Author: TheConversation

By Anne Toomey McKenna, Visiting Professor of Law, University of Richmond Data privacy in the U.S. is, in many ways, a legal void. While there are limited protections for health and financial data, the cradle of the world’s largest tech companies, like Apple, Amazon, Google, and Meta (Facebook), lacks any comprehensive federal data privacy law. This leaves U.S. citizens with minimal data privacy protections compared with citizens of other nations. But that may be about to change. With rare bipartisan support, the American Data and Privacy Protection Act moved out of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Energy...

By Elizabeth Stoycheff, Associate Professor of Communication, Wayne State University Website cookies are online surveillance tools, and the commercial and government entities that use them would prefer people not read those notifications too closely. People who do read the notifications carefully will find that they have the option to say no to some or all cookies. The problem is, without careful attention those notifications become an annoyance and a subtle reminder that your online activity can be tracked. As a researcher who studies online surveillance, I have found that failing to read the notifications thoroughly can lead to negative...

By Debra Rickwood, Professor of Psychology, University of Canberra You have probably found yourself weeping quietly, or even suddenly sobbing uncontrollably, while watching a movie. Common culprits include Marley and Me, The Color Purple, Schindler’s List and The Lion King. You may have tried to blubber discretely so your dry-eyed companions did not think you were weak, and no doubt you had a sneaky look sideways to see if they were glassy-eyed too. Or you may have boldly sobbed away. Why do we cry in movies? Is this a sign of emotional weakness – hence hiding it from your...

By Brandon M. Erby, Assistant Professor of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies, University of Kentucky After 14-year-old Emmett Till was kidnapped, severely beaten and killed in the Mississippi Delta on August 28, 1955, his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, made the courageous decision to reveal her son’s corpse for all to see. Till-Mobley’s choice allowed audiences to bear witness to an act of racial violence, and the new film “Till” promises to unveil the complete story of how she responded to her son’s brutal death. However, when a theatrical poster for “Till” was released in the summer of 2022, some people...

By Erik Loomis, Professor of History, University of Rhode Island The prospect of a potentially devastating rail workers strike is looming again. Fears of a strike in September 2022 prompted the Biden administration to pull out all the stops to get a deal between railroads and the largest unions representing their employees. That deal hinged on ratification by a majority of members at all 12 of those unions. So far, eight have voted in favor, but four have rejected the terms. If even one continues to reject the deal after further negotiations, it could mean a full-scale freight strike...

By Stefanie Lindquist, Foundation Professor of Law and Political Science, Arizona State University Donald Trump announced his 2024 run for the presidency on November 15. In his address he railed against what he perceived as the “persecution” of himself and his family, but made scant mention of his legal woes. Confirmation of Trump’s White House bid comes at a curious time – days after a lackluster Republican midterm performance that many blamed on him. Moreover, it comes as the former president faces multiple criminal investigations over everything from his handling of classified documents, to allegations of falsifying the value...