Author Archives: Michael Froomkin

Taking (and Giving) the Punch

Posted on January 16, 2015 by Michael Froomkin

Krugman: “in today’s world, the crucial credibility central banks need involves, not willingness to take away the punch bowl, but willingness to keep pushing liquor on an abstemious crowd.”

À propos the Swiss revaluation of the Franc (which triggered the bon mot quoted above), what I want to know is how many Swiss banks had hints this was coming, and how big a killing they made on the markets.

Posted in Econ & Money | Comments Off on Taking (and Giving) the Punch

Verizon and Turn Caught Cheating on Cookies (UPDATED)

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Michael Froomkin

How Verizon and Turn Defeat Browser Privacy Protections

Verizon advertising partner Turn has been caught using Verizon Wireless’s UIDH tracking header to resurrect deleted tracking cookies and share them with dozens of major websites and ad networks, forming a vast web of non-consensual online tracking. Explosive research from Stanford security expert Jonathan Mayer shows that, as we warned in November, Verizon’s UIDH header is being used as an undeletable perma-cookie that makes it impossible for customers to meaningfully control their online privacy.

Mayer’s research, described in ProPublica, shows that advertising network and Verizon partner Turn is using the UIDH header value to re-identify and re-cookie users who have taken careful steps to clear their cookies for privacy purposes. This contradicts standard browser privacy controls, users’ expectations, and Verizon’s own claims that the UIDH header won’t be used to track users because it changes periodically.

This spectacular violation of Verizon users’ privacy—made all the worse because of Verizon’s failure to allow even an opt-out—has already had far-reaching consequences.

For Shame.

UPDATE (1/17/15): Ad Network Turn Will Suspend Zombie Cookie Program. When Will Verizon?

Posted in Internet, Law: Privacy | Comments Off on Verizon and Turn Caught Cheating on Cookies (UPDATED)

Metaphor of the Week

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Michael Froomkin

“The kale salad of a perfect response”

— student in my Internet Law class.

The context was why people saying nasty things online have an advantage, one reason being that it takes time to craft the kale salad of a perfect response.

Posted in Internet | Comments Off on Metaphor of the Week

Dynasty Fatigue

Posted on January 14, 2015 by Michael Froomkin

When half a dozen voters in a conversation say they would back a law that would ban any Bush or Clinton from running, it makes you sit up and take notice.

Bush, Clinton and the Fatigue Factor – NationalJournal.com (via Political Animal).

The prospect of HRC (her royal Clintonness?) being the Democratic party’s nominee fills me with no joy and some dread due to her foreign policy views (too much support for invasions). The Wall St. stuff is bad too, but it’s possible that there might be a populist turn during the campaign…although how much that would translate into governing is a question.

Posted in 2016 Election | Comments Off on Dynasty Fatigue

Would You Like to be My Research Assistant?

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Michael Froomkin

Apologies, blog readers, but this announcement is for UM Law 1L & 2L students only:

I would like to hire a UM Law student to be my research assistant for 10-15 hours/week during the coming semester. If things work out we might continue into the summer and/or next year.

The work primarily involves assisting me with legal research relating to papers I am writing on privacy and on Internet regulation.

I need someone who can write clearly and is well-organized. If you happen to have some web or programming skills (some or all of WordPress, HTML, MySQL, Perl, Debian), that would be a plus but it is not in any way a requirement.

The pay of $13 / hr is set by the university, and is not as high as you deserve, but the work is sometimes interesting.

If this sounds attractive, please e-mail me the following with the subject line RESEARCH ASSISTANT 2015 (in all caps), followed by your name:

  1. A note telling me
    • Where you saw this announcement
    • How many hours you’d ideally like to work per week
    • When you are free to start.
    • Your phone number and email address.
  2. A copy of your resume (c.v.).
  3. A transcript of your grades (need not be an official copy).
  4. If you have one handy, also attach a short NON-legal writing sample. If you have none, I’ll accept a legal writing sample (whatever you do, though, please don’t send your L-Comm memo).
Posted in Law School | Comments Off on Would You Like to be My Research Assistant?

Herald Buries the Lede

Posted on January 12, 2015 by Michael Froomkin

Deep in a Herald puff piece about how Coral Gables homeboy Jeb! Bush likes to play fast golf, we find this gem:

One reason Bush can play golf so quickly on Sundays is that there is nobody ahead of him slowing things down. Citing privacy concerns, Biltmore executives declined to say how the former governor ended up with the premiere tee time, followed by Miami-Dade’s top elected official. Owned by Coral Gables, the Biltmore course is public but also includes a membership option that the website says gives early access to tee-time reservations.

Such a mystery….

[Originally posted 1/12/15, reposted after my hosting service crashed and then restored (most of) the site from backup.]

Posted in 2016 Election, Coral Gables | Comments Off on Herald Buries the Lede