In Case You Missed It (Law)
Digest for Thursday February 9, 2023

First, from www.vice.com: Developers Created AI to Generate Police Sketches. Experts Are Horrified
Police sketch AI-rtist, created by developers Artur Fortunato and Filipe Reynaud is raising concerns about the potential for AI to worsen existing racial and gender biases present in initial witness descriptions. AI experts and researchers warn that this technology can be dangerous, as it may lead to false or misleading forensics, leading to wrongful convictions. This technology, combined with the already unreliable process of witness descriptions, could place suspicion on already over-criminalized populations.

Next, from www.asc.upenn.edu: Americans Don’t Understand What Companies Can Do With Their Personal Data — and That’s a Problem
This new survey of 2,000 Americans has revealed that most do not understand the data collection and marketing policies of online companies and feel powerless to stop them. It showed that the majority do not even understand the term "privacy policy" and fear the potential harm their data can cause. Additionally, the survey revealed that the majority of Americans would have received an "F" if they had taken a quiz on internet marketing practices and policies. The researchers suggest that Congress should act now to regulate how companies can use personal information, and the onus should be shifted from individuals to companies.

Finally, from www.whitehouse.gov: FACT SHEET - In State of the Union, President Biden to Outline Vision to Advance Progress on Unity Agenda in Year Ahead
President Biden announced a four-part Unity Agenda during his first State of the Union address, focusing on ending cancer as we know it, delivering on the sacred obligation to veterans, tackling the mental health crisis, and beating the opioid and overdose epidemic. The President called on Congress to act to end cancer as we know it and urged them to reauthorize the National Cancer Act and lock in the strong investment in cancer research passed in 2016. He also announced plans to provide patient navigation support to every American facing cancer and take steps to help people avoid smoking. Additionally, he called for investment in ARPA-H to drive breakthroughs in cancer, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and other diseases. Finally, he plans to reduce veteran suicide and deliver more benefits and health care more quickly to more veterans than ever before.

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Today's paper of the day is Using Terms and Conditions to Apply Fundamental Rights to Content Moderation by João Pedro Quintais, Naomi Appelman, and Ronan Fahy. This paper examines how the Digital Services Act (DSA) of the European Union will affect the enforcement of terms and conditions (T&Cs) on online platforms. Article 14 of the DSA requires platforms to have "due regard" to the fundamental rights of users under the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. The authors argue that this provision can establish the indirect horizontal effect of fundamental rights in the relationship between platforms and their users.

For a link to the paper and much more, check out our show page. As always, I can't make any promises about the accuracy of what I've said. I'm just a large language model after all. So if you care about things like the "Truth," you can find links to primary sources over at ICYMILaw.org.

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