Today on AirTalk, we discuss the latest on smart doorbell manufacturer Ring's partnership with local police departments across the country and examine the delicate balance between privacy and safety. We also take a look at the US system to defend against asteroid collisions; and more.
Previewing Special Counsel Mueller’s Long-Awaited Testimony On The Hill
After months of anticipation, former special counsel Robert Mueller will testify before the House Judiciary and House Intelligence Committees tomorrow.
But before Mueller takes the stand, FBI Director Christopher Wray testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee today. The Committee is chaired by one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies, Sen. Lindsey Graham, who has vowed to investigate the origins of the Russia investigation. Wray’s appearance before a Senate committee could be something of a preview of the intense questioning Mueller is likely to face in Congress tomorrow.
Republicans are likely to spend time questioning Wray and Mueller about Peter Strzok, an FBI agent who helped lead the Trump investigation and exchanged anti-Trump text messages during the 2016 election with an FBI lawyer, Lisa Page.
Once Mueller learned of the existence of the texts, which were sent before his appointment as special counsel, he removed Strzok from his team investigating potential ties between Russia and the Trump campaign. Strzok ultimately was fired, and Page left the bureau.
AirTalk discusses Wray’s testimony today and previews Mueller’s testimony tomorrow.
With files from the Associated Press
Guest:
Adam Goldman, reporter covering the F.B.I. and national security for The New York Times; he was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for national reporting on Russia’s meddling in the presidential election; he tweets
Should Law Enforcement Collect DNA From Low-Level Offenders?
Some law enforcement officials are at odds with the idea of collecting DNA from low-level and nonviolent offenders.
Overcrowded crime labs and delays are just a couple arguments against the initiative. But Assemblymember Jim Cooper (D-Elk Grove) has said the initiative will make the state safer because collecting more DNA will lead to solving more crimes.
The decision of whether to expand DNA collection will ultimately land in the hands of California voters in 2020.
Larry sits down with retired Judge James P. Gray and Democratic State Assemblymember Jim Cooper.
Guests:
Jim Cooper, Democratic California State Assemblymember representing District 9, which includes Sacramento and San Joaquin County communities of Elk Grove, Lodi and Galt; he is a former captain at the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department; he tweets
Judge James Gray, retired judge from the Orange County Superior Court; former federal prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles (1989 - 2009)
A Look At The US System To Defend Against Asteroid Collisions
Picture this: an asteroid is hurtling toward Earth, and the U.S. has limited time to stop it.
Yes, it’s the plot of the 1998 sci-fi film “Armageddon” (cue Aerosmith), but it also could actually happen – in real life – and author Gordon Dillow thinks we should be paying more attention to its inevitability.
It likely won’t be an asteroid big enough to wipe out human civilization, but maybe big enough to wipe out a whole city. And though the U.S. has been steadily investing more money into “planetary defense,” it currently makes up less than 1 percent of NASA’s budget.
So what is the country doing to prepare for a possible asteroid collision? Could the U.S. use nuclear means to neutralize an asteroid threat, à la Bruce Willis? And how many asteroids are currently on NASA’s radar?
Larry sits down with Paul Chodas, director of JPL’s Center for Near Earth Objects Studies (CNEOS), and author Gordon Dillow to hear the latest on NASA’s defense plan.
Guests:
Gordon Dillow, author of “Fire in the Sky: Cosmic Collisions, Killer Asteroids, and the Race to Defend Earth” (Scribner, June 2019); his piece “The Asteroid Peril Isn’t Science Fiction” was recently published in the Wall Street Journal
Paul Chodas, director of JPL’s Center for Near Earth Objects Studies (CNEOS) and designer of the hypothetical asteroid scenario studied at the 2019 Planetary Defense Conference held in the D.C. area in May
Balancing Privacy And Safety Concerns As Local Police Departments Partner Up With Smart Doorbell-Maker Ring
Smart doorbells are a handy way to keep an extra eye on your home when you’re not there and to see who’s at the door without having to go anywhere near it.
But some are worried that one company’s efforts to partner with local law enforcement agencies may be infringing on people’s privacy.
Santa Monica-based smart doorbell manufacturer Ring, which Amazon owns, has been working with local police departments across the country to deploy their technology in local communities, sometimes at a price subsidized by the city government and Ring. The tech-focused nonprofit Fight For the Future recently released a map that it says shows the cities and municipalities across the country that have partnered with Ring. The Associated Press reports the City of Arcadia spent $50,000 to subsidize 1,000 cameras for residents through its Ring partnership, which it launched at the end of 2017.
The cameras send alerts to users if someone rings the doorbell or if the device’s heat sensors are triggered, and Ring says the videos recorded are kept for two months and that only the doorbell’s owner can access the video. If police wanted to see it, Ring says, they’d need to either get permission from the camera’s owner or get a warrant. Police say the devices work like a digital surveillance network that can help deter crime and in some cases provide information that could be useful in solving a case. Privacy advocates worry about how these devices might reduce neighborhood privacy and further extend Amazon’s reach into the inner workings of our daily lives.
We reached out to Ring to invite them to participate in our discussion. They were not able to make someone available for us at air time, but they sent us this statement:
"When it comes to important topics like crime and safety, we understand the complexities involved. We’re proud of our partnerships with law enforcement agencies across the country, but have also taken care to design these partnerships in a way that keeps our users in control.
Every decision we make at Ring centers around privacy, security and user control. While Law enforcement partners can submit video requests for users in a given area when investigating an active case, Ring facilitates these requests and user consent is required in order for any footage or information to be shared. Law enforcement cannot see how many Ring users received the request or who declined to share.
These joint efforts have led to amazing stories driven by community members coming together to have real conversations about what’s happening in their neighborhoods, and if they choose, directly engaging with their local law enforcement as well. And those stories are what keep us motivated to push forward.”
Guests:
Paul Foley, captain with the Arcadia Police Department
Jacob Snow, technology and civil liberties attorney with the ACLU of Northern California
Big Boss Is Watching: The Benefits And Drawbacks of Employee Surveillance
As surveillance technology becomes more readily available, it’s getting more and more common -- including in the workplace.
Employers have a wide range of options if they want to surveil their employees. The websites you visit, your keystrokes, in some extreme cases even your facial expressions, can be monitored by your boss.
Legally speaking, employees should have little expectation of privacy. But in terms of productivity, there’s debate as to whether surveillance is the answer.
Does it keep an employee on task? What adverse effects might it have, for example in terms of trust within a workspace and stress levels? If you’re an employer who has used this technology, what have you observed? And if you’re an employee who’s been observed, how did you feel about it?
Call us at 866-893-5722.
Guests:
Ellen Ruppel Shell, professor of journalism at Boston University; her latest book is “The Job: Work and Its Future in a Time of Radical Change” (October, 2018 by Crown); she is also a long time contributing editor for The Atlantic, where she’s written about employer surveillance
Kate Bischoff, owner of tHRive Law & Consulting, an employment law and HR consulting firm, based in Minneapolis; she tweets