Privacy

Court Paves Way for Lawsuit Over Google’s WiFi Fishing Expedition

September 11, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><b>Google has lost its appeal to dismiss a class action lawsuit over its Street View cars' poaching of data from unsecured WiFi networks. "Google went out like fishermen with nets and scooped up whatever electronic fish were out there and processed it," said tech attorney Ray Van Dyke. It "could have thrown those fish back but did not. Indeed, if the fish was protected, Google still kept it."</b></p> <p> </p>

Facebook Privacy Change Is Subject Of F.T.C. Inquiry

September 11, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p itemprop="articleBody">Facebook, which has repeatedly tripped over its own feet when changing its privacy practices, has stumbled yet again.</p> <p itemprop="articleBody">The Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday that it had begun an inquiry into whether the social network’s proposed new privacy policies, unveiled two weeks ago, violated a 2011 agreement with regulators. Under that agreement, the social network is required to get the explicit consent of its users before exposing their private information to new audiences.</p>

FTC Evaulating Facebook Policy Changes

September 11, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>The Federal Trade Commission is evaluating whether changes to two of Facebook’s key privacy policies adhere to a 2011 agreement between the agency and the social network.</p> <p>Facebook spokeswoman Jodi Seth confirmed that the FTC is evaluating Facebook’s policies.  </p>

Google Loses Appeal In Street View Snooping Case

September 10, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p itemprop="articleBody">SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — A federal appeals court said Google wrongly collected people’s personal correspondence and online activities through their Wi-Fi systems as it drove down their streets with car cameras shooting photos for its Street View mapping project.</p> <p itemprop="articleBody">The ruling that the practice violates wiretap laws sends a warning to other companies seeking to suck up vast amounts of data from unencrypted Wi-Fi signals.</p>

Google Must Face Wiretap Claims in Lawsuit Over Street View

September 10, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<div id="article_body"> <p><span class="ticker_wrap"><span itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/Corporation"><span itemprop="name">Google Inc.</span></span> (<a class="ticker" data-symbol="GOOG:US" href="http://investing.businessweek.com/research/stocks/snapshot/snapshot.asp?ticker=GOOG:US">GOOG:US</a>)</span>, the world’s most-used Internet search engine, must face claims in a lawsuit that its Street View feature violated protections against wiretapping, a federal appeals court ruled</p>

Google’s $8.5M Data Privacy Dodge

September 6, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p><b>Google may get out of a big class-action privacy lawsuit virtually unscathed if its settlement proposal is approved. However, EPIC, Consumer Watchdog, Patient Privacy Rights, the Center for Digital Democracy, and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse contend that 1) it fails to require Google to make any substantive changes to its business practices; and 2) it provides no monetary relief to the class.</b></p>

Privacy Groups Bristle at Facebook’s Proposed Privacy Changes

September 6, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Facebook's announcement late yesterday that it will delay the rollout of a revised privacy policy and data use agreement until next week comes on the heels of unified outcry from consumer rights groups. The updates were originally scheduled to go into effect September 5.</p>

Privacy Groups Criticize Facebook in FTC Letter on Policy Change

September 5, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<div class="clearfix" id="story_content"> <p>Privacy groups asked the Federal Trade Commission to prevent <a class="web_ticker" href="http://www.bloomberg.com/quote/FB:US" title="Get Quote">Facebook Inc. (FB)</a> from changing its data use policies on concern with how the social network operator handles user information for advertising.</p>

Big Day In San Jose For Privacy

September 5, 2013  ·  Jamie Court

<p><img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2678" alt="" class="right" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/images_jamiepic-new5.jpg" style="width: 133px; height: 200px; margin-left: 7px; margin-right: 7px; float: right;" width="133" height="200" />Google <a href="http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/google-argues-continue-scanning-gmail-20161961">went</a> to federal court in San Jose  to defend the company’s eye-popping <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/newsrelease/google-tells-court-you-cannot-expect-privacy-when-sending-messages-gmail-people-who-care t">assertion </a>that those who email G-mail users have “no legitimate expectation of pr

Google Argues for Right to Continue Scanning Gmail

September 5, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Google's attorneys say their long-running practice of electronically scanning the contents of people's Gmail accounts to help sell ads is legal, and have asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit that seeks to stop the practice.</p> <p>In a federal court hearing Thursday in San Jose, Google argued that "all users of email must necessarily expect that their emails will be subject to automated processing."</p>

Privacy Groups Ask FTC To Stop Facebook Policy Changes

September 5, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Half a dozen <a data-xslt="_http" href="http://www.democraticmedia.org/consumer-privacy-coalition-ask-ftc-force-facebook-comply-consent-decreeroll-back-proposed-changes-th">privacy groups have asked </a>the Federal Trade Commission to stop Facebook from enacting changes to two of its governing documents.</p>

Hold Your Gasps, Facebook Is Under Fire For Its Privacy Policy Again

September 5, 2013  ·  Mark Reback

<p>Try not to die of shock, but Facebook is in hot water over privacy concerns again.</p>