Author(s): Chris Jay Hoofnagle Year: 2009 Abstract: The rise of cybercrime in the last decade is an economic case of individuals responding to monetary and psychological incentives. Two main drivers for cybercrime can be identified: the potential gains from cyberattacks are increasing with the growth of importance of the Internet, and malefactors’ expected costs (e.g., […]
An Economic Map of Cybercrime
Reconsidering Cybor: A Hybrid Standard of Appellate Review of Patent Claim Construction Rulings
Author(s): Peter S. Menell Year: 2013 Abstract: This brief contends that the Federal Circuit’s Cybor plenary de novo standard of appellate review of claim construction rulings misapprehends the mixed fact/law nature of patent claim construction and has frustrated district courts’ distinctive capabilities for apprehending and resolving the factual disputes inherent in claim construction determinations, undermined […]
Americans Reject Tailored Advertising and Three Activities that Enable It
Author(s): Chris Jay Hoofnagle Year: 2009 Abstract: This nationally representative telephone (wire-line and cell phone) survey explores Americans’ opinions about behavioral targeting by marketers, a controversial issue currently before government policymakers. Behavioral targeting involves two types of activities: following users’ actions and then tailoring advertisements for the users based on those actions. While privacy advocates […]
Flash Cookies and Privacy
Author(s): Chris Jay Hoofnagle Year: 2009 Abstract: This is a pilot study of the use of ‘Flash cookies’ by popular websites. We find that more than 50% of the sites in our sample are using flash cookies to store information about the user. Some are using it to ‘respawn’ or re-instantiate HTTP cookies deleted by […]
Denialists’ Deck of Cards: An Illustrated Taxonomy of Rhetoric Used to Frustrate Consumer Protection Efforts
Author(s): Chris Jay Hoofnagle Year: 2007 Abstract: The Denalists’ Deck of Cards is a humorous illustration of how libertarian policy groups use denialism. In this context, denialism is the use of rhetorical techniques and predictable tactics to erect barriers to debate and consideration of any type of reform, regardless of the facts. Giveupblog.com has identified […]
A Model Regime of Privacy Protection (Version 3.0)
Author(s): Chris Jay Hoofnagle Year: 2008 Abstract: A series of major security breaches at companies with sensitive personal information has sparked significant attention to the problems with privacy protection in the United States. Currently, the privacy protections in the United States are riddled with gaps and weak spots. Although most industrialized nations have comprehensive data […]
Consumer Information Sharing: Where the Sun Still Don’t Shine
Author(s): Chris Jay Hoofnagle Year: 2008 Abstract: In late 2007, the popular social networking site Facebook.com adopted “Beacon,” an application that informs Facebook users’ friends about purchases made and activities on other websites. For example, if a Facebook user bought a movie ticket on Fandango.com, that user’s friends would be informed of that fact through […]
Privacy Practices Below the Lowest Common Denominator: The Federal Trade Commission’s Initial Application of Unfair and Deceptive Trade Practices Authority to Protect Consumer Privacy (1997-2000)
Author(s): Chris Jay Hoofnagle Year: 2001 Abstract: In this paper, the author reviews the first six actions taken by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to safeguard consumers’ privacy under the agency’s authority to prosecute unfair or deceptive trade practices. Six conclusions can be made from these cases: First, the FTC has chosen to take enforcement […]
Privacy Decisionmaking in Administrative Agencies
Author(s): Kenneth A. Bamberger and Deirdre K. Mulligan Year: 2008 Abstract: Administrative agencies increasingly rely on technology to achieve substantive goals. Often this technology is employed to collect, exchange, manipulate and store personally identifiable information, raising serious concerns about the erosion of personal privacy. Congress has recognized this problem. In the E-Government Act of 2002, […]
Anonymous Disclosure of Security Breaches, in Securing Privacy in the Internet Age
Author(s): Paul M. Schwartz Year: 2008 Abstract: Reputational sanctions are often offered as a substitute for law. Robert Ellickson has shown how social norms and gossip allow Shasta County ranchers to order theirs affairs and resolve disputes without resort to, or regard for, legal sanctions.[1] In business regulation, particularly in the post-Sarbanes-Oxley world, disclosure is […]