Archive for the ‘Privacy’ Category
Government Seeks Twitter Info of Occupy Wall Street Protester
Hanni Fakhoury of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has written an excellent account of the story of Malcolm Harris, an Occupy Wall Street (OWS) protester who was arrested for alleged disorderly conduct on October 1, 2011 on the Brooklyn Bridge — and whose Twitter account information is being sought by the government. As Fakhoury reports, [...]
Demi Moore 911 Call Leads to Privacy Bill in California
Spurred to action by the release of a 911 call about actress Demi Moore, California Assemblywoman Norma Torres (D-Pomona) has introduced a bill that would prohibit authorities from releasing the medical or any personally identifying information in such emergency phone calls. Current California law prohibits the release of personal details, but AB 1275 is written [...]
EFF Raises Privacy Concerns About AIM Upgrade
AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) has released an upgrade, but the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) has recommended that AIM users “not switch to the new version, as it introduces important privacy-unfriendly features.” Why the concern from the EFF? According to the statement, the new system “started storing more logs of communications and . . . apparently [...]
NYC Principal in Course Credit and Chocolate Sauce Scandals
A few weeks ago, we talked about a Georgia teacher who lost her job because of photos that appeared on Facebook, and now we have a similar (with important differences) situation in New York. This time, it’s not a teacher, but the principal of New York’s Jane Addams High School, and the photos are slightly [...]
FTC and Facebook Come to Privacy Agreement
Facebook and privacy concerns have been walking hand in hand for years now, and now the social media giant has agreed to tighter controls by the Federal Trade Commission, including regular privacy audits conducted by an independent agency biannually for the next 20 years. The agreement comes between the FTC and Facebook on the heels [...]
Divorcing Couple Ordered to Exchange Facebook Passwords
We’ve seen employees fired over Facebook postings and photos, a judge grant permission to an opposing party to dig into private Facebook postings in a personal injury lawsuit, and another judge force a juror to reveal Facebook status updates, but this one is certainly a different twist: a Connecticut judge has ordered a divorcing couple [...]
Twitter Must Turn Over Data in WikiLeaks Case
A federal court judge has ruled that the private Twitter information of three WikiLeaks associates must be handed over to a grand jury investigating the case; the 60-page memorandum opinion (PDF) penned by Judge Liam O’Grady upheld a previous decision by a Magistrate Judge Theresa Carroll Buchanan. Birgitta Jonsdottir, a member of Iceland’s parliament, and [...]
Georgia Teacher’s Lawsuit Over Facebook Firing Continues
According to the Barrow County Superior Court, a former Georgia high school teacher can proceed with her lawsuit against the school district that fired her over Facebook photos. Ashley Payne was an English teacher at Apalachee High in Winder, Georgia for two years until the fall of 2009, when the administration received an anonymous tip [...]
FTC Holding Free Workshop on Facial Recognition Technology
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced that it’s hosting a free workshop in Washington, D.C. on December 8, 2011 to discuss facial recognition technology “and the privacy and security implications raised by its increasing use.” Facebook’s recent adoption of facial recognition technology for photos on the site has seemed to spark a large amount [...]
FTC Proposes Changes to Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act
Accept/delete (tracking) cookies by stallio on Flickr The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently proposed changes to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) that would further restrict the kinds of personal information websites could collect from users under 13 years old; the proposed amendments are intended to address issues that have come up in the [...]
