Privacy

Facebook Critics Hope IPO Forces Some Hard Questions

February 1, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Facebook critics are hoping the company's initial public offering, announced on Wednesday, could provide them with allies in the form of the social network’s future shareholders.</p> <p> “There are certainly some questions that we hope investors will ask,” said Meg Roggensack, a senior adviser with Human Rights First, a nonprofit calling on Facebook to address how it will deal with user privacy under repressive regimes, as well as other human rights issues.</p>

Consumer Group Objects to Google’s Secret Briefing

February 1, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> The non-profit advocacy group Consumer Watchdog on Wednesday objected to the <a href="http://content.usatoday.com/communities/technologylive/post/2012/01/google-to-give-closed-door-briefing-on-policy-changes-/1">closed-door meeting</a> scheduled Thursday at which Google executives will brief a congressional subcommittee, chaired by Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Calif., about Google's plans to expand how it indexes and profiles Internet users.</p>

One Privacy Policy To Rule Them All: What Google’s Controversial New Terms of Service Could Mean To You

February 1, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> “Don’t be evil.”</p>

Facebook’s IPO May Be the Last Straw for Privacy-Minded Users

January 31, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Facebook has earned poor marks from privacy advocates for years, but their occasional bursts of indignation haven't seemed to filter down to the general membership. That could be changing, though. When Facebook goes public, there will be more pressure than ever to bring in advertising dollars, and that usually means exploiting user data. That trickle of users migrating to Google+ and Twitter may soon become droves.</p>

Consumer Watchdog Takes The Online Privacy Battle To Europe

January 27, 2012  ·  John M. Simpson

<p> <img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2203" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/images_johndrawingname.gif" style="width: 133px; height: 200px; float: right;" width="133" height="200" />BRUSSELS, Belgium -- Online privacy got a tremendous boost this week when the <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/index_en.htm">European Commission</a> proposed its new data protection rules that -- among other important safeguards -- would prove for the "right to be forgotten" online.</p>

Privacy Advocates, Businesses Dig In for EU Lobbying Campaign

January 26, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Europe appears poised to enact strict new privacy regulations geared to protect consumer data, but the debate is far from over. Representatives of businesses, particularly e-commerce companies, are descending on Brussels to plead their case. Any company that sells anything to an EU citizen -- even if that firm doesn't have a presence in Europe -- would be subject to the directive.</p>

Consumers in the Middle of Google-Facebook Battle

January 26, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <strong>Changes by Google and Facebook could give marketers access to even more of users' personal info</strong><br /> <br /> Google and Facebook might have finally gotten the average consumer riled up about privacy.<br /> <br /> For the past two years, each company has experimented with different ways to divine more and more about how people live their lives on the Internet, without sparking a revolt.<br /> <br />

2012 Hyundai Elantra — Real-World MPG Really No Better Than The 2005?

January 26, 2012  ·  Judy Dugan

<p> <img class=" alignright size-full wp-image-2206" alt="" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/images_judydrawingname.gif" style="margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px; float: right; width: 133px; height: 200px; " width="133" height="200" />The Hyundai Elantra keeps on losing fans because its real-world MPG, for most drivers, doesn't come close to the advertised 33 mpg combined, or even the advertised 29 mpg city. We're especially interested in <a href="http://www.consumerwatchdog.org/node/add/complaint">hearing from California drivers </a>who are having this problem. </p>

EU Releases Broad Internet Privacy Recommendations

January 25, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> The EU Commission announced sweeping Internet privacy recommendations Wednesday, in the first step toward a single policy for Europe regulating the amount and types of data that can be collected and held by Facebook, <span class="company" style="font-weight: bold; ">Google</span> (<a class="stockRoll" href="http://news.investors.com/Article.aspx?id=598975&p=1&ibdbot=1" rel="/StockSymbol.axd?symbol=GOOG" style="text-decoration: none; color: rgb(0, 51, 153); ">GOOG</a>) and any Internet company.</p>

U.S. Firms Wary of EU’s Proposed Privacy Changes

January 25, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Some U.S. tech industry officials said Wednesday that they worry that the European Commission's proposed changes to its privacy rules could be costly for them to comply with and may hamper innovation.</p>

Google Centers Privacy Policies Around Google+

January 25, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <b>Google is changing its privacy policies around Google+, streamlining identity services and paring the terms of service. The move makes opting out hard, which will raise regulatory flags.</b></p> <p> Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is folding 60 of its 70 existing product privacy policies under one blanket policy and breaking down the identity barriers between some of its services to accommodate its new Google+ social network software.</p>

Privacy Advocates Fiercely Furrow Brows at Google

January 25, 2012  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Google is making its privacy policies uniform across many of its services and tearing down the walls between them to allow for the sharing of user data. Google contends that the move toward consolidation will improve search and serve users better. "This is typical Google bluster and bafflegab," Consumer Watchdog's John Simpson countered.</p> <p> <img alt="" class="ct-7651-vsgn_jan_ci-1" height="0" src="http://www.ectnews.com/adsys/count/7651/?nm=vsgn_jan_ci-1&ENN_rnd=13275353463704&ign=0/ign.gif" style="position:absolute; left:0px; top:0px" width="0" /></p>