Category: Citizen Justice

Forensic devices could have glitches

October 9, 2015 Abby Shulman Leave a comment Citizen Justice, Court, Criminal Law, Justice

A number of forensic devices use proprietary software to convict defendants. Breathalyzers, DNA testing, facial recognition, and other tools are not fail-proof mechanisms, but rather coded programs designed to test variables accurately. Unfortunately, these devices don’t always achieve that goal, and rulings in California, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and Florida have determined that defendants are not legally granted access to the code that indicts them.

In California, for instance, Defendant Martell Chubbs is sentenced for a cold case murder committed in 1977. The only evidence is a DNA match configured by a proprietary software program. Chubbs requested access to the software’s source code so that he could compare the code to the currently established scientific procedure for DNA matching. He was denied on the grounds that the defense attorney might duplicate the code, resulting in financial losses for the manufacturer.

It’s not unreasonable that a forensic tool would be miscoded, either intentionally or not. The major car company Volkswagon had a recent scandal that highlighted intentional software glitches employed by well-known, regulated manufacturers. The company manipulated its code to cheat emission tests for 11 million diesel cars, each producing smog at 40 times the legal limit. Volkswagon’s actions carry the weight of an important message: any software program used for public purposes may contain mistakes, and those mistakes will never be discovered if the code is proprietary.

The Innocence Project found that debauched forensic science resulted in the wrongful convictions of 47 percent of exonerees. President Obama has stated that if cross-examination isn’t fair and thorough, forensic testimony is “nothing more than trial by ambush.”

Article via Future Tense, 6 October 2015

Photo: 2009 Gabrielli Family Law Moot Court Competition via Wake Forest University school of Law [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

E.U. ruling invalidates Safe Harbor

October 8, 2015 Abby Shulman Leave a comment Citizen Justice, Court, Government, Privacy, Social Media

In a recent ruling, the European Court of Justice struck down Safe Harbor, which dictated the rules for transatlantic data flow between the United States and the European Union. The invalidation of Safe Harbor carries significant consequence for American e-commerce firms who operate in Europe. Companies like Google and Facebook—as well as the U.S. administration—now must make high-profile decisions in response to the ruling.

Europe has broad legislation protecting the personal information of E.U. citizens from being exploited by businesses. The U.S., in contrast, only codifies privacy against government institutions and for certain high-sensitivity data (e.g. health records, etc.) Safe Harbor’s “principles” are more flexible extensions of the E.U.’s privacy laws; violations of Safe Harbor could result in sanctions from a self-regulatory organization or the Federal trade Commission.

When Europe’s highest court invalidated the agreement, it was under the premise that European citizens were being manipulated by U.S. tech companies as well as by the U.S. government. The ruling was a reflection of a recent decision made by an Irish court on Safe Harbor’s illegality. Any new agreement drafted will have to contain more stringent privacy rules, and will therefore create more limitations for U.S. firms.

Facebook and Google’s immediate options include continuing business practices in a time of legal uncertainty, shutting down their European operations (resulting in major loss), or changing the business model to include more data collection centers in Europe. The last alternative would require companies to keep European and American data completely separate, with the consequence of economic inefficiency.

Article via The Washington Post, 6 October 2015

Photo: Bandiera dell’Unione (EU Flag) via Giampaolo Squarcina [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

United Nations creates “Sustainable Development Goals”

October 4, 2015 Abby Shulman Leave a comment Citizen Justice, Hackathon, Human Rights, Justice

The United Nations has created 17 Sustainable Development Goals, an action plan to solve the globe’s most important issues by 2030. Nonprofit founders, entrepreneurs, and social innovators are advocating around the world to execute the UN’s #globalgoals. One of these activists is Hera Hussain, a facilitator of workshops for MakeSense, a worldwide consortium of social entrepreneurs, and founder of the advocacy group Chayn. Hera Hussain is one of many activist and technologists considered to be “Local Globalists” as they seek solutions for the UN’s specified global problems.

Chayn’s mission is to use technology to empower women against violence and oppression. In the past, Chayn has organized hackathons to create solutions to end sexual violence in conflict zones and offered online toolkits to domestic abuse survivors so that they may be able to prepare their own legal cases. On September 25, the organization hosted a hackathon in Beirut called #PeaceHackBEY, in which technologists and activists invented solutions to social problems in Lebanon today. The hackathon occurred at a pivotal time, as anti-government protests have consumed Beirut in the past few weeks due to deficiencies in public services and resources to support the million-plus Syrian refugees currently in Lebanon.

“Tech and society are always further ahead than governments and governments are playing catch up, but we’re slowly starting to see this change,” Hussain says. “By using tech to fill gaps in access to information and justice, we can either complement efforts that governments and NGOs are already doing, or point out where they are failing.”

Article via GOOD, 22 September 2015

Photo: Brighton Digital Festival Hackathon Sponsored by iCrossing UK via iCrossing [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

 

Twitter

Snowden enters Twitter

October 1, 2015 Abby Shulman Leave a comment Citizen Justice, Government, Privacy, Social Media

After keeping a relatively low profile since his exile to Moscow in 2013, Edward Snowden has made himself public on Twitter. His first post on Tuesday, “Can you hear me now?”, was a nod to his past whistleblowing as well as a subtle reference to a Verizon television commercial. Within two hours, Snowden had 300,000 followers.

Ben Wizner, one of Snowden’s lawyers, has confirmed that the account is authentic. The fugitive’s first tweet was welcomed by a response tweet—“Yes! Welcome to Twitter.”—from Twitter’s co-founder Jack Dorsey. Astrophysicist and cosmologist Neil deGrasse Tyson also acknowledged Snowden, and ended a Twitter back-and-forth with: “Ed @Snowden, after discussing everything from Chemistry to the Constitute on #StarTalk, you’re a patriot to me. Stay safe.”

Snowden follows only one account, belonging to the NSA.

Article via CNET, 29 September 2015

Photo: Edward Snowden Wired via Mike Motzart [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

Moving toward world peace through hackathons

September 24, 2015 Astrid Countee Leave a comment Citizen Justice, Hackathon, Human Rights, Tech

Hackathons have proven to be a great way to use tech for good. Often described as a great equalizer, technology can be leveraged to bring voice to people that society often ignores. Social activists are turning to hackathons to help spread their message and develop solutions, instead of waiting on the government to initiate change.

One such activist is Hera Hussain, founder of the advocacy group Chayn. Chayn is a volunteer-led, open source project that leverages technology to empower women against violence and oppression so they can live happier and healthier lives. They offer tools to help abused women build a domestic violence case without a lawyer, and advise about how a person can be tracked on and offline, among other things. This organization is all about individuals empowered to make change. One of their main ways to get the community involved is hackathons.

Hussain says that hackathons are events that bring together important parts of society that isolate themselves when it comes to women’s issues. “You either have events that just focus on women…” Hussain says, “or you have events that are completely dominated by men and are either forgetting that women exist or have separate issues. There’s very little middle ground that uses an integrated women lens as part of a broader focus of solving societal challenges.”

Bringing together these problem solvers is crucial to making real progress in the future. Hussain states that Chayn is about solving problems with, and not for, women in different communities. This organization is dedicated to allowing women to choose what they want to do with their lives while being treated equally during the process. Hussain says, “We always come back to independence and happiness as our two biggest goals..”

Article via Good Magazine, 22 September 2015

Photo: Hacking for Women’s Empowerment via Bread For The World [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]

PeaceTones: music as a vehicle for justice and equality

September 18, 2015 Shelby Bice Leave a comment Citizen Justice, Education, Justice, Resources

The concepts of justice and equality were once determined only by judges and lawyers, but over time that has changed as technology has made it possible to connect individuals to important issues. PeaceTones, another project founded by the Internet Bar Organization in addition to The Center, works to make those issues even more accessible—by assisting musicians in releasing their music to the world in the hopes it will inspire global change and vitalization of their communities.

This could seem over ambitious. After all, many people listen to music to relax or relieve stress. Would people be receptive to music that connects people to issues or walks of life that are different from theirs? Are people interested in social problems around the world? Can music even have a profound effect? These are important questions, but I would argue that the actions of the general public have already answered them with a resounding yes.

Recently justice has taken on new definitions as individuals share information and opinions on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and other popular online platforms. According to a New York Times article from 2009, “Social media can’t ensure social justice. But it can affect the invisibility that is the first barrier to achieving it.” Social media, already a large part of how people interact with their friends and family, has also become extremely important in shaping public opinion about certain issues. An article in the Astana Times explains, “Social media has established new ways of communicating and creating perceptions between businesses and consumers, organizations and their audiences, political offices and their electorate.” So if something that was once primarily used for catching up with friends or sharing funny cat videos can have such a large effect on one’s views, why not music?

An article published by NY Daily News argues that “music has always been a tuneful force for political change“. PeaceTones’ goal is not new or radical, but simply an organized effort to assist talented musicians in the work they are already accomplishing. PeaceTones seeks to provide musicians with the legal, business, and technological skills they need to create and release their music, become leaders within their communities, and share their stories with the rest of the world. Not only does PeaceTones provide mentors and training for budding musicians, the majority of the profits go back to the creators and into projects they choose to help their communities.  The arts have long been used to facilitate change and introduce new ideas, and the nonprofit explains in their mission statement that music especially has the ability to “transcend socio-political and economic divides and speak the universal languages of peace and justice.” Simply put, music is for everyone, despite their connection or background, and provides common ground for people to meet and learn from each other.

If you are interested in learning more about PeaceTones and some of their projects or would like to get involved, please visit their website.

Articles: New York Times, August 13, 2009; Astana Times, February 20, 2015;  NY Daily News, October 10, 2009;

Photo: RED HOT MUSIC- No Shallow thoughts via S Vikek [Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs]