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Daily Archives: July 4, 2019

Methods of Data Research for Law

Custers, Bart, Methods of Data Research for Law (October 28, 2018). Custers B.H.M. (2018), Methods of data research for law. In: Mak V., Tjong Tjin Tai E., Berlee A. (Eds.) Research Handbook in Data Science and Law. Research Handbooks in Information Law Cheltenham: Edward Elgar. 355-377. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3411873

“Data science and big data offer many opportunities for researchers, not only in the domain of data science and related sciences, but also for researchers in many other disciplines. The fact that data science and big data are playing an increasingly important role in so many research areas raises the question whether this also applies to the legal domain. Do data science and big data also offer methods of data research for law? As will be shown in this chapter, the answer to this question is positive: yes, there are many methods and applications that may be also useful for the legal domain. This answer will be provided by discussing these methods of data research for law in this chapter. As such, this chapter provides an overview of these methods.”

Information Mischief Under the Trump Administration

Cortez, Nathan, Information Mischief Under the Trump Administration (May 21, 2019). Chicago-Kent Law Review, Vol. 94, No. 2, 2019; SMU Dedman School of Law Legal Studies Research Paper No. 418. Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3391965 “The Trump administration has used government information in more cynical ways than its predecessors. For example, it has removed certain information… Continue Reading

Everything You Need To Know About The Invisible E-Mail Tool That Tracks You

The Verge – What is a tracking pixel and what was Superhuman up to? Is it true that an app called Superhuman lets me spy on people using email? That’s what we heard, too: When you sent an email using this $30-a-month invite-only app, it automatically tracked every time a recipient looks at that email,… Continue Reading

Bitcoin’s energy consumption ‘equals that of Switzerland’

BBC – “Bitcoin uses as much energy as the whole of Switzerland, a new online tool from the University of Cambridge shows. The tool makes it easier to see how the crypto-currency network’s energy usage compares with other entities. However, one expert argued that it was the crypto-currency’s carbon footprint that really mattered. Currently, the… Continue Reading

‘Fingerprinting’ to Track Us Online Is on the Rise. Here’s What to Do.

The New York Times – Advertisers are increasingly turning to an invisible method that pulls together information about your device to pinpoint your identity. “Fingerprinting involves looking at the many characteristics of your mobile device or computer, like the screen resolution, operating system and model, and triangulating this information to pinpoint and follow you as… Continue Reading

Will California’s New Bot Law Strengthen Democracy?

The New Yorker – “When you ask experts how bots influence politics—that is, what specifically these bits of computer code that purport to be human can accomplish during an election—they will give you a list: bots can smear the opposition through personal attacks; they can exaggerate voters’ fears and anger by repeating short simple slogans;… Continue Reading

Public Management of Big Data: Historical Lessons from the 1940s

Public Management of Big Data: Historical Lessons from the 1940s by Margo Anderson – Distinguished Professor, History and Urban Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. “At its core, public-sector use of big data heightens concerns about the balance of power between government and the individual. Once information about citizens is compiled for a defined purpose, the temptation… Continue Reading