On Sunday New York Governor Andrew Cuomo ordered that sex offenders stay away from Pokémon Go. The immensely popular game that has taken the world by storm for the past month leads its players on a real life search for digital Pokémon, using your phone’s map function.

Last week NY State Senators Jeffrey Klein and Diane Savino discovered that using the app actually might take you to the homes of convicted sex offenders. Now they are trying to pass legislation that will keep players a minimum of 100 feet away from such locations. It is also possible to pay real life money to get a rare Pokémon, in order to lure other players to your location–a tactic that some businesses are using to get customers to come to their stores.

Governor Cuomo previously worked to prohibit or limit Internet access for convicted sex offenders and pedophiles. This new directive will ban all registered sex offenders from downloading and playing interactive online games such as Pokémon Go. This will immediately affect around 3,000 individuals on parole.

We directed @NYSDOCCS to restrict sex offenders on parole from playing Pokémon GO and similar games: https://t.co/WpL19oEswq

— Andrew Cuomo (@NYGovCuomo) August 1, 2016

Cuomo also sent a letter to Niantic, Inc., the American software company behind Pokémon Go, asking for cooperation on the issue by technologically barring sex offenders from even using the app. He said in a statement:

Protecting New York’s children is priority number one and, as technology evolves, we must ensure these advances don’t become new avenues for dangerous predators to prey on new victims. These actions will provide safeguards for the players of these augmented reality games and help take one more tool away from those seeking to do harm to our children.

In the same statement, Jeffrey Klein said that pedophiles constantly seek new ways to approach and lure victims and that this is an important first step to limit the technological ways they can do it.

Diane Savino pointed out that Pokémon Go is an entertaining game for children, but the real world can be dangerous and it is important to remember the risks. However, there is no evidence that anyone has been sexually abused because of the Pokémon Go app.

It is great that an online game manages to get kids out and moving in their search for Pokémon, but there are several risks involved when walking around with your eyes on a screen–such as robbery, various physical injuries, and in one case, even finding a dead body. Hopefully the new directives regarding sex offenders will protect kids from one of those potential dangers.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Snapchat has long been known for facilitating explicit content thanks to its function that erases pictures after a few seconds. But now a 14-year-old and his mom are suing Snapchat Discover because of that kind of content. The Discover channel features different media outlets with their own feeds of content that are produced exclusively for Snapchat and are often provocative or racy in order to attract followers.

What is Snapchat Discover?

Today the app involves so much more than taking a photo that disappears after a few seconds. You can face swap, add filters that give you the look of a bee, a puppy, or a vampire, follow news, save your images and videos and send private messages. The Discover function lets you follow your media outlet of choice–Cosmopolitan, Vice, MTV, or Buzzfeed, among others.

The class action lawsuit filed by the anonymous 14-year-old and his mom says that Snapchat doesn’t warn about content that is sexual or offensive. Kids are being exposed to content that is aimed at adults, such as articles named “Beware of Whiskey Dick” and “10 Things He Thinks When He Can’t Make You Orgasm.” According to the lawsuit:

Specifically, through Snapchat Discover, Snapchat is currently engaged in an insidious pattern and practice of intentionally exposing minors to harmful, offensive, prurient, and sexually offensive content, without warning minors or their parents that they would be exposed to such explicit content.

These pictures are from some of the articles that are mentioned:

A mom's lawsuit seeks millions from Snapchat for exposing kids to offensive content https://t.co/2WkkP8pjXg pic.twitter.com/IHA1dOjW49

— Fast Company (@FastCompany) July 9, 2016

What Is Snapchat’s Responsibility?

A spokesperson for Snapchat said in a statement that the company still hasn’t received the lawsuit, “but we are sorry if people were offended. Our Discover partners have editorial independence, which is something that we support.”

The argument is that if Snapchat is only a platform for social media, it has no responsibility over what is posted on the platform. But Ben Meiselas, one of the attorneys behind the lawsuit told BBC: “The layout, its format, what’s presented on a day-to-day basis–Snapchat is not a passive observer of this content.” A statement released in January 2015 about the Snapchat Discover Channel feature said that “it’s the result of collaboration with world-class leaders in media to build a storytelling format that puts the narrative first.” According to Meiselas, it’s that kind of language that indicates Snapchat has taken on the role of a publisher rather than just a platform.

However, an individual employed by one of the media companies that that has a Discover Channel, who asked to speak on the condition of anonymity, told Law Street that Snapchat does not have any input into their editions before they go live.

Snapchat is just four years old and is valued at $16 billion. It has 150 million users and is the app of choice for teenagers and young people. Since this is a class action lawsuit, a win for the 14-year-old could lead to financial compensation for many more kids.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Sponsored Content

Since 1990, the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR®) has been advocating for innovation in women’s healthcare. The organization is on the cutting edge of the newest research trends, and each year SWHR picks a different theme to highlight at its annual gala. At this year’s event, one message rang loud and true: we’re officially in the age of big data. Almost everything we do–from voting choices, to commercial purchases, to Netflix binge-watching, can be recorded and analyzed to glean patterns. But the incorporation of big data into healthcare is particularly exciting, and promises to revolutionize medical treatment for women. Read on for a sampling of how we’re now integrating big data into patient treatments, and what it means for women’s health.

Big Data & Women’s Health

First Things First: What exactly is big data?

It’s a fair question. We hear the term thrown around a lot, but there’s certainly no cut and dry definition. Essentially, big data is the collection and use of large amounts of information that are naturally generated from our everyday activities. Big data and healthcare can include things like our use of smartphones (and other technology like FitBit or the Apple Watch) to track our fitness levels, the prescriptions we are given, the information generated by clinical trials, the analysis of our genetic material, and so much more.

So how can big data affect women’s health?

It’s no secret that there are sex differences in health. Medical research has only recently begun to recognize these differences and incorporate them into the diagnosis and treatment of illnesses. While our understanding of sex differences and how they affect health have improved, discoveries are still being made about the different ways that certain diseases and treatments affect women. The ability to collect data and pinpoint patterns specifically for women will help inform how to treat them moving forward.

Big Data in Action 

Take for example, a project at Baystate Medical Center, in Massachusetts–the Breast Cancer Registry. Researchers there are creating a large database based on data collected from 400 women who have had breast cancer. The data will help the researchers find patterns in how different women respond to treatments, by acknowledging factors like genetics, age, weight, lifestyle, and other aspects of health. According to Dr. Grace Makari-Judson, chair of the Baystate Health Breast Network and co-director of the Rays of Hope Center for Breast Cancer Research:

What’s nice about the experience with the registry, we have a diverse group of individuals participating and they aren’t the highly selected people in clinical trial. You get more meaningful data (looking at) what is the use of this drug like in the general population.

The inclusion of women (especially minority women) into clinical trials has been a long fought battle, so the ability to collect and analyze this kind of data in the real world is invaluable.

Electronic Health Records 

Electronic health records are another innovative way to use the data already at our disposal. To many, it probably seems archaic that until recently, almost all of our medical information was kept in file folders. We now have the technology to process and incorporate massive amounts of data on patients–from childhood illnesses and injuries to family histories and genetic information.

As electronic health records start being implemented, evidence has begun to show that these records help doctors more effectively manage women’s health. A report in the Journal of the Medical Informatics Association showed that the presence of electronic health records make it more likely that doctors order essential tests like pap smears and breast exams for their female patients–leading to an overall positive impact on women’s health.

Examples of Individual Applications

Genomics

Genomics is the practice of mapping an individual’s genetic material. It’s a data-intensive process that requires serious computing power. Genomics can help provide patients with a predictive and more individual picture of their health. For women, one of the most visible developments in the field of genomics is the ability to test BRCA1 and BRCA2. Certain genetic mutations in those genes greatly increase the risk of ovarian and breast cancer. According to the National Cancer Institute:

Together, BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations account for about 20 to 25 percent of hereditary breast cancers and about 5 to 10 percent of all breast cancers. In addition, mutations in BRCA1 and BRCA2 account for around 15 percent of ovarian cancers overall. Breast and ovarian cancers associated with BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations tend to develop at younger ages than their nonhereditary counterparts.

In cases where BRCA1 and BRCA2 mutations exist, steps like enhanced screening, chemoprevention (the use of drugs to reduce the likelihood of or delay the onset of cancer), or preventative surgery might be considered. For example, actress and filmmaker Angelina Jolie tested positive for a BRCA1 mutation, and as a result chose to get a double mastectomy in 2013.

Precision Medicine

Precision medicine is an exciting new development that ties a lot of the tenets of big data together. Precision medicine uses big data, as well as other tools like genomics, to create more individualized treatment for patients. The Obama Administration has spearheaded the precision medicine initiative, and explains the aim in a press release:

The future of precision medicine will enable health care providers to tailor treatment and prevention strategies to people’s unique characteristics, including their genome sequence, microbiome composition, health history, lifestyle, and diet. To get there, we need to incorporate many different types of data, from metabolomics (the chemicals in the body at a certain point in time), the microbiome (the collection of microorganisms in or on the body), and data about the patient collected by health care providers and the patients themselves. Success will require that health data is portable, that it can be easily shared between providers, researchers, and most importantly, patients and research participants.

Conclusion

The expanded use of data in healthcare is the future, and the developments that we’re seeing in the present are already incredibly exciting. As SWHR puts it:

Data initiatives are revolutionizing healthcare and helping to improve every aspect of medicine, from bench to bedside. This data, which is being collected and utilized by healthcare providers, pharmaceutical and medical device companies, insurance companies, hospitals, and researchers, provides a wealth of healthcare information that can be used to better inform healthcare decisions and delivery for every woman.

Resources

Primary

SWHR: SWHR’s 26th Annual Gala: “Revolutionizing Healthcare & Research Through Data”

National Cancer Institute: BRCA1 and BRCA2: Cancer Risk and Genetic Testing

The White House: The Precision Medicine Initiative

Additional

Law Street Media: Precision Medicine: The Future of Health Care?

CB Insights: 13 Startups Working in Women’s Reproductive Health

Forbes: How Big Data is Changing Healthcare

Boston Business Journal: Focus on Women’s Health: Big Data, Registries Help Docs Understand Cancer

Radar: Genomics and the Role of Big Data in Personalizing the Healthcare Experience

New York Times: Angelina Jolie; My Medical Choice

Modern Healthcare: EHR Use Tied to More Women’s Health Tests: Study

Society for Women’s Health Research

The Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR®), is a national non-profit based in Washington D.C. that is widely recognized as the thought-leader in promoting research on biological differences in disease. SWHR is dedicated to transforming women’s health through science, advocacy, and education. Founded in 1990 by a group of physicians, medical researchers and health advocates, SWHR aims to bring attention to the variety of diseases and conditions that disproportionately or predominately affect women. For more information, please visit www.swhr.org. Follow us on Twitter at @SWHR. SWHR is a partner of Law Street Creative. The opinions expressed in this author’s articles do not necessarily reflect the views of Law Street.

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Last week’s top stories on Law Street covered eight mobile apps that will help you pass the LSAT, the White House’s first United State of Women summit, and women using nudity to protest Donald Trump. ICYMI–Check out the top stories below.

1. 8 Apps to Help you Conquer the LSAT

Alexis Evans

Alexis Evans is an Assistant Editor at Law Street and a Buckeye State native. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and a minor in Business from Ohio University. Contact Alexis at aevans@LawStreetMedia.com.

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Sponsored Content

Are you planning on going to law school? Are you stressed out about the LSAT? Don’t worry–you’re not alone, and Princeton Review has teamed up with Law Street Media to help. We have some app recommendations to keep you focused, on track, and ready to conquer the big test. Check out eight apps to help you master the LSAT in the slideshow below:

Need Help Staying Away from Social Media?

It’s very tempting to take a quick study break, and check out Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or whatever other social media network you like to indulge in. But social media can be distracting, and instead of trusting yourself to stay away from those sites, why not let technology do the work for you? Try Self Control, which blocks whatever sites you specify for a particular chunk of time. Even if you restart your computer, you’re simply not going to be able to browse your timeline until the timer you’ve set runs out. Is Self Control not enough for you? A different app, Freedom, keeps you from connecting to the internet at all.

via GIPHY

Princeton Review

The Princeton Review helps students, parents, and educators achieve the best results at every stage of their educational careers. We provide SAT, ACT, PSAT, SAT subject tests, AP subjects, GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MCAT, DAT, OAT and USMLE preparation. Princeton Review is a partner of Law Street Creative. The opinions expressed in this author’s articles do not necessarily reflect the views of Law Street.

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It’s an old saying–the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Two of Uber’s biggest rivals–Lyft and the Chinese ride-sharing company Didi Kuaidi have apparently taken that adage to heart, as they just announced they’re teaming up, seemingly in the hopes to take down the rideshare king–Uber.

The partnership between Lyft and Didi Kuaidi essentially means that users who have Lyft but not Didi Kuaidi downloaded can use their Lyft app to call a Didi Kuaidi car in a area where Lyft isn’t operating, and vice versa. By doing so, both services massively expanded their markets, and made it easier on their riders by combining the apps. This will mark Lyft’s first entry in the Chinese market, which is currently dominated by Didi Kuaidi. Didi Kuaidi claims to have control of roughly 80 percent of the private ridesharing market, and provides about three million rides each day. Moreover, this partnership isn’t the only interaction that Lyft and Didi Kuaidi have had–the Chinese company has invested heavily in Lyft. It contributed $100 million to Lyft’s most recent round of funding.

Why would Lyft and Didi Kuaidi want to get involved in each other’s markets? There’s one very simple explanation–they want to take Uber down. Uber already dominates Lyft in the U.S. While Didi Kuaidi is the prominent provider in China, the company is presumably nervous about Uber’s announcement that it plans to aggressively expand in China. During a round of fundraising this summer, Uber sent out a letter to investors that explained the opportunities available in the Chinese market. The letter stated:

Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Chengdu have all surpassed New York as our three largest cities on a trips basis. Impressively, Hangzhou and Chengdu have accomplished this feat in just 9 months, compared to New York which is 4 years old.

Hangzhou is now over 400x the size that New York was at its same age. 200,000 Hangzhou residents are becoming new UberChina riders every week!

While some critics think the numbers that Uber is claiming to have in China may be overblown, it’s clear that the company is making a big push. Given Didi Kuaidi’s move to partner with Lyft, it also doesn’t want to take the threat from Uber lying down.

Didi Kuaidi may be looking for other partners as well–rumors are floating that similar partnerships are in the works with ridesharing companies in India and Singapore. As Uber tries to break further into the international market, it may face an increasingly connected world of rivals.

Anneliese Mahoney

Anneliese Mahoney is Managing Editor at Law Street and a Connecticut transplant to Washington D.C. She has a Bachelor’s degree in International Affairs from the George Washington University, and a passion for law, politics, and social issues. Contact Anneliese at amahoney@LawStreetMedia.com.

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