News broke last week that former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort was the subject of FISA surveillance for the second time, namely during late 2016 and early 2017 (the first time was in 2014 and related to Manafort’s work in Ukraine). What is significant about this is that Manafort, during this time, was known to …
What if the only thing required for law enforcement to gain entry into your cellphone was that it be held in front of your face? At a recent keynote event, a few months after the tenth anniversary of the original iPhone, Apple unveiled its new iPhone X. The redesigned smartphone stands out with its large, …
In Riley v. California, the Supreme Court held that police must generally obtain a warrant before searching a cell phone, absent exigent circumstances. This ruling allowed smartphone users to breathe a sigh of relief knowing that the vast amounts of data that they have stored on their phones is protected by law. However, people may …
The future of vehicles continues to drive toward full-automation and in 2017, North Carolina moved to establish itself as a state in which this technology can be used. In July, the General Assembly enacted a new Article 18 in Chapter 20 to regulate the operation of fully autonomous vehicles. The law provides that a “fully …
Anything you can do, they can do better. The past decade has marked a growing concern over the displacement of white collar jobs by increasingly sophisticated software. Some believe that software will only ever supplement white collar work. Others predict a change as dramatic as the industrial revolution. The validation of one side over the …
Personally, while I love cookies, I would usually not accept food from a stranger; when it comes to online cookies, which are essentially trackers, I would never willingly accept one. It seems as if others agree with me, as somewhere in between 30 and 50 percent of internet users delete their cookies monthly and in …
An emphasis has been placed on the “semi” of semi-autonomous vehicles. The National Transportation Safety Board (“NTSB”) highlighted the importance of drivers maintaining awareness of driving conditions and interaction with the vehicle while “self-driving” cars are engaged in autopilot. Their conclusion and subsequent recommendations could prompt changes in regulations for future semi-autonomous vehicles. This determination …
In August 2013, Elon Musk published the Hyperloop Alpha white paper; an outline of a new method of transportation. The concept is that of a low pressure tube with a capsule and riders zipping through it at high subsonic speeds. The routes would focus on connecting major metropolitan areas that otherwise have heavy traffic congestion; …
The issue of congressional redistricting has been the source of much debate. In fact, earlier this year, a federal court ruled that three Texas Congressional Districts were illegally drawn. In the official opinion, the court stated that “the political motive does not excuse or negate that use of race; rather, the use of race is …
The big technological innovation that continues to dominate the headlines is CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats). If you are not already familiar with CRISPR it is time to take notice. The following article provides a brief breakdown of CRISPR, for those of us without a science background, and is followed by a discussion …