of 2010-2012.
The Shadow Brokers was a hacker collective that released reports and files created by the NSA. The information included a number of tools and exploits that could be used to monitor or control people’s personal electronic devices. Following the Edward Snowden leaks (which revealed the US government had digitally programs that involved at least the possibility of domestic surveillance), the implication of the Shadow Brokers release was that the NSA had tools for spying not just on terror suspects but American citizens.
These are just a few examples of leaks that changed the history of America and the perception of the administrations in power at the time of their release. Republican, Democrat, Independent, Liberal, Conservative, or Moderate – information leaks have impacted administrations and governments of all types throughout American history.
————————– Questions:
1) What is a government leak you’re already familiar with? If you don’t know one, research one and summarize it in 1 – 6 sentences:
2) Regarding that whistleblowing incident – who do you believe was ‘right’ in the situation, and what about what you know about that whistleblowing incident leads you to that conclusion?
3) Whistleblowing is a challenging subject for the people coming forward: They might have legal protections to their job and their freedom, but how can they be expected to stay at a place where they betrayed the trust of the organization (even if the organization was doing something bad)?
4) Whistleblowing can also be a challenging subject for people being reported on: What if the whistleblower is wrong and what the company/person was doing is allowed? If they fire the ‘whistleblower’ they can face major punishments (financial penalties) for firing the person (it’s called retaliation). What can be done to prevent situations of false / improper whistleblowing? An example would be people posting videos of how fast food is made on Tick Tock. If a company isn’t pretending the food is ‘natural and organic’, why should (or shouldn’t) their employees really be allowed to post videos of that process?
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::
After Teenage Mistakes, Pardons Give Second Chance to Ex-Offenders
Making a mistake is part of life and as a teenager you’re bound to make several but, making a mistake that defines your whole life when your 17 is the harsh reality for some. Contrary to popular belief, juvenile criminal records aren’t always sealed and can follow people throughout their lives.
What kinds of consequences might young offenders face? Foremost, a young offender with a criminal record may not be able to work in certain industries (jobs that involve working with children or positions that handle money will certainly be restricted). Even then, employers faced with choosing to hire between a candidate with a criminal record and one without one are more likely to hire the applicant without a criminal history. Difficulty securing work can lead to other life long problems. Without steady work, a person’s opportunity to make money is severely limited. This might lead to a life of poverty and the struggles that come with it.
Depending on the circumstances, a juvenile record that remains unsealed may be resolved through a pardon. The process for securing pardons for criminal histories of a minor differs from state to state, however that process is rarely short let alone easy. If a pardon is issued an individual may have an opportunity to secure a second chance at a productive and successful life for themselves, however pardons are rare and shouldn’t be considered a guaranteed solution.
New York is changing the lives of young offenders by granting pardons in some cases. The lesson isn’t to expect a pardon or a second chance, but rather to understand the struggle for the many individuals facing lives of constant struggle as a result of poor decisions they made as teenagers. Consider the consequences of your actions.
QUESTIONS:
1. What did you think happened to your ‘juvenile record’ before reading this news piece? In other words, before reading this piece, what did you think would happen once you turned 18 if you had been in legal trouble before becoming an adult?
2. Answer depending on how you feel: Why is it fair or unfair for the process of getting a juvenile record ‘sealed’ or hidden to be so difficult for some people? If you’re still not clear on the idea of a juvenile record, think about it like a ‘permanent record’ that follows you through life as you apply for schools, jobs, a place to live and really just about anything you want that would need some kind of application.
3. What is the process to get a juvenile record sealed in the state you live in? Specifically: How long can it take and what is the least amount of money it would cost to do it?
Teen Vandals Sentenced to
Read Books & Write Papers
It’s rare that a punishment can be inspiring but, a judge in Virginia has given a sentence to young vandals that orders them to read books and write papers. As a provider of educational resources, we find this to be a unique sentence – one that we support. We also hope more judges will find creative ways to change and educate young offenders.
Five 16 and 17 year old boys in Virginia had been found guilty of spray painting racist, sexist, and anti-Semitic symbols on a historic building in their community. At the behest of the prosecutor on the boys’ case, the sentencing judge gave the teens – none of whom had prior records – a list of 35 books and 14 movies with themes of race, gender and religious issues.
The boys were required to provide written reports on what they read or watched on a monthly basis, and their parents had to visit a holocaust museum with them so ‘the whole family would learn together’.
The prosecutor explained ””They have to write either a book report once a month of they can substitute three of of the books for a movie review, so I also gave them a list of approved movies that they can watch. And hopefully, what they get out of this year is a greater appreciation for gender, race, religion, bigotry. And then when they go out in to the world, they are teachers.“
QUESTIONS
——
1) Why does it seem fair or unfair (depending how you feel) that young people like these students can be given non-traditional punishments (having to do book reports instead of going to jail) ?
2) The judge in this case decided how to punish the students even though there wasn’t a law or rule explaining to the judge how unique their punishment could be. What benefitsare there to our community when judges can make up their own punishments?
3) The judge in this case decided how to punish the students even though there wasn’t a law or rule explaining to the judge how unique their punishment could be. What risks are there to our community when judges can make up their own punishments?
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]
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]
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]
