The Nevada Public Records Act (NPRA), NRS § § 239.001 et seq., requires that “public books and public records” must be open at all times during office hours to inspection by any person. But, what is a “public record” and what makes a record, “public”? On March 29, 2018, the Nevada Supreme Court addressed that issue and more by adding to its growing list of case law on the NPRA in Comstock Residents Association, et al. v. Lyons County Board of Commissioners, Case No. 70738, 134 Nev. Adv. Op. 19 (2018) (“Lyons County Board”). In Lyons County Board, the Court built upon its prior opinion in Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Dept. v. Blackjack Bonding, Inc., 131 Nev. 80 (2015) and further explained that an otherwise “public record” does not become “private” simply because it is maintained in or upon private property. Thus, the Lyons County commissioners’ private cellphones and email accounts constituted public records subject to disclosure so long as the records maintained on otherwise private devices and accounts concerned “the provision of public service.” Continue reading “Private Texts, Public Records: Nevada Public Records Act and Personal Cellphones Used for Public Service”
The Potential Location of Amazon’s Second Headquarters
Amazon truly has developed into a beast of the Northwest. Indeed, Amazon is a major presence in Seattle, occupying tremendous amounts of office space, employing many people, and generally boosting the economy in that region.
Amazon announced some months back that it will establish a second headquarters within the United States. Not surprisingly, many cities came courting, trying to woo Amazon into their backyards. There has been quite a bit of buzz about where Amazon ultimately will locate its second headquarters. And now, according to a recent article by the Business Insider, Amazon may be on the brink of reaching a decision. But where? Drumroll please! Continue reading “The Potential Location of Amazon’s Second Headquarters”
The Internet of Things Aids of Food Production
When it comes to the Internet of Things (IoT), what might come to mind are “things” like the automatic regulation of settings in the home and routine ordering of household products when supplies are low. But IoT applications are more diverse than that and can be of greater societal importance, for example, when seeking to increase food production for our heavily populated planet.
In a recent article in TheAtlantic.com, a company is profiled called Sid Wainer & Son. Wainer has sold specialty foods using heirloom tomatoes, green eggplants and fig-infused balsamic vinegar in the New England area for more than a century. But more recently, the Wainer farm has gone high-tech. Continue reading “The Internet of Things Aids of Food Production”
Censoring a Facebook Post Showing a Naked Statuette?
We tend to think of censorship happening in other countries, and not so much in the United States. Just like the government can’t violate the First Amendment, we like to think that private companies would be equally generous in allowing freedom of expression, unless something is truly troublesome in nature. Well …
As it turns out, Facebook recently censored a post that displayed a very small 30,000-year-old statuette carved in the image of a naked woman and referred to as the “Venus of Willendorf,” according to USAToday.com.
Continue reading “Censoring a Facebook Post Showing a Naked Statuette?”
Amazing New Apple Campus Comes With Potential Glass Issue
Apple opened its glittery, circular, spaceship campus in Cupertino a few months ago. This campus is the of dream of Steve Jobs, which he pitched to the Cupertino City Council in 2011. It reportedly is estimated by the Santa Clara County Assessor to have cost $5 billion.
The gigantic, circular building comes with 45-foot-high curved panels of glass, among other modern, glass features.
And while the building is ultra-high-tech, there have been reports that a few employees unwittingly walked into glass doors and walls, while reportedly sustaining cuts. Continue reading “Amazing New Apple Campus Comes With Potential Glass Issue”
Artificial Intelligence: Are We Safe?
When we hear about artificial intelligence, we frequently are bombarded with notions of ultra-smart robots taking over the world, while either destroying humans, or at least leaving humans in the development dust. The good news, at the time of this writing, is that humans currently do not face that AI existential threat. However, the bad news is that artificial intelligence nevertheless creates present and future safety concerns. Continue reading “Artificial Intelligence: Are We Safe?”
Vanishing Privacy and the Right to Be Let Alone
A scholarly law review article talks about the right to privacy in the face of new technology encroachments and speaks of “the right to be let alone.” When was this article written? This year? Last year? No, in 1890, and think of all the technological advancements that jeopardize the right to privacy since then!
The article by Samuel Warren and Louis Brandeis (who later became a renowned U.S. Supreme Court Justice) was titled “The Right to Privacy,” 4 Harvard Law Rev. 193 (1890). It was published in the wake of the development of the portable camera. Obviously, with movable cameras, people could be captured on film doing all sorts of things as never before. This raised a panoply of privacy concerns and heightened the need for the development of laws to address those issues. Continue reading “Vanishing Privacy and the Right to Be Let Alone”
Fairness When It Comes to Consumer Reviews
As you enter the new year of 2018, you probably are planning to eat at restaurants, stay in hotels, visit doctors and other professionals, and shop online and in stores. Before spending your hard-earned dollars, you may be one of millions of people who go to review sites, like Yelp, to make sure that you will be spending your money at establishments that have earned favorable reviews. But what happens when vendors and providers require contractual clauses that ban consumer reviews? Enter the Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016.
In his paper titled Understanding the Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016, Santa Clara University School of Law Professor Eric Goldman explains that “[c]onsumer reviews are vitally important to our modern economy” and that “[m]arkets become stronger and more efficient when consumers share their marketplace experience and guide other consumers toward the best vendors and away from poor ones.” Continue reading “Fairness When It Comes to Consumer Reviews”
Facial Recognition – You Can Run, but You Cannot Hide
You might like to think that you can move about in the world without being noticed. Perhaps you relish the idea of being able to disappear into a crowd while not being recognized. But such notions of anonymity are disappearing.
Of course, you probably have heard about GPS tracking that can be used to determine the specific geographic whereabouts of a person. And now facial recognition can be used to pinpoint the identity of a person in a crowd or frankly at any location where the technology is implemented. Continue reading “Facial Recognition – You Can Run, but You Cannot Hide”
Art Forgeries Revealed by Artificial Intelligence
At this point, you likely already know about the many tasks and functions that can be performed by artificial intelligence (AI). Indeed, you probably have learned quite a bit about that from prior editions of this blog. And now there is more, this time in the realm of art.
When it comes to works of art, authenticity is of vital importance. For example, before an art buyer decides to buy a painting supposedly created by Picasso, he or she will want to undertake best efforts to determine whether or not the painting truly is a Picasso or a fake. Plainly, a true Picasso has enormous monetary value, whereas a fake does not.
Continue reading “Art Forgeries Revealed by Artificial Intelligence”