Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Spatial Law and Policy Update (June 7, 2013)


SPATIAL LAW AND POLICY UPDATE
"Where Geospatial Technology Is Taking the Law"


Privacy

Federal Privacy Commissioner proposes changes to PIPEDA to address challenges of Big Data  (mccarthytetrault) The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada calls for increased regulation of Big Data.

Location, location, location  (Steptoe & Johnson) A lawyer's summary of the GPS Act in the United States. He makes many comparisons between location and on-line privacy - I am not convinced they should not be treated the same. 

FTC's Ohlhausen: Privacy Regs Could Harm Startups  (MediaPost) A worthwhile read on several privacy-related topics, including whether privacy regs should protect "creepiness".

Are Privacy Principles At Odds With Technology Advances?  (Tyrone Grandison) A blog post that raises a number of issues that are also applicable to the collection of location information.

Iowa lawmakers move to ban drones, red light cameras, license plate readers  An example of how concerns over location privacy will cut across technology platforms. 


Europe Continues Wrestling With Online Privacy Rules Published: June 6, 2013  (NYT) Report suggests that European Commission is pulling back on some of its more restrictive approaches to data privacy.

Licensing

Can classified websites protect content from scraping? In the Craigslist case, a US court says – maybe (King & Wood Mallesons) An Australian law firm discusses a recent US case and its applicability in Australia.

Government

    Spatial Data Infrastructure/Open Data


   
    Public Safety/Law Enforcement/National Security

    U.S. Is Secretly Collecting Records of Verizon Calls  (NYT) While there have been reports of this type of collection in the U.S. for years. However, the timing of this report, and the extent of the reported collection increases the likelihood that legislation protecting geolocation privacy will pass in this session of Congress. 

    PRISM scandal: tech giants flatly deny allowing NSA direct access to servers  (The Guardian) The reported PRISM program did not deal directly with location information, however if true the report could impact the willingness of companies outside of the US to store geospatial information on US servers.  

Technology Platforms

UAVs

Domino's tests drone pizza delivery  (CNN) To quote from the article: While the DomiCopter is perhaps the silliest example of possible drone use, it's a burgeoning field full of legal and ethical questions.


Internet of Things/Smart Grid/Intelligent Transportation Systems

Can open data power a smart city revolution?  (The Guardian)  People spend a great deal of time (and money) on the technology issues but often overlook the frictions associated with data - "open" does not mean "easy". 

The Feds’ ‘Ultimate Solution’ to Curb Distracted Driving  (Wired) National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has stated in the past that dynamic maps are a distraction to drivers.

Op-Ed: Who Will Own the Driverless Car?  (The Sun Break) A thought provoking piece on the societal and policy-related issues associated with driverless cars.

Remote Sensing


Crowdsourcing


Google: Lack of open standards hampers information sharing in disaster (The Hill)  An important read on issues associated with data sharing in government.

Miscellaneous


Google: Lack of open standards hampers information sharing in disaster (The Hill)  An important read on issues associated with data sharing in government.