Steptoe Cyberlaw Podcast: An Interview with Eric Jensen

European news and sensibilities dominate episode 112. I indulge in some unseemly gloating about Europe’s newfound enthusiasm for the PNR data it wasted years of my life trying to negotiate out of the US counterterrorism toolbox. I pester our guest, Eric Jensen, about his work on the Tallinn 2.0 manual covering the law of cyberwar; the manual seems to offer an ever-more-European take on cyberweapons and the law of armed conflict. And if you think that’s a compliment, you haven’t been listening.

In other European news, Michael Vatis notes that the European Parliament has formally approved the EU’s sweeping new data protection regulation. And Maury Shenk tells us the Privacy Shield is acquiring a few dents, particularly from the Article 29 Working Party of data protection regulators, who are raising hard questions about US intelligence policy.

The fad for ruling that phone location records can only be obtained with a warrant may be receding. Michael says that another circuit has rejected the claim, while the last circuit to credit the notion has now gone en banc.

There’s better news for privacy campaigners in the House, where the Judiciary Committee has reported out a bill requiring warrants for even very old email content. It will face more scrutiny in the Senate, I predict, and with luck will attract a few balancing amendments that favor law enforcement and intelligence.

In Apple news, the FBI files the world’s shortest brief, saying “Yes we still want the data on that New York iPhone.” Leakers say the FBI hasn't learned much from the unlocked San Bernardino iPhone, a phone which it appears the FBI paid professional hackers a one-time fee to crack.

Alan Cohn and I have fun unpacking a report that the US government has worse cybersecurity than any other industry segment. Among agencies the FTC fares far better than NASA, and I manfully admit that the Commission must be doing something right.

Michael notes that the Seventh Circuit has again found plaintiffs to have standing in a data breach case, this time on grounds that will make future breach notices a lot less user-friendly.

Alan and I offer at least faint praise for the White House Commission on Enhancing National Cybersecurity. And Uber issues a transparency report that (surprise!) does more to serve the company’s interests than to educate the public.

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