Author: Nick Feamster
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User Perceptions of Smart Home Internet of Things (IoT) Privacy
by Noah Apthorpe This post summarizes a research paper, authored by Serena Zheng, Noah Apthorpe, Marshini Chetty, and Nick Feamster from Princeton University, which is available here. The paper will be presented at the ACM Conference on Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Social Computing (CSCW) on November 6, 2018. Smart home Internet of Things (IoT) devices…
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Thoughts on California’s Proposed Connected Device Privacy Bill (SB-327)
This post was authored by Noah Apthorpe. On September 6, 2018, the California Legislature presented draft legislation to Governor Brown regarding security and authentication of Internet-connected devices. This legislation would extend California’s existing reasonable data security requirement—which already applies to online services—to Internet-connected devices. The intention of this legislation to prevent default passwords and…
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Internet of Things in Context: Discovering Privacy Norms with Scalable Surveys
by Noah Apthorpe, Yan Shvartzshnaider, Arunesh Mathur, Nick Feamster Privacy concerns surrounding disruptive technologies such as the Internet of Things (and, in particular, connected smart home devices) have been prevalent in public discourse, with privacy violations from these devices occurring frequently. As these new technologies challenge existing societal norms, determining the bounds of “acceptable” information handling…
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Announcing IoT Inspector: Studying Smart Home IoT Device Behavior
By Noah Apthorpe, Danny Y. Huang, Gunes Acar, Frank Li, Arvind Narayanan, Nick Feamster An increasing number of home devices, from thermostats to light bulbs to garage door openers, are now Internet-connected. This “Internet of Things” (IoT) promises reduced energy consumption, more effective health management, and living spaces that react adaptively to users’ lifestyles. Unfortunately,…
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Is It Time for an Data Sharing Clearinghouse for Internet Researchers?
Today’s Senate hearing with Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg will start a long discussion on data collection and privacy from Internet companies. Although the spotlight is currently on Facebook, we shouldn’t forget that the picture is broader: companies from device manufacturers to ISPs collect network traffic and use it for a variety of purposes. The uses that…
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Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Online Content Moderation
Yesterday in Berlin, I attended a workshop on the use of artificial intelligence in governing communication online, hosted by the Humboldt Institute for Internet and Society. Context In the United States and Europe, many platforms that host user content, such as Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter, have enjoyed safe harbor protections for the content they host,…
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New Jersey Takes Up Net Neutrality: A Summary, and My Experiences as a Witness
On Monday afternoon, I testified before the New Jersey State Assembly Committee on Science, Technology, and Innovation, which is chaired by Assemblyman Andrew Zwicker, who also happens to represent Princeton’s district. On the committee agenda were three bills related to net neutrality. Let’s quickly review the recent events. In December 2017, the Federal Communications Commission…
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Software-Defined Networking: What’s New, and What’s New For Tech Policy?
The Silicon Flatirons Conference on Regulating Computing and Code is taking place in Boulder. The annual conference addresses a range of issues at the intersection of technology and policy and provides an excellent look ahead to the tech policy issues on the horizon, particularly in telecommunications. I was looking forward to yesterday’s panel on “The…
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SESTA May Encourage the Adoption of Broken Automated Filtering Technologies
The Senate is currently considering the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA, S. 1693), with a scheduled hearing tomorrow. In brief, the proposed legislation threatens to roll back aspects of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act (CDA), which relieve content providers, or so-called “intermediaries” (e.g., Google, Facebook, Twitter) of liability for the content that is hosted on their…
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Innovation in Network Measurement Can and Should Affect the Future of Internet Privacy
As most readers are likely aware, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) issued a rule last fall governing how Internet service providers (ISPs) can gather and share data about consumers that was recently rolled back through the Congressional Review Act. The media stoked consumer fear with headlines such as “For Sale: Your Private Browsing History” and comments…
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Dissecting the (Likely) Forthcoming Repeal of the FCC’s Privacy Rulemaking
Last week, the House and Senate both passed a joint resolution that prevents the new privacy rules from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) from taking effect; the rules were released by the FCC last November, and would have bound Internet Service Providers (ISPs) in the United States to a set of practices concerning the collection and…
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Mitigating the Increasing Risks of an Insecure Internet of Things
The emergence and proliferation of Internet of Things (IoT) devices on industrial, enterprise, and home networks brings with it unprecedented risk. The potential magnitude of this risk was made concrete in October 2016, when insecure Internet-connected cameras launched a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on Dyn, a provider of DNS service for many large…