InfoGovNuggets

MAY 7, 2019

“How Challenges Over Robert Kraft Spa Video May Hamper Prosecutors’ Case,” The Wall Street Journal , April 26, 2019. Were video recordings in a massage parlor illegally made or illegally leaked? Can prosecutors use information (video) that was allegedly improperly obtained? Questions about how the warrant was obtained and whether the representations to the court were accurate/truthful.

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MAY 7, 2019

“U.S. Broadcaster Under Scrutiny for Disseminating Autocratic Propaganda,” The Wall Street Journal , April 26, 2019. Is Radio Free Europe distributing misinformation and foreign propaganda? US authorities investigate. Who controls the information that Radio Free Europe broadcasts? What does that say about our Governance/culture, where a broadcast to promote the virtues of a free press “spins” the news?

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MAY 7, 2019

“Ford Discloses Justice Department Probe Into Vehicle Emission Certifications,” The Wall Street Journal , April 27, 2019. Criminal investigation. The government relies on industry to provide accurate (and truthful) information about their products’ performance in certain tests. One or more members of the industry fakes information.

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MAY 7, 2019

“New York Archdiocese Releases List of Clergy Accused of Sex Abuse,” The Wall Street Journal , April 27, 2019. What are the rules (and who makes and enforces them) that apply to the release of the names of people who are accused, but not convicted, of sex abuse? Certainly, this is Information. But what if the accusations are later disproven?

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MAY 7, 2019

“Chiefs Receiver Tyreek Hill Faces Renewed Domestic-Abuse Probe After Disturbing Audio Recording,” The Wall Street Journal, April 27, 2019. Troubling comment on recording. Who recorded this conversation, and why didn’t the police and the prosecutors pay more attention to it? Certainly, Information, but of what value, evidentiary or otherwise?

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MAY 7, 2019

Questions and answers are information, no doubt. But who controls what questions can be asked? “Supreme Court Reveals Deep Divisions on 2020 Census Citizenship Question,” The Wall Street Journal , April 24, 2019. The Supremes to decide whether it’s okay for the Census to ask whether the responder is a citizen. Leaving aside the political implications, one ponders not whether asking the question is a good idea but whether the Secretary of the Department of Commerce has the po

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APRIL 22, 2019

“Volkswagen Ex-CEO Faces Fresh Fraud Charges Over Emissions Scandal,” The Wall Street Journal , April 16, 2019. Prosecutors in Germany seek return of salary and bonuses, plus ten years. The VW story has been going on for some time. They used a software to alter emission testing results and got caught. Billions (25+) of dollars later, prosecutors now try to recoup the salary paid to the CEO.

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APRIL 22, 2019

“Texting Moves to the Workplace, as Do the Awkward Misfires. ‘I’m Here. I Luv U.’,” The Wall Street Journal , April 17, 2019. Problems when people use texts for both office and personal communications. When people use the same communications channels for work and personal, do mistakes happen? Yes. What does it say when employees can’t or don’t keep these two channels of communication separate?

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APRIL 22, 2019

“In SEC vs. Elon Musk, a Question of When Tweets Matter,” The Wall Street Journal , April 18, 2019. Dispute over meaning of settlement agreement with SEC. What does “reasonably could contain” material information mean? Mr. Musk tweeted allegedly misleading tweets, and entered into a settlement with the SEC. Lawyers apparently agreed to this language.

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APRIL 22, 2019

“Risk Scores Assess Ties Between Genes and Obesity, Disease,” The Wall Street Journal , April 19, 2019. Using genetic data to predict risk of disease. This is more about use of available information. Or the reuse of information collected for one purpose being used for another. Whose information is it? What are the controls on the use of this information?

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APRIL 22, 2019

“Computer Attack Knocks Weather Channel Off the Air,” The Wall Street Journal, April 19, 2019. Ransomware strikes again. Is there a trend on ransomware attacks? Norsk Hydro then Weather Channel? What does this show? Vulnerability of companies and TV channels to ransomware attacks?

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APRIL 22, 2019

“Online Lender Prosper Settles Probe Over Misleading Investors,” The Wall Street Journal , April 20, 2019. Company provided the wrong data to is investors. For two years. The error resulted in the company overstating its earnings. Why do these errors never go the other way? You invest in something, and rely on the company providing accurate information to measure your investment.

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InfoGovNuggets

MARCH 30, 2019

“Huawei Equipment Has Major Security Flaws, U.K. Says,” The Wall Street Journal , March 29, 2019. Absence of company-wide security practices at issue. This one would send you scrambling for your crisis management manual. What happens when the US government says your product has a security defect? It’s not really possible to manage what the US government says about you.

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InfoGovNuggets

MARCH 30, 2019

“Johnson & Johnson to Air First TV Ad for Drug That Discloses Its Price,” The Wall Street Journal , March 29, 2019. Ads to disclose monthly cost, both before and after insurance. Posting a list price! Isn’t refreshing to have a marketer tell you up front what the cost will be? Isn’t that information you’d like to have in your decision-making process?

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MARCH 30, 2019

“The Final Minutes of Ethiopian Airlines’ Doomed Boeing 737 MAX,” The Wall Street Journal , March 30, 2019. What the cockpit voice recorder captured in the tragic crash. What Information do we collect, and why? How do we Use that? Would we collect this information even if the government didn’t require it?

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MARCH 30, 2019

Once you decide to remove someone, who do you decide to remove and why? Are there any other factors that control your decision? “Facebook Removes Accounts Linked to Duterte’s Former Social-Media Manager,” The Wall Street Journal , March 30, 2018. Accounts removed for “coordinated inauthentic behavior.” As the platform owner, you can either open your site to all comers, or establish objective standards to limit who may and may not use your platform.

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MARCH 30, 2019

“Duke University Agrees to Pay $112.5 Million in Whistleblower Suit Over Grants,” The Wall Street Journal , March 25, 2019. University employee used fake data to secure federal grants. The university employee had been found to be embezzling. A whistleblower (using his brother as his attorney) sued under the False Claims Act. Not a good month for prestigious universities.

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InfoGovNuggets

MARCH 30, 2019

“Ill-Fated Hewlett-Packard Deal Is Back in Court,” The Wall Street Journal , March 26, 2019. HP alleges that Autonomy fraudulently inflated its financial results, leading HP to pay an hugely inflated price for the company. What controls are in place to prevent you from overpaying for a company? Isn’t that why there are such things as audited financial statements and due diligence by teams of lawyers and accountants?

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InfoGovNuggets

MARCH 30, 2019

“Prosecutors Drop All Charges Against Actor Jussie Smollett,” The Wall Street Journal , March 26, 2019. Charges dismissed against actor accused of faking a hate crime attack. Not what you’d readily recognize as an information governance story. But think about the information used in filing the police reports and the controls in place to prevent false police and news reports and unjustified criminal convictions and punishments, and how well they worked.

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InfoGovNuggets

MARCH 30, 2019

“FTC Orders Broadband Providers to Explain Data Collection Policies,” The Wall Street Journal, March 26, 2019. The government begin to explore how broadband companies handle your private information. While some have questions about whether there is any Constitutional right to privacy, penumbras notwithstanding, it is interesting to see a government agency begin to look into how some major providers are dealing with ( e.g. , handling, protecting, using) “your” informatio

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InfoGovNuggets

MARCH 30, 2019

“Journalists Face Prison Over Reporting George Pell Sex-Abuse Conviction,” The Wall Street Journal , March 26, 2019. Australian journalists defy judge’s gag order over the conviction of a Cardinal for sex abuse. Prior restraints on speech and the press are largely prohibited in the US, due to Constitutional protections. But that’s not universal.

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MARCH 30, 2019

“SEC Addresses Cybersecurity Concerns About Stock-Investor Data,” The Wall Street Journal , March 27, 2019. SEC restricts personally identifiable information in shared investment database. How do you collect and retain enough data to enforce securities laws but not put private information at too much risk of being hacked? Don’t businesses face similar dilemmas every day, when deciding how much protection/control to put around what information in their possession and control?

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InfoGovNuggets

MARCH 30, 2019

“Equifax, FICO Team Up to Sell Consumer Data to Banks,” The Wall Street Journal , March 28, 2019. The headline says it all. Who owns data about you, and what can others do with “your” data? Do we as consumers just accept this? Is it all information about us, and is it all private? No. If you buy a car or a computer or a gallon of gas, the other party knows a lot about that transaction, and apart from our identity, do we really care what they do with the rest of that?

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MARCH 30, 2019

“Workers Push Back as Companies Gather Fingerprints and Retina Scans,” The Wall Street Journal , March 28, 2019. State statutes provide workers and others additional rights. Fingerprints and facial scans are information, just as much as a tax return. There are limits on how much a business can “capture” from you, and what that business can do with that information.

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MARCH 30, 2019

“HUD Action Against Facebook Signals Trouble for Other Platforms,” The Wall Street Journal , March 29, 2019. Do ads targeting specific races/religions constitute discrimination? How does Facebook use the information it has collected? Can advertisers on Facebook pick which users get their ads, and restrict others from seeing those ads?

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MARCH 30, 2019

“Key Takeaways From Attorney General’s Summary of Mueller Report,” The Wall Street Journal , March 24, 2019. AG Barr submits a 4-page summary of the much-longer Mueller report. This just deals with Governance and Information. Isn’t a summary or a digest by definition less complete than the full version? But don’t we perforce rely on summaries and outlines to allow us to function, relying on the objectivity of the author of the summary to avoid true information overloa

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MARCH 19, 2019

“Is Your ETF Conflicted?,” The Wall Street Journal , March 12, 2019. JP Morgan discloses conflicts between itself and people buying into one of its funds in a 47-page brochure brochure. Yes, knowing about conflicts your investment adviser may have is a good thing – it’s useful information. But maybe you should know anyway, as “Any large financial company has business ties that present conflicts ranging from who underwrites their bonds to where they route their tra

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MARCH 17, 2019

“Democrats Adopt GOP Strategy in Fight for Trump Probe Information,” The Wall Street Journal , March 4, 2019. What information can the President withhold from Congress? This is really more about Governance than either Information or Compliance. Is this determined by the President, or is Congress a higher ( i.e. , not co-equal) power? Or does the Constitution control?

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MARCH 17, 2019

“Know-It-All Robot Shuts Down Dubious Family Texts,” The Wall Street Journal , March 1, 2019. Robot filters chat groups for false and dubious posts, all on a real-time basis. Wouldn’t this be a wonderful app to apply more broadly? Would it be good to have3 a Snopes-like pop-up alerting you to something in an email you receive (or one you’re drafting)?

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MARCH 16, 2019

“Michael Cohen Details Allegations of Trump’s Role in Hush-Money Scheme,” The Wall Street Journal , February 28, 2019. President Trump’s former lawyer testifies. What can a vendor do with “your” information after he/she leaves your employ? As much as they’d like to avoid the term, lawyers are just vendors, or service contractors.

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MARCH 16, 2019

“Since 2013, the state’s largest utility has repeatedly postponed upgrades to the high-voltage line that ran near Paradise, Calif., records show.” “Records show.” Dangerous words. “PG&E Delayed Safety Work on Power Line That Is Prime Suspect in California Wildfire,” The Wall Street Journal , February 28, 2019.

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MARCH 16, 2019

This is more about Governance and Compliance than Information, but there is a bit of failure-to-use-information-you-have in it as well. “Wynn Resorts to Pay $20 Million Fine Related to Sexual Misconduct Investigation,” The Wall Street Journal , February 27, 2019. Company fined after failing to act on allegations against CEO. If more companies were fined like this, would shareholders demand companies do a better job?

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MARCH 16, 2019

This is more crisis management than Information Governance, but what happens when a major player in your industry has a huge information breach? You get hit, too. “Credit-Reporting Companies Told Their System Is ‘Broken,’” The Wall Street Journal , February 27, 2019. Post-Equifax, Congress attempts to fix another industry. There’s a bit of Governance here, as Congress often gets into a business after the fact and says more government regulation will help you do better.

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MARCH 16, 2019

We often think of “using information” in terms of how we derive value from our use of our own information. That information has value elsewhere, too. “SEC Examines Guggenheim-Related Bond Trades,” The Wall Street Journal , February 27, 2019. SEC investigates cross-selling of bonds. What is information used for? One of the biggies is use by the government of “your” information to determine if you committed a crime or violated a regulation.

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FEBRUARY 21, 2019

“Pinterest Bars Vaccination Searches,” The Wall Street Journal , February 21, 2019 A1. If you search for “vaccination” on Pinterest, you won’t get any results. The company wants to prevent the spread of false information. I’m not in favor of false information. But who decides what’s false and what isn’t?

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FEBRUARY 21, 2019

Lying to the cops is not a good thing. “Chicago Grand Jury Indicts Smollett,” The Wall Street Journal , February 21, 2019 A3. Former Empire actor gets indicted for staging his attack and lying to the cops. Do we verify the information we get from normally reliable sources? What happens when those normally reliable sources aren’t reliable, or publish something that later turns out to be untrue?

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FEBRUARY 21, 2019

How do you label people, and how do you track them? “The Patient I.D Bracelet Gets An Overhaul,” The Wall Street Journal , February 21, 2019 A9. Changes in the paper-bracelet-on-your-wrist approach to hospital IDs. Do the paper bracelets spread germs? Do they make people feel worse? Is a temporary tattoo better? Can a better bracelet be used to track someone electronically and to monitor their activity?

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