Business & Entrepreneurship

In our increasingly digital world, the balance between privacy and free speech is tenuous, at best. But we often overlook the important ways in which privacy is necessary to protect our cherished civil liberties of freedom of speech, thought and belief, says Neil M. Richards, JD, a privacy law expert at Washington University in St. Louis and author of the new book, “Intellectual Privacy: Rethinking Civil Liberties in the Digital Age,” published Feb. 2 by Oxford University Press.

The top prize in the 2015 Olin Cup competition was awarded to Love Will Inc., a developer of virtual currency-based financial tools, at an awards ceremony held Jan. 29 at Washington University.

After a year of planning, the Bear-y Sweet Shoppe opened Jan. 12 on Gregg Walkway on the South 40 at Washington University in St. Louis. The business is supported by the innovative Student Entrepreneurial Program (StEP), which has provided resources and guidance since 1999. The shop is the first StEP business to sell food, use crowdfunding and to be founded exclusively by women.

A commitment to free speech doesn’t justify us in lashing out at innocent people, says Greg Magarian, JD, professor of law and a First Amendment expert at Washington University in St. Louis, in the wake of the terrorist attack on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo in France.

​Washington University researchers worked in the local community and across the globe in 2014 to better understand our bodies, our minds and our cultures.

Fourteen people have been arrested in connection with a 2012 outbreak of fungal meningitis linked to steroid injections that caused 64 deaths across the United States. The arrests, which resulted in two people being charged with 25 acts of second-degree murder, remind us that drug manufacturers must be responsible for their actions, says a noted medical ethics expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

When it comes to holiday gift-giving, we all know it’s the thought that counts. But there is such a thing as giving it too much thought, at least when it comes to picking out a gift card, according to Robyn LeBoeuf​, PhD, associate professor of marketing in the Olin Business School at Washington University in St. Louis.

As part of the White House response to unrest in Ferguson, President Barack Obama has proposed $263 million for police body camers and training. While body cameras can be effective, they only work if the police don’t turn them off or delete their records, says a privacy expert at Washington University in St. Louis.

The St. Louis County Circuit Court has the authority to seek and appoint a special prosecutor to present the case involving Michael Brown’s death to a new grand jury — and should do so, a law professor at Washington University in St. Louis said.

The U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to hear a lawsuit targeting federal subsidies designed to help millions of Americans afford health insurance. The case is dubious on its merits, says Timothy D. McBride, PhD, professor at Washington University in St. Louis’ Brown School and a noted health economist, citing legal precedent as reason for allowing the subsidies to continue.