January 22, 2016

Toys That Listen and the Internet of Things

Hello Barbie, Amazon Echo, and the home robot Jibo are part of a new wave of connected toys and gadgets for the home that listen. Different than the smartphone, these devices are always on, blending into the background until needed by the adult or child user. We do not yet know all the information our new toys are collecting, storing, or disclosing. With an intended audience of designers and regulators, this project brings an interdisciplinary group of experts together to build a set of consumer protection best practices for design and user control of connected devices in the home.

July 15, 2015

Understanding Journalists Information Security Choices

This blog post, cross-posted from the Tow Center, describes recent work studying computer security in journalist-source communications, a collaboration between Susan McGregor at the Columbia Journalism School, UW HCI+D Masters students Polina Charters and Tobin Holliday, and TPL affiliated faculty member Franziska Roesner. Understanding Journalists Information Security Choices by Susan McGregor In the roughly two years since the Snowden revelations, information security […]

May 1, 2015

How Technology Impacts Civil Liberties with Co-Director Ryan Calo

Newly-emerging technologies affect us all in a multitude of ways and today’s turned-on, always-connected world has reached an all-time high. O’Connor, president of the Center for Democracy & Technology, will discuss how the internet and interconnected world shape our lives, impact our civil liberties, and inform our daily decisions. Other panelists include Ryan Calo, faculty […]

February 16, 2015

Roundtable: Cyber Civil Rights and Effective Responses to ‘Revenge Porn’

Tuesday, March 3 4:00-6:00 pm Reception to follow K&L Gates 925 Fourth Avenue Seattle, WA 98104 On Tuesday, March 3, K&L Gates and the University of Washington’s Tech Policy Lab will be co-sponsoring a roundtable on cyber civil rights and revenge porn. We have assembled a fantastic panel with speakers from K&L Gates, the Federal […]

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 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 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 […]

August 13, 2014

Robotics, Law, and Policy: A Burgeoning Field

Robots are on the rise. From Amazon Prime Air to the new crowd-sourced family robot JIBO, intelligent machines and systems are gaining attention in both the public and academic sectors. The Pew Research Center’s recent report, “AI, Robotics, and the Future of Jobs,” serves as an example for the topic’s growing popularity. The paper details […]