Bloomberg: “The European Commission proposed a total ban on some single-use plastic products and measures to drastically cut the consumption of others, in the latest push by the EU to reduce carbon emissions and marine litter threatening its seas. The ban will apply to plastic cotton buds, cutlery, plates, straws, drink stirrers and sticks for… Continue Reading
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Monthly Archives: May 2018
The General Data Protection Regulation: What Does It Mean for Libraries Worldwide?
Association of Research Libraries (ARL) – “The European Union’s (EU’s) General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will take effect May 25, 2018, and is likely to have a significant impact on the way libraries around the globe manage personal data. To help libraries consider what they need to do in response to the GDPR, the Association… Continue Reading
Smart devices in your home have data that may be used by law enforcement
Your Home is Your…Snitch? When your appliances work as police informants – By Daniel Zwerdling – The Marshall Project Justice Lab column examines the science, social science and technology of criminal justice. “Police records in Bentonville, Arkansas show that James Bates called 911 on Sunday morning just before Thanksgiving 2015, and reported chilling news: he’d… Continue Reading
Bringing Wikipedia into the Library
American Libraries Magazine – Bringing Wikipedia into the Library – “Wikipedia might seem like a librarian’s nemesis, but the online encyclopedia, its community, and libraries are increasingly working together to provide free and open information to all.” “Wikipedia contributors and librarians share similar skills: an understanding of quality research materials, an interest in effective citation and… Continue Reading
How Google News Compares to Twitter, Facebook, and RSS for Your News
Gizmodo: “There’s a new news aggregator in town (well, an old one, revamped). The updated, refreshed, and smarter version of Google News is out now on Android, iOS, and the web, so how does this reimagining of the news stack up against the other ways we usually get our headlines—Facebook, Twitter, and RSS? We’ve been… Continue Reading
You’re Bad at Legal Research, and Your Judge Knows It.
Above the Law – You’re Bad at Legal Research, and Your Judge Knows It: “One reason artificial intelligence is a hot topic in law: When attorneys miss precedents, the stakes are high. Recent research conducted by Casetext uncovered that judges have a surprisingly consistent opinion of the work they see from us litigators: they believe… Continue Reading
Court Rules That Government Officials Who Tweet to the Public Can’t Block Users Who They Disagree With
EFF – Victory For The First Amendment..Lawsuit Against President Trump Brought by Twitter Users He Blocked “President Donald Trump’s blocking of people on Twitter because they criticize him violates the First Amendment, a federal judge in New York ruled today in a resounding victory for freedom of speech and the public’s right to communicate opposing… Continue Reading
How can journalists stop providing oxygen to trolls and extremists?
Columbia Journalism Review: “Are journalists partly to blame for the rise of the alt-right and the outcome of the 2016 election? A new report from the New York–based research institute Data & Society looks at the ways in which journalists help to popularize extremist views, in some cases accidentally. The paper—written by Whitney Phillips, an assistant… Continue Reading
Exposing redirected URLs before you click
John Simek “…Frankly, I’m not a big fan of URL shorteners and an even lesser fan of QR codes. The main problem with shortened URLs is that you don’t really know where you will be redirected to if you click on it. What a great tool for the distribution of malware. There is a solution… Continue Reading
White Collar Prosecutions Fall to Lowest in 20 Years
Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse: “Current prosecution levels represent the lowest number of white collar prosecutions in more than 20 years. Government case-by-case records, updated through April 2018, indicate a total of 3,249 new white collar crime prosecutions were brought during the first seven months of FY 2018. If this level of activity continues at the… Continue Reading
Yale Law School Consumer Arbitration Data Archive
“On May 21, 2018, a United States Supreme Court majority held in Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, 584 U.S. ___ (2018) (link is external), that, “Congress has instructed in the Arbitration Act that arbitration agreements providiing for individual proceedings must be enforced, and neither the Arbitration Act’s saving clause nor the NLRA suggests otherwise.” In… Continue Reading
Demand for electric vehicles will rise significantly – McKinsey
“Demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is primed for the passing lane. While EVs accounted for only about 1 percent of global annual vehicle sales in 2016 and just 0.2 percent of vehicles on the road, McKinsey estimates that by 2030 EVs (including battery electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids) could rise to almost 20 percent of… Continue Reading
