Privacy

FTC Endorses “Do Not Track Me,” Calls For A New Privacy Framework

December 1, 2010  ·  Jamie Court

<img class="right size-full wp-image-1878" height="225" src="https://consumerwatchdog.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/images_vladeckdc.jpg" width="300" /><p> If you wonder if you are being followed online and if anything can be done about it, take a look at the just-out Federal Trade Commission report on <a href="http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/12/privacyreport.shtm">online privacy</a>.</p> <p> A frightening amount of information is available about us online and the Federal Trade Commission has endorsed the notion of a "privacy by design" build-in for web browsers. The report suggests a new framework for online privacy is vital.</p>

LIVE BLOG: Notes on Medical Privacy Panel – Dr. Deborah Peel and Jeff Chester

December 1, 2010  ·  Carmen Balber

<p>  </p> <p> <b>Jeff Chester, executive director, Center for Digital Democracy:</b></p> <p> Would appropriate a catch phrase to describe online marketing: "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" - because what websites and data collectors tell you is different from what they tell advertisers.</p>

Stem Cells: The Impatient Advocate

December 1, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> <strong>Bob Klein founded the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the biggest state-run research project in US history. What legacy will he leave behind?</strong><br />   <br />

FTC to Release ‘Do Not Track’ Report on Web Privacy

December 1, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> WASHINGTON--The Federal Trade Commission is ready to release a key report on online privacy and the concept of a "do not track" approach to Web marketing, but it will probably have to get Congress involved to see any meaningful change, a FTC commissioner said today.</p>

Reback Rehearses for the Case Against Google

December 1, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> WASHINGTON - Fresh off the news that Europe is formally investigating Google, a Silicon Valley antitrust expert today laid out the hypothetical case against Google that might play out should U.S. regulators decide to get involved.<br /> <br />

FTC Official Says Agency Is Monitoring Google’s Practices

December 1, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- U.S. regulators will continue to monitor Google Inc.'s business practices and may yet follow the European Union's lead by launching an antitrust investigation, a Federal Trade Commission official said Wednesday</p> <p> "You may well see something soon from the U.S. agencies, but I can't promise anything," said Melanie Sabo, Assistant Director for Anticompetitive Practices at the FTC's Bureau of Competition.</p>

Feds Propose Tough New Rules to Limit Online ‘Tracking’

December 1, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> WASHINGTON -- Wading into the increasingly contentious debate over online privacy, the Federal Trade Commission on Wednesday said Internet users ought to be able to easily block others from monitoring their online activity -- a move that could curtail the ability of advertisers such as Google to sell lucrative targeted ads to users.<br /> <br />

Two Agencies Favor Do Not Track Option to Protect Web User Privacy

December 1, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> The Commerce Department believes industry practices to protect Internet users' privacy, such as the creation of a Do Not Track online tool, should be voluntary but enforceable, a department official said on Wednesday.</p>

Google Faces EU Antitrust Investigation Over Search

November 30, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> The European Union is investigating claims from smaller search engines that Google has violated fair competition rules by boosting its results. Google denies the claims.<br /> <br /> The European Union’s inquiry into Google’s search practices has evolved into a full-blown investigation as the agency’s antitrust watchdog pledged to take a hard look at the search engine.<br /> <br />

Microsoft’s Old Nemesis, Gary Reback, to Address Antitrust Probe of Google

November 30, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> Will U.S. antitrust regulators follow Europe's lead and do what the European Commission did today -- launch an in-depth probe to determine if Google is using illegal monopolistic business practices?<br /> <br /> That question is reverberating around the global community of antitrust experts who were around the last time the U.S. and Europe engaged a giant tech monopoly at the peak of its powers in a landmark antitrust case.<br /> <br />

For Air Travelers, Small Affronts Start to Add Up

November 23, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<div id="articleBody"> <p> As if air travel could get any worse.</p> <p> The airlines have already taken away the free meals and the pillows. They have been charging for checked bags and extra legroom and raising fares whenever they can get away with it. They have cut back capacity so steeply that planes are nearly always filled to the brim.</p>

Privacy Groups Ask For Greater Oversight Of Pharma Ad Targeting

November 23, 2010  ·  Mark Reback

<p> A coalition of privacy groups and other advocates are asking the Federal Trade Commission to probe whether online health marketers engage in deceptive practices by tracking users across the Web in order to serve them targeted ads.</p>