Neo Sora’s 2024 film, Happyend, brings to life a verisimilar portrayal of a country in decline: a right-wing, authoritarian, surveillance state slowly in construction. In a process replicated throughout the world, basic rights — to privacy, to refuge, to anonymity — are stripped away, ostensibly in the name of group-safety. High school students in Sora’s […]
Tag: privacy
The Other War on Poverty
At the turn of the 17th century, under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, England passed a sweeping slate of reforms aimed at alleviating poverty. Colloquially known as the Poor Laws, the legislation created a new position: overseer of the poor, two men — typically wealthy — from each parish in the nation who would […]
A Call for Caution: India’s Aadhaar
India is a land of dualities. Venture into New Delhi, and one can see the smog create a portrait with the fiery sunset, hear the chimes of temple bells form a paean mixed with the deafening honks of the traffic, and experience order among a chaotic mass of people.India is a complex society that necessitates […]
A Middle Ground for Snowden
Three years ago, Edward Snowden shocked the world with his revelation of NSA mass surveillance programs. Now he wants to come home. As a new wave of public debate surrounding privacy and national security takes place, now is the best time for the U.S. government and Mr. Snowden to find a common ground. The U.S. […]
Suspicious Surveillance
Part 2 of a series on U.S. cybersecurity. Part 1. Part 3. Part 4. In June of last year, now-infamous National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden began leaking classified documents to the media. Since then, the steady stream of revelatory documents has generated a firestorm of criticism against NSA practices. The NSA, which is at […]
Surfing the Darknet
Surfing the Darknet is part 1 of a series on U.S. cybersecurity. Part 2. Part 3. Part 4. Overshadowed in the past months by bombings in Syria and Iraq as well as Ebola in Texas was news of earth-shattering significance for the way we communicate around the globe. The much-discussed but little-understood Shellshock vulnerability has […]
These Are Not The Drones You Expected
The conflict between liberty and security has once again reared its ugly head in Sacramento as privacy rights have come under heavy fire. On September 28, 2014, Governor Jerry Brown vetoed AB 1327, a bill that would have created stricter guidelines regarding the use of drones in law enforcement. The bill, which passed in both […]