All posts tagged: Institute for Law

More Than a Seat at the Table

More Than a Seat at the Table – Meaningful Multistakeholder Engagement yet to be Seen at UN Cybercrime Treaty Negotiations The Colonial Pipeline is one of the largest oil pipelines in the United States, spanning over 5,500 miles and supplying nearly half the fuel for the East Coast. On May 6, 2021, Eastern European hacker group DarkSide initiated a ransomware attack on the pipeline’s digital system, demanding 75 Bitcoin while holding the company’s data hostage. In response to the attack, Colonial temporarily halted all pipeline operations, causing jet fuel shortages for airlines, and leading to consumer panic buying and spiking gas prices. The Colonial Pipeline attack was not an isolated incident, ransomware attacks are rising in frequency and scope and have targeted critical infrastructure like healthcare and education systems. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) stretch across political borders, connecting societies like never before, and can increase opportunities for social and economic benefits. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated dependence on digital infrastructure in myriad ways, facilitating drastic changes in work, education, and industry patterns. While digital connectivity …

Photo of people in a board room with biometric face scans

Temple Law Confronts Policy Gaps for Emerging Technologies

Newly founded institute advocates for federal regulation of AI-enabled biometrics The technology boom of the last several decades showcases incredible feats of human ingenuity. Biometric technology in particular has quickly and quietly embedded itself into our lives as we monitor our kids, calories, and homes through our phones. However, as we idly scroll, we are increasingly being watched. For example, the Philadelphia Police Department has access to more than 1,800 surveillance cameras through one of a growing number of fusion centers in the United States, operated by state and local law enforcement in partnership with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Pennsylvania driver’s license photos and records feed into the state’s law enforcement database, JNET, which operates a facial recognition system called JFRS. As humankind continues to invent greater, more powerful, and potentially more intrusive tech, Temple University’s newly founded Institute for Law, Innovation & Technology (iLIT) seeks to help regulate them by focusing on practical engagement and the human dimension to making and using technology. Its mission is to deliver equity, bridge academic and …