The survey firm Nielsen recently asked kids which electronics they wanted most this holiday season, and 44 percent put the iPad at the top of their list! Kids love technology, but they should know these important rules for using a mobile device:
Apps are becoming a popular tool for holiday shopping, but is the privacy of consumers at risk? Jules Polonetsky discussed the issue with Ben Ball on “Costal Daybreak” which airs on The Talk Station WTKF-FM in North Carolina. Listen here for the interview.
Can the law keep you from telling your friends what movies you have seen? If you want to do so online, it turns out that the law can make it harder than need be.
The Video Privacy Protection Act was passed in 1988 in the wake of the publication of Supreme Court nominee Robert Bork’s video rental records. Members of Congress, worrying about their own records, rushed to put in place a bill that would block companies from sharing video rentals without express written permission.
Federal Trade Commission officials spent the day touting a newsettlement with Facebook, with FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz saying the company now will be “obligated” to keep its privacy promises.
But in reality, the agreement is likely to have little, if any, actual impact on Facebook users
Facebook is settling government charges it “deceived” users that their information would be kept private, although it was “repeatedly” shared with the public, the Federal Trade Commission announced Tuesday.
The deal, which carries no financial penalties, demands that the social-networking site obtain “express consent” of their 850 million users before their information “is shared beyond the privacy settings they have established.”
Federal Trade Commission officials spent the day touting a new settlement with Facebook, with FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz saying the company now will be “obligated” to keep its privacy promises. But in reality, the agreement is likely to have little, if any, actual impact on Facebook users.
Statement from the Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) on U.S. Federal Trade Commission and Facebook Settlement Over Privacy Concerns
WASHINGTON – In response to the FTC settlement with Facebook, the following statement is attributed to Jules Polonetsky, Director and Co-Chair, Future of Privacy Forum:
“Today’s FTC settlement with Facebook sends two strong messages that are relevant for all companies and resonate beyond Facebook. As in the Google Buzz settlement, if you materially change your practices and expose user information more publically, you need to get express consent. And if you are a custodian of user data, you need to have a formal program in place that ensures that data use and product development are overseen by privacy staff. These are guidelines that any company that interacts with consumer data would be wise to consider baseline requirements.
We commend the FTC for protecting consumers, while also recognizing the importance of future data use innovations by including an option for Facebook to seek modification of the settlement of some new form of sharing that is useful to consumers that is now limited by the settlement. Most of the issues raised in the complaint have been previously addressed by Facebook and relate to changes made in 2009. Going forward this agreement should strengthen the positions of the Facebook privacy staff by more formally mandating the role they play in the product development process.
Overall, the settlement holds Facebook accountable for some of the early changes in its privacy practices that were the subject of criticism, while leaving it able to continue advancing new services, subject to appropriate notice and user permission.”
To schedule an interview with Jules Polonetsky, call Beth Sullivan at 202.550.4401 or e-mail [email protected]
The Future of Privacy Forum (FPF) is a Washington, DC based think tank that seeks to advance responsible data practices. The forum is led by Internet privacy experts Jules Polonetsky and Christopher Wolf and includes an advisory board comprised of leading figures from industry, academia, law and advocacy groups.
WICHITA, Kan. – A Facebook user in Kansas has filed a federal lawsuit against the social networking giant, claiming it violated wiretap laws with a tracking cookie that records web browsing history after logging off of Facebook.
Smartphone apps have come under increasing scrutiny in the last year, with a growing body of research and reporting showing that companies provide little information about what — or how — user data is collected and shared
Despite promising that they won’t reveal users’ personal data, some of the most highly trafficked Web sites transmit usernames, email addresses, addresses, and even birth dates to ad networks and other third parties, a new study confirms