November 2, 2014

Tech Policy Lab Distinguished Lecture: Responsible Innovation in the Age of Robots and Smart Machines

Many of the things we do to each other in the 21st century –both good and bad – we do by means of smart technology. Drones, robots, cars, and computers are a case in point. Military drones can help protect vulnerable, displaced civilians; at the same time, drones that do so without clear accountability give […]

October 25, 2014

Cory Doctorow: Alice, Bob and Clapper: What Snowden Taught us About Privacy

It’s the 21st century and the Internet is the nervous system of the information age. Treating it as a platform for jihad recruitment that incidentally does some ecommerce and video on demand around the edges is blinkered, depraved indifference. The news that the world’s spies have been industriously converting every wire, fiber and chip into […]

October 12, 2014

Privacy and Security Concerns for the Smart Watch Age

(photo credit Kārlis Dambrāns) The Internet of Things (IoT) is quickly expanding the next big product in its interconnected family – the smart watch. While these high-tech watches are not necessarily new, recent releases from companies like Samsung, LG and Apple have given them a more mainstream public appeal and market share. In welcoming the watches […]

October 10, 2014

Building a Cybersecurity Roadmap: Developing America’s Edge

Recently the Lab sent member Aaron Alva to Washington DC (from one Washington to another!) to attend a cybersecurity event co-hosted by the Center for National Policy and the Christian Science Monitor. The event included a Q&A with the White House cybersecurity coordinator Michael Daniel, and a panel with experts including DEF CON founder Jeff […]

October 5, 2014

Guest Post: Comparative Analysis of Data Protection in Korea and the European Union

This is a guest post by Yoon Sukbe, a member of the South Korea Ministry of Science, ICT and Future Planning and visiting scholar at the University of Washington School of Law. The paradigm of data protection is being changed due to the advancement of network technology. Decentralization and effectiveness of Internet technologies enhance convenience […]

October 1, 2014

Announcing the We Robot 2015 Call for Papers

The 2015 We Robot Call for Papers is now available. Inviting submissions for the fourth annual robotics law and policy conference, We Robot 2015 will be held in Seattle, Washington on April 10-11, 2015 at the University of Washington School of Law. We Robot has been hosted twice at the University of Miami School of Law and once at […]

Augmented Reality: Hard Problems of Law and Policy

Lab alumni Franziska Roesner, Tamara Denning, with Bryce Clayton Newell, and Directors Tadayoshi Kohno, Ryan Calo wrote “Augmented Reality: Hard Problems of Law and Policy” for the recent Workshop on Usable Privacy & Security for wearable and domestic ubIquitous DEvices (UPSIDE). In this paper they describe their vision of AR and explore the unique and difficult problems […]

September 21, 2014

Co-Director Batya Friedman Discusses “Can We Build A Safer Internet?” in The New York Times

The New York Times

In a recent article the New York Times asked "Can We Build a Safer Internet?" They examined whether the harassment and hateful internet of today could one day change for the better and discussed the issue with Co-Director Batya Friedman: "The question for designers of online communities, she said, is 'how do we either create virtual norms that are comparable, or how do we represent those things so that people are getting those cues, so they modulate their behavior?'"

September 16, 2014

Co-Director Calo’s New Robotics Paper Receives National Coverage

Washington Post and Slate

Lab Director Ryan Calo’s new paper, “The Case for a Federal Robotics Commission,” has received recognition from both the Washington Post and Slate. The paper is part of a series hosted by Brookings that attempts to anticipate and address the legal issues that will arise as civilian robots become more common.

September 12, 2014

EFF Thanks Franzi Roesner for Her Help With “Privacy Badger”

Recently, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) released a new browser add-on that prevents ads, social widgets, and hidden trackers. Tech Policy Lab alum Franzi Roesner was thanked by the EFF “for exceptional work in enhancing Privacy Badger’s widget-handling algorithms.”