Digital Identity Digest (October 2018)
Could facial recognition be a tool for dangerous mass surveillance? An Amazon employee published an anonymous op-ed on Medium speaking out against the company’s decision to sell its facial recognition product, Rekognition, to police in the U.S. They believe it’s a system for dangerous mass surveillance, which reinforces existing bias as demonstrated in a test […]
Digital Identity Digest (September 2018)
Facebook’s largest security breach in history The biggest news of September came right in the end of the month. Facebook announced that an attack on its computer network had exposed personal information of almost 50 million users. The New York Times reported it was the largest breach in the company’s history. The attackers exploited a […]
Student Data on the LMS: Make Your Voice Heard
Contribute! Draft Student Bill of Rights for Learning Data Share your thoughts on our Padlet The Learning Management System in Real Life Unknown Strangers in the Classroom Imagine yourself walking into a classroom. At the front of the room, your instructor is seated with six other people. These people have clipboards, stopwatches, and take extensive […]
From Student to Teacher: Becoming a Professional
To access the case studies, as well as the resources that can be used to guide decision-making, visit our Case Studies for Student Teachers page. Before I became a graduate student at UBC, I was a teacher candidate preparing to take on the role of a professional educator. Like all of my peers transitioning into the […]
Digital Identity Digest (February)
The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto It’s not everyday that an edgy, youth-focused, and (amazingly) growing media organization names a professor of political science one of their “humans of the year,” but this is exactly what happened for Ron Deibert. Motherboard, the science and technology section of Vice, has added Deibert into their ongoing series because […]
Allow Access to My Location?
Introduction How many times a day do applications on your phone ask to be allowed to access your location. Do you leave your location GPS on all the time? Do you know how to turn it off? If you’re not concerned with how companies like Google having access to your location, consider that with that […]
Digital Identity Digest (December)
Canadian precedent emerging for teen sexting A 16-year-old boy from Newfoundland received a sentence of 18-month probation for sharing naked photos of his 15-year-old girlfriend. He pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and avoided the more serious charge of distribution. In Canada, he could have faced the same charge even if he had not shared the images. It […]
Blackboard Connect: Exposed (Blog 6)
The History It’s been over 60 working days since I first made my request to UBC for access to my personal data that was collected and stored through their Learning Management System (LMS), Blackboard Connect. Under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA), public institutions are advised to comply with these requests within 30 business days, […]
Digital Identity Digest (September)
Facebook is changing the way that WhatsApp works When Facebook purchased WhatsApp in 2014, there was a promise that the privacy of the popular messaging application’s millions of users’ wouldn’t be affected. That’s all changed with its new Terms of Service. The move is part of WhatsApp’s plan to monetize, and involves sharing phone numbers and analytical […]
Digital Identity Digest (August 21 – 27)
New Facebook application for teens presents privacy concerns Facebook released a new video sharing application called Lifestage this week that is intended for users under the age of 21. The social media company has been losing market share to ephemeral applications like Snapchat, and has been looking for ways to engage the young users who favour its […]
