Posted by Mary Wimberley on 2012-01-20

 

A panel of business, law and education professionals will explore issues of privacy and mobile technology in a program at Samford University Friday, Jan. 27.

“Is My Phone Spying on Me, or Am I just an Open Book?” will consider the legal, ethical and commercial implications of mobile technology on privacy. The program, presented in conjunction with international Data Privacy Day, will be at 10 a.m. in the moot courtroom of Samford’s Robinson law building. The public is invited.

Panelists will address the current state of privacy law with respect to mobile technology, the tension between privacy and the utility of data collected from mobile technology, and how organizations handle data collected and transmitted using mobile technology, said event coordinator Woodrow Hartzog.

A specialist in privacy law and online communication, Hartzog teaches at Samford’s Cumberland School of Law.

“As we make the final shift from wired to wireless digital communications, we are faced with the need to reconcile the often-competing interests of convenience and protection, access and privacy,” said Hartzog. “Almost weekly, we learn of new concerns about mobile devices and data collection, data theft and unexpected location tracking.”

Joining Hartzog on the panel will be co-organizer and Samford journalism and mass communication professor Sheree Martin, Birmingham attorney Brian Warwick of Maynard Cooper & Gale, P.C., and entrepreneur Brian Cauble, CEO of Appsolute Genius mobile software development company.

Data Privacy Day is an annual observance to promote awareness of and education about best privacy practices.

For more information, contact Hartzog at (205) 726-4327 or email whartzog@samford.edu. Helpful information is also available at http://www.staysafeonline.org/dpd/2012-events/united-states.

 

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.