acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

News


Latest News News Archive Refine your search:
dateMore Than a Year Ago
subjectLegal Aspects
authorThe Washington Post
bg-corner

An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.


Google Opens ­p About When Its Self-Driving Cars Have Nearly Crashed
From ACM TechNews

Google Opens ­p About When Its Self-Driving Cars Have Nearly Crashed

Google says its fleet of automated vehicles, currently undergoing testing, have had 13 near-misses in which a driver had to intervene to prevent a collision.

The New Way Police Are Surveilling You: Calculating Your Threat 'score'
From ACM News

The New Way Police Are Surveilling You: Calculating Your Threat 'score'

While officers raced to a recent 911 call about a man threatening his ex-girlfriend, a police operator in headquarters consulted software that scored the suspect's...

The Big Data of Bad Driving, and How Insurers Plan to Track Your Every Turn
From ACM News

The Big Data of Bad Driving, and How Insurers Plan to Track Your Every Turn

For years, insurance companies have used estimates of your annual mileage to determine your car insurance rates.

The A.i. Anxiety
From ACM News

The A.i. Anxiety

The world’s spookiest philosopher is Nick Bostrom, a thin, soft-spoken Swede.

Tech Companies Are Slamming a Proposed ­k Terrorism Law. Here's Why.
From ACM News

Tech Companies Are Slamming a Proposed ­k Terrorism Law. Here's Why.

The world's biggest tech firms—including Apple, Microsoft, and Yahoo—are pressing for changes to a proposed British law aimed at expanding the government's electronic...

5 Amazing and Alarming Things That May Be Done with Your Dna
From ACM Opinion

5 Amazing and Alarming Things That May Be Done with Your Dna

"You're a male, you're 34-years-old and your 5-foot-10 1/2 inches tall." That's a prediction that Craig Venter, long a pioneer on the frontier of genomics, offered...

The Nsa School: How the Intelligence Community Gets Smarter, Secretly
From ACM Careers

The Nsa School: How the Intelligence Community Gets Smarter, Secretly

Leonard Reinsfelder's wife found a note on her car as she was leaving a shopping center one day: "Have your husband give us a call. We think we could use him."

With Court Order, Federal Judge Seeks to Fuel Debate About Data Encryption
From ACM News

With Court Order, Federal Judge Seeks to Fuel Debate About Data Encryption

A federal judge in New York is seeking to expand to the courts the hot debate over whether tech companies should be forced to find ways to unlock encrypted smartphones...

­.S. Developing Sanctions Against China Over Cyberthefts
From ACM News

­.S. Developing Sanctions Against China Over Cyberthefts

The Obama administration is developing a package of unprecedented economic sanctions against Chinese companies and individuals who have benefited from their government's...

Why the Ftc Is Showing ­p at Hackers' Biggest Conferences
From ACM Opinion

Why the Ftc Is Showing ­p at Hackers' Biggest Conferences

The Federal Trade Commission, the de facto federal watchdog for consumers' privacy and data security, knows it needs help.

Inside the Fake Town in Michigan Where Self-Driving Cars Are Being Tested
From ACM News

Inside the Fake Town in Michigan Where Self-Driving Cars Are Being Tested

Later this year a Michigan pedestrian named Sebastian will spend his days throwing himself in the path of speeding cars.

A Disaster Foretold — and Ignored
From ACM News

A Disaster Foretold — and Ignored

LOpht's warnings about the Internet drew notice, but little action.

Facial Recognition Technology Is Everywhere. It May Not Be Legal.
From ACM News

Facial Recognition Technology Is Everywhere. It May Not Be Legal.

Being anonymous in public might be a thing of the past.

The Government's High-Tech Plan For Identifying You Based on Your Tattoos
From ACM TechNews

The Government's High-Tech Plan For Identifying You Based on Your Tattoos

The U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology has reviewed the results of a challenge to develop systems to identify a person based on their tattoos.

How the Country's Top Privacy Cop Is Trying to Protect Consumers in the Digital Age
From ACM Opinion

How the Country's Top Privacy Cop Is Trying to Protect Consumers in the Digital Age

As the digital economy has exploded, tech companies are collecting untold amounts of data on everyday Americans.

The Long Life of a Quick 'fix'
From ACM News

The Long Life of a Quick 'fix'

By the time a pair of engineers sat down for lunch together in Austin, the Internet's growing pains had become dire.

The House Just Passed a Bill About Space Mining
From ACM News

The House Just Passed a Bill About Space Mining

For as long as we've existed, humans have looked up at the stars—and wondered.

Tech Giants Don’t Want Obama to Give Police Access to Encrypted Phone Data
From ACM News

Tech Giants Don’t Want Obama to Give Police Access to Encrypted Phone Data

Technology companies, trade associations, and security and policy experts are urging President Obama to reject proposals to weaken security of communication devices...

As Encryption Spreads, U.s. Grapples with Clash Between Privacy, Security
From ACM News

As Encryption Spreads, U.s. Grapples with Clash Between Privacy, Security

For months, federal law enforcement agencies and industry have been deadlocked on a highly contentious issue: Should tech companies be obliged to guarantee government...

China Deploys New Weapon For Online Censorship in Form of 'great Cannon'
From ACM TechNews

China Deploys New Weapon For Online Censorship in Form of 'great Cannon'

Two recent distributed denial-of-service attacks represent some of the first uses of a new tool in China's cyber arsenal, dubbed the "Great Cannon." 
Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account