Individual Privacy
The Privacy Channel features information concerning the intrusion into private lives and society. Learn more about wiretapping, social security or the Patriot Act.
Learn More
Why Data Encryption Remains a Really Complex Issue
Encryption grants your data privacy, while locking out others, including law enforcement. Could encryption ever stay strong and grant law enforcement access?
Do People Who Protest in Public Have an Expectation of Online Privacy?
Some say that publishing someone's personal information online for the purpose of harassment is bad, even if that person spouts hate speech. Do you agree?
What's Up With Facebook's Secret Conversations Mode?
The world's largest social media playground is looking to make private conversations a little more secure.
Fish and Final Exams Shut Down Internet Access
It's a bold move: limiting or shutting off Internet access for an entire country. But it's happened twice recently, and it's bound to happen again.
Brazil Olympics Will Use Surveillance System to Watch Entire Cities from the Sky
The balloon-based Simera system is battlefield tech that'll be used to monitor individuals in a civilian setting. Should that concern you?
In the Fight Against Terrorism, Is Encryption the Enemy?
How do we monitor and investigate terrorist communications without sacrificing the public's privacy and freedom? That's a million-dollar question.
Sharing Is Not Caring: Privacy, Surveillance and CISA
This week the U.S. Senate passed the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act. If you have an Internet connection and U.S. citizenship, you should know what it's about.
10 Most Incriminating Secret Recordings
Before humanity got a handle on the idea of potentially being recorded at any moment, some public figures learned that lesson the hard way. Here are 10 recordings that were damning to the parties involved.
How the NSA Works
Shrouded in mystery. Exposed by a fresh-faced cubicle dweller. An introduction to the National Security Agency, its mission and activities, and the domestic spying programs uncovered in the Edward Snowden leak.
How to Land on the Government Watch List
If you get tagged for extra security screening each time you take a flight, you may be on a government watch list. Find out how you -- innocent you -- made the list.
How can I erase my identity and start over?
Can you kiss your old life goodbye and start anew? In the movies, people do it all the time, but a real-life clean slate is a little more complicated.
How the Patriot Act Works
Supporters claim it's been instrumental for security investigations and terrorist arrests, while critics counter that it gives the government too much power and undermines democracy. Let's take a look at what the Patriot Act is, what people say about it, and whether it's really working.
Can the government read your private e-mails?
E-mail is now protected from secret government searches thanks to a recent U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling. Read about this landmark e-mail privacy ruling.
Is the U.S. government building a Gattaca-level DNA database?
The United States is involved in a massive expansion in the DNA-collecting capabilities of the federal government. Find out who this law affects and about the controversy surrounding DNA databases.
How Wiretapping Works
It's easy to tap a phone. Keeping a wiretap secret, now that's the tricky part. That’s where the recording equipment and surveillance teams come in. Learn how government spies and other pros go about listening in.
How Social Security Numbers Work
What do the numbers on a Social Security card mean? Are they random? And how easy is it for someone to steal your identity using your SSN? Find out all about Social Security numbers.
Do you lose the right to privacy when you die?
Do we have a right to privacy? It isn't specifically laid out in the Constitution, but we do have the right to protect our private information. But what happens to that privacy once you die?
Do you have the right to privacy when you're in your car?
Did you really think NSA stood for No Snooping Allowed? Of course not. But there's at least one more source of data for them to collect that you may not have considered -- and it's in your car.
The Latest
The Legend of the Mysterious Night Marchers of Hawaii
October 18, 2019
How Jack the Ripper Worked
October 17, 2019
Venus: Earth's Blazing-hot and Bizarre Twin
October 17, 2019