Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Fall Semester, 2010
MIT 6.805/STS085: Ethics and Law on the Electronic Frontier
Class on October 4
Fourth Amendment Law, and Data
This week's class continues our look at the Fourth Amendment, with
particular emphasis on stored data and data mining.
Readings
Please read the following court cases. We are not asking you to write
up briefs for them to turn in, but you might find it useful to brief
these for yourself as a good way to prepare for class discussion.
You'll also need to be familiar with these for the midterm.
I. The Ongoing Controversy over Transactional and Third-Party Records
- Smith v. Maryland, 442
U.S 735 (1979). Landmark Supreme court ruling on Fourth Amendment
status of telephone records
-
U.S. v. Maynard, DC Cir 08-3030 (August 2010). Read whole
opinion, but focus on the case of Jones. Can federal agents install a
GPS unit on your car, without a warrant?
-
U.S. v. Miller, 425 U.S. 435 (1976). Do you have a
legal right to privacy of your bank records?
II. In what directions should the 4th amendment be stretched?
Writing Assignment: Paper topic, due Thursday, September 30
See the advice on choosing paper topics and the overall
schedule of milestones.
- Turn in a one-page description of the
issue you plan to investigate in your paper, and how you propose to go
about this. For example, who are you planning to talk to? What
sources do you plan to consult?
Shortly after this is submitted, you will have an individual meeting with
one of the staff to discuss your proposed topic.
-
Due Sunday, October 3 at 11PM:
Comment on someone
else's piece, giving them advice on how they should pursue the project (400 words max).
Writing assignments should be turned
in using the 6.805 Stellar site. Please see the directions for
turning in assignments.
There will be no credit given for writing assignments that are
turned in late.