Policy Work
Below are articles, blog posts, and other written works produced while Leslie worked as a Privacy Policy Analyst, along with written work for organizations like the Center for Growth and Opportunity, the Pacific Legal Foundation, and the American Institute for Economic Research. This work focuses on individual rights and privacy. If you’re interested in Leslie’s commentary on public policy, check out the Policy section on the Media page.
All Policy Work
The Tension between Agency Authority and the Constitution
The Supreme Court has recently agreed to take up a case that questions the constitutionality of admi…
Utah law would strike a balance between public safety and digital privacy
Utah is set to become the first state in the nation to regulate law enforcement’s use of geofence se…
Who Owns Your DNA?
How secure is your DNA? Even if you have never purchased an ancestry kit, your identity can easily b…
Choose Privacy
Technology and privacy have always had a contentious relationship. At the turn of the 19th Century t…
Massachusetts Violates Consumer Consent
A recent lawsuit reveals the problems that arise from the unholy union between technology firms and …
Tracking Truckers
Yet again, the public is being asked to trade privacy for safety. This time, truckers are in the mid…
Privacy in the Digital Era: Who Controls Private Data?
The boundaries between physical and digital spheres are collapsing. The digital sharing of personal …
Montana Protects Privacy
Privacy won at the ballot box on Tuesday when Montana’s C-48 passed. This ballot measure was a legis…
A Key Lawsuit Could Reveal Just How Blurry The Lines Between Social Media And Government Have Become
To what extent are the content moderation decisions social media companies have made over the last s…
Consumer Privacy Laws Aren’t About the Public
You may have noticed consent pop-ups on most websites, particularly for the collection of your cooki…
Can Self-Governance Survive Surveillance?
Surveillance and self-governance are like oil and water. They do no not mix well. Increasingly, US c…
Why FTC’s Data Privacy Rulemaking Is Probably Unconstitutional
Lina Khan attempts to greatly expand the FTC’s authority to prosecute unfair and deceptive trade pra…
The Troubling Rise of Surveillance Cities
A new Houston law leverages funds from The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) to require businesses to …
The Power of Consumers to Protect Their Privacy
Consumers have no control over how their private data — such as location and search history — is col…
Privacy, Liberty’s Precondition
Liberty does not grow in every soil. Certain preconditions are necessary for freedom to flourish. Pr…
What Is the Scope of a Warrant?
In June of this year, federal agents, acting on a warrant, searched Eastman outside a restaurant in …
Geofence “Warrants”: An Unconstitutional Abuse of Technology
General warrants give law enforcement agents broad authority “to search and seize unspecified places…
Ring Reveals Our Current Privacy Problem
Recent revelations that have landed Ring—a residential, visual doorbell service—in hot water reveal …
Lack of Privacy Leads to Political Abuses
In the Internet age, the distribution of state power has drastic implications for Americans’ civil a…
How Facial Recognition Monetizes Fear & Insecurity
The use of facial recognition software has recently exploded. Some applications of this technology a…
Biden Cancels Consumer Consent
President Joe Biden’s infrastructure legislation, passed in November 2021, undercuts consumer privac…
The Danger of Doxxing
What is doxxing? Merriam-Webster dictionary defines the term as “publicly identify[ing] for [public…
Facial Recognition Is Plagued by Problems
Robert Julian-Borchak Williams was arrested in the driveway of his home, taken to the local police s…
The public needs protection from public safety agencies
Facial recognition, geolocation tracking, and public video surveillance are all becoming more widely…
Latest CIA revelations show clear need for privacy protections
Recent revelations show the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) secretly collects bulk data containing…
Can Police Force You to Open Your Phone?
The general constitutional issue under review is this: does allowing police to force a criminal defe…
Utah Takes Steps to Protect Patient Privacy
DOH not only failed to obtain informed consent from maternity patients, but after collecting complet…
The New State Privacy Officer Is Appointed — Now What?
Phillips’ duties include investigating and reviewing government privacy practices, making recommenda…
Utah’s Department of Health survey shows institutional failures
As reported by KUTV, until recently, parents of newborns had to provide sensitive information to the…