Opinion: Michigan constitutional amendment could secure digital privacy

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Daniel Woislaw | Oct. 5, 2019

With a near steady drumbeat of news stories about data breaches, Russian hackers and government surveillance, it’s not surprising that digital privacy is on the minds of many Americans. This includes lawmakers here in Michigan who have become the latest in a series of legislative bodies to push for stronger digital privacy protections.

On Oct. 3, the Senate Judiciary Committee received a proposal, which my organization supports, to amend the state constitution with slight, but very significant language that will go a long way in further securing Michiganians’ privacy rights.

The proposed constitutional amendment adds “electronic data” and “electronic communications” to the list of items the government cannot search or seize without a warrant. Right now, Michigan’s constitution only protects “persons, houses, papers and possessions” against unreasonable search and seizures. Nearly identical language is found in the U.S. Constitution’s Fourth Amendment, absent the proposed additions.

Michigan’s privacy laws currently focus on vague ideas about whether society regards a particular place or thing to be reasonably private. If the government invades a “reasonable expectation of privacy,” it has committed a search or seizure.

This murky standard, which traces from federal court decisions dating to the 1960s, does not sufficiently protect electronic privacy ― meaning your internet browsing history could fall outside the Constitution’s protection. It also means that government actions that violate privacy can reduce the constitutional protections that defend privacy. Consider how the Edward Snowden leaks affected Americans’ expectations of privacy in their digital communications. They certainly didn’t make Americans feel more secure.

A constitutional protection so vital to American privacy should not be subject to change based on rumors and passing societal sentiments. The proposed amendment would re-focus constitutional privacy rights on the items secured against intrusion rather than whether society expects them to remain private.

In other words, if passed, the amendment would mean that if the government wants to access your electronic data, it would need a warrant supported by probable cause, just as if it tried to search your home…

Continue reading at detroitnews.com HERE.

Amazon may soon be able to track your phone’s location even if you don’t use any of its products or services

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Among the avalanche of new products unveiled at Amazon’s hardware event on Wednesday were two features that are a bit less tangible: “Sidewalk,” a new wireless protocol that links smart objects, and “eero,” a brand of WiFi router the company acquired and is selling for people to use in their homes.

With the new offerings, the number of Amazon-made routers and devices in homes and stores is set to increase nationwide. Sidewalk will use this proliferation of devices to build a “mesh network” —  a wireless network where each device communicates with one another, working together to transmit data across the network — that spans broad geographical areas. According to Amazon’s announcement, the company found that placing 700 devices across Los Angeles was enough to cover the entire metropolitan area of the city.

Now, privacy watchdogs are sounding alarm bells about what that means for the company’s ability to surveil individuals.

Tech activist Liz O’Sullivan flagged the mesh network’s potential for surveillance during the Amazon hardware event and tweeted about it Thursday.

Here’s what you need to know about the new Amazon update and what it could mean for your privacy.

Amazon’s mesh network could help the tech giant monitor your phone’s location

Even if you don’t use Amazon’s wireless networks in your own home — or join its WiFi networks when you go out — the mesh network could enable Amazon to get data about the location of your devices.

Owners of WiFi networks can track what devices are nearby even if those devices don’t sign onto the network, just like a smartphone can detect nearby networks without signing on…

Continue reading at BusinessInsider.com HERE.

Apple’s iPhone 11 doesn’t have 5G because 5G isn’t ready for the iPhone

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By Chris Welch, Sep 12, 2019

As expected, Apple’s 2019 iPhone lineup does not include 5G technology, leaving the iPhone 11 Pro and iPhone 11 without the next-generation leap in mobile data speeds we’ve seen on recent smartphones from Samsung, LG, and OnePlus.

But Apple is wise in waiting another year before building 5G into the iPhone, and it’s got nothing to do with safety. 5G networks still feel like they’re very much in a preliminary stage, and only now are carriers starting to build any real momentum by bringing 5G to more cities across the US. But there are other obstacles and snags that led to Apple holding off another year — hopefully just one more — before integrating 5G into the iPhone.

GOOD LUCK FINDING 5G
Right now, the fledgling 5G networks of the major US carriers are in no shape to provide a consistent, satisfactory experience for consumers. Coverage is wildly spotty for Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile. These companies are using millimeter-wave technology, which offers blistering-fast download speeds but poses significant challenges when it comes to blanketing cities with 5G signal. Millimeter-wave can’t match the range of LTE towers, requiring carriers to put up 5G “nodes” all over each city in which they offer service. “It will never materially scale beyond small pockets of 5G hotspots in dense urban environments,” T-Mobile CTO Neville Ray has said of millimeter-wave 5G.

I’ve tested Verizon’s 5G in Chicago twice and T-Mobile’s millimeter-wave network in New York City. With both carriers, 5G has blown me away with hard-to-believe speed, but coverage often exists on a block-by-block basis and is extremely sensitive to anything that comes between you and the millimeter wave nodes that make those instant downloads possible. And indoor coverage is nonexistent. AT&T’s story is likely the same, but I haven’t yet tested its 5G network since it’s only open to businesses and 5G software makers so far; regular customers can’t even get it. And in the majority of cases, uploads still fall back to LTE data speeds, so that half of the equation is underwhelming.

Sprint’s in a better spot because its 5G network rides on mid-band spectrum and already offers thorough coverage resembling that of LTE in neighborhoods where it has launched. But this approach also means it’s noticeably slower. Plus, it’s still limited to a handful of cities, and Apple isn’t going to build a 5G phone for the last-place US carrier — even if the device could’ve also helped its standing in China.

All of the US carriers are swearing up and down that they’ve got aggressive 5G buildout plans with long lists of cities due to be added over the coming months. I’ve got no doubt that 5G availability will expand significantly as we head into 2020, but I’m less confident I’ll be able to walk around Manhattan or San Francisco a year from now with seamless coverage everywhere. Even so, 5G will be in a much better place then than it is now, so waiting makes all the sense in the world…

Continue reading at theverge.com HERE.

No, 5G won’t replace 4G (and other 5G myths debunked)

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By Lynn La, September 2, 2019.

The next generation of high-speed mobile data, known as 5G, is already live in a handful of areas in the US, as well as other parts of the world, including countries such as the UK and Australia. But as this network rolls out, many misconceptions and confusion around the new technology remain.

This isn’t completely surprising — 5G will have an impact on many people’s lives all around the world, so there are understandably still a lot of questions being asked. As the 5G rollout continues throughout 2020, it’s predicted that there will be 1 billion 5G customers by 2023. Not only will these 5G networks connect users to a superfast mobile network, but many other industries will benefit from the faster connectivity of 5G as well, like self-driving cars, drones and the internet of things, to name a few.

To learn more about 5G, we’re debunking a few 5G myths. And if you want to know more about 5G in general, read our FAQ: Everything you need to know about the 5G revolution.

Is 5G safe?
One of the biggest concerns people have about 5G is that the network’s radio frequency will be unsafe, expose people to radiation and cause cancer. The fears aren’t completely unfounded — a 2011 report from the World Health Organization suggested that cellphone radiation should be listed as “possibly carcinogenic to humans.”  In 2016, a study funded by the US government showed a link between radio frequency radiation and cancers in rats. And popular phones like the iPhone and Galaxy handsets may exceed the level of radio frequency radiation allowed by the FCC.

But the link between cancer and phones may be overstated. For one thing, a number of things that we encounter every day are considered to be carcinogenic hazards to some degree, including diesel fuel, aloe vera and pickled food. The aforementioned 2016 study also exposed male rats to levels of radiation that exceeded radiation levels that humans would come across from their cellphones.

Though it’s too early to be 100% confident, we do know that on Aug. 8, after more than six years of research and review, FCC Chairman Ajit Pai circulated a proposal to deem cellphones, including ones that use 5G, as safe. As CNET Senior Writer Maggie Reardon reported, that includes “current exposure levels for cellphones, wireless towers, Wi-Fi routers and all other devices emitting RF signals.” In addition, “Agency officials … don’t have any concern for new gear using 5G technology, including gear that uses millimeter wavelength frequencies.”

Will 5G replace 4G? Will I need a new phone?
While you will need a 5G phone to access a 5G network, it doesn’t mean you need one to reap some of its speed benefits. In fact, as the next-gen network rolls out, you may experience faster speeds on 4G as well (more on that below). In addition, 5G is not replacing 4G altogether. Rather, it’s building on top of existing 4G networks. All major carriers in the US and around the world are a ways away from a solid network-wide rollout. Even if 5G is available in your area, your phone isn’t obsolete just yet. It will still work perfectly fine on 4G.

But will my current phone be faster?
According to a GSMA Intelligence report, 15% of global mobile connections will be on 5G by 2025. By that same year, 4G LTE usage will be about 59% — an increase from 43% in 2018. In short, 5G will not replace LTE in the way that 4G did with 3G when it launched.

Taking that into consideration, those with 4G phones may see a boost in speed as 5G networks roll out. This is due to two reasons: dynamic spectrum sharing and carrier aggregation. Coming to the US in 2020, DSS technology allows carriers to employ the same spectrum band for 4G and 5G. As people transition to 5G, “lanes” for 4G will be kept open for smart home devices and users who aren’t on 5G yet. As more people leave 4G, its capacity increases and so will speeds.

Carrier aggregation allows carriers to combine 4G signals with other 4G signals, which will result in “a huge performance and capacity lift,” according to Verizon’s vice president of technology, Heidi Hemmer. 5G builds on 4G technology too, so you’ll also experience lower latency periods (aka: the time between when your phone pings the network and when it responds) as carriers develop their 5G networks…

Continue reading at cnet.com HERE.

Bugged cell location data prompts Denmark to review 10,000 court cases

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By: Igor Bonifacic, 08.23.19

Authorities in Denmark are reviewing more than 10,000 court cases to see if flawed cellphone location data may have led to wrongful convictions, according to The New York Times. The review stems from two recently discovered bugs. The first caused the system police used to convert raw cellphone data into a picture of a device’s whereabouts to omit some crucial information. Due to the bug, Danish authorities say the mobile location evidence they presented to the country’s courts wasn’t as precise as they had initially thought. Police say they fixed the error after discovering it in March.

The second bug, meanwhile, led police to, in some instances, associate a device with the wrong cellphone tower. As a result, they may have linked innocent people to crime scenes.

Following an audit, authorities determined they will need to review 10,700 court cases dating back to 2012. The review will start with cases that are already before the country’s courts, in addition to ones where individuals are serving prison sentences. The country has also ordered that cell location data not be allowed as evidence in any criminal cases for two months while it continues to investigate the issue.

At the moment, it’s unclear whether the situation in Denmark will force justice systems in other countries to reevaluate how they use cellphone data to try criminal cases. Unless they licensed their tools from a third-party, the bugs Danish Police discovered were likely limited to their system. That said, it may add fuel to ongoing discussions on how authorities use cellphone data to pursue criminal cases in other parts of the world. In the US, for instance, police use of IMSI catchers — devices that mimic a cellphone tower, thereby allowing authorities to collect a wealth of sensitive data — has been a controversial topic over the past few years.

Read the original article HERE.