[privacy] Forum Topics

Scared that students taking an exam might cheat, teachers at the posh Harrow School in England took the unusual step of banning them from using the Internet and re-routing their email so it could be read by the headmaster. The irony of the exam being concerned with Nazi foreign policy …

The UK Government's communications agency GCHQ has issued a rare statement saying it has no plans to monitor every individual's emails. Instead, the Home Secretary says we should all be ready to have our ISPs record [URL="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/8032367.stm"]all our Internet contacts[/URL]. I've met a few ISPs. They're going to be delighted, …

I am no great fan of the concept of National ID Cards, although my reasoning is not so much based upon distrusting the 'if you've done nothing wrong you have nothing to fear' argument nor even the 'big brother invasion of privacy' paranoia which seems to grip most of the …

According to a [URL="http://www.mk-news.co.uk/mknews/displayarticle.asp?id=405050"]report[/URL] in a local UK newspaper, the MK News, it seems that Google Street View is not welcome in the affluent English village of Broughton in Buckinghamshire. Apparently concerned about the potential for criminals intent on breaking into their houses, residents of one street which has already …

I knew it was going to happen, you knew it was going to happen, [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/19244/53/"]everyone knew[/URL] that Street View would cause a privacy stink when it eventually launched in the UK. Everyone except Google it would appear. Although it is not saying how many images have been removed from the …

This has started earlier than I expected. American readers will be quite used to the idea that in many areas if you go to Google Maps you'll find pictures of the street as well as maps. Personally I think this is a good thing; only two days ago I was …

Remember [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry3344.html"]last fall[/URL], when people were terrified that pedophiles were using Google Streetview to find parks and schools so they could more readily find their young victims? Apparently a California legislator has been listening to them, or someone like them. Last month, California Assemblyman Joel Anderson, R-El Cajon, introduced a …

The Maryland Court of Appeals has reversed a lower-court ruling that a website must reveal the names of anonymous posters during a defamation hearing, and has issued guidelines for how such requests should be made in the future. The court ruling laid out the following steps in its [URL="http://mdcourts.gov/opinions/coa/2009/63a08.pdf"]decision[/URL]: [LIST=1] …

178 Web posters who thought they were anonymous are being [URL="http://www.connordemond.com/LESHER-OMEGA_PETITION.pdf"]sued[/URL], and the website where they made the offending posts has been ordered to release information to help identify them. A couple, Mark and Rhonda Lesher, was accused of sexually assaulting a woman, and the websites for [URL="http://www.topix.com/forum/city/mckinney-tx"]McKinney[/URL], [URL="http://www.topix.com/forum/city/clarksville-tx"]Clarksville[/URL], and …

Well, thank goodness for that. A couple has failed to sue Google for infringing their privacy by - wait for it - including their house in its Street View function on Maps. It is of course (in my view) ludicrous to state that anything visible in public can't be included …

When Facebook changed its [URL="http://consumerist.com/5150175/facebooks-new-terms-of-service-we-can-do-anything-we-want-with-your-content-forever"]terms of service[/URL] on Monday, it caused an immediate uproar, and when people screamed loudly enough, Facebook backed down. What this shows me is that although Facebook is a free service, it exists and is successful because we make it so. The millions of people who …

So Google has announced a new service that effectively lets you track where your friends are at any time via Google Maps and mobile phones. [URL="http://www.google.com/latitude/intro.html"]Google Latitude[/URL] is either a mobile real time social networking work of genius, or a big brother work of the devil depending upon your viewpoint. …

Under new a new law adopted in the UK, the British police are now permitted to access data stored on home computers without benefit of a search warrant. Worse yet, officers are allowed to hack into computers remotely without notifying its owner. Even though officials say these methods would only …

A Firefox developer has [URL="http://ehsanakhgari.org/blog/2008-11-04/dont-leave-trace-private-browsing-firefox"]revealed[/URL] that pre-release versions of Firefox 3.1 have been updated with a new feature. Officially called 'Private Browsing' it will be more familiar to many as the much talked about Porn Mode that [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/20303/53/"]caused such controversy[/URL] when Microsoft announced it was being included within the forthcoming …

The group [URL="http://www.stopinternetpredators.org/"]Stop Internet Predators[/URL], claiming that the Street View 360-degree technology can be used by pedophiles to help stalk their victims, is recommending that municipalities "[b]an Street View from your neighborhoods until it is safeguarded to ensure children's safety and privacy." How Google is supposed to do that, the …

Last Saturday, Republican vice presidential nominee and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin held a rally in Los Angeles in the Home Depot Center, and the California Democratic Party rented a giant electronic billboard during the event, and solicited questions from people, via texting, to display during the presentation (exhorting submitters to …

Twitter users are a loyal bunch and few would argue that it's a useful networking tool. The one thing Twitter is not, however, is private. While that's not a big deal for most people, it certainly is in the world of academics where it's ill-advised to have children using communication …

Well, at least as far as getting reasonably unrestricted access to the Internet is concerned it does. It had been [URL="http://www.itwire.com/content/view/19764/53/"]widely reported[/URL] that the Chinese authorities had backtracked on their promises to the IOC that reporters would get free and unrestricted access to the Internet during the games. This, no …

Following on from [URL="http://www.daniweb.com/blogs/entry2739.html"]my posting[/URL] two days ago, the [URL="http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2008/07/viacoms-statement-youtube-user-data-controversy"]EFF is reporting[/URL] that Viacom has issued a statement regarding the US court ruling over disclosure of those YouTube video viewing logs. Here is the statement in full: [QUOTE]It is unfortunate that we have been compelled to go to court to …

Sometimes I am left almost loss for words, and today is one of them. Judge Louis Stanton gave a ruling in the federal court for the Southern District of New York which has, quite frankly, dismissed the right to privacy of anyone who has ever watched a video clip on …

Not my sentiment but that of Johnathan Nightingale, the Firefox security interface designer no less who has [URL="http://news.cnet.com/8301-10789_3-9967829-57.html"]gone on record[/URL] as saying that "we didn't want to put in something that was half baked" when talking about how the privacy button might interact with websites and mashups alike. Which might …

[I]Even on a slow day, I can have a three-way chat with two women at the same time -- Brad Paisley, [URL="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7GcVnhNjWV0"]Cooler Online[/URL][/I] But what if you work for the government? Particularly if you're a teacher? A number of [URL="http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-flpfacebook0601pnjun01,0,7309360.story?page=1&track=facebook"]teachers in Palm Beach County[/URL], Fla. -- some of them 20somethings …

Google would argue that it does not need to make the privacy policy it has any easier to find, after all you only have to click the 'About Google' link on the homepage and then go and click the 'Privacy Policy' link that can be found at the foot of …

According to the UK government, new proposals within the [URL="http://www.commonsleader.gov.uk/output/page2461.asp"]Communications Data Bill[/URL] are being put forward in order to prevent and detect crime as well as protect national security. The government argues that unless legislation is amended to reflect changes in technology, the ability of public authorities to counter criminal …

Here's a good one, [URL="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/may/01/italy"]according to The Guardian newspaper[/URL] in the UK, the incomes of each and every single Italian citizen were published for each and every other Italian citizen to see on the web. Rather than being some terrible data breach, or the work of some sinister hacker, it …

Bruce Schneier is a security legend, and posts like [URL="http://www.wired.com/politics/security/commentary/securitymatters/2008/03/securitymatters_0306"]this one[/URL] go a long way to proving just why. In this Wired commentary Schneier gives the best explanation I have seen as to why the ‘transparent society’ argument is a myth, why it is not better than privacy but rather …

It doesn’t really matter where you live in the world, the chances are that your country has been hit by some high profile data loss scandal during the course of the last year or so. Everything from retail operations such as TJ Maxx losing the odd 40 million or so …

Many years ago, during a press visit to Microsoft HQ in Seattle, I was given relative freedom to wander around the Redmond campus. Of course, there were some areas that were strictly out of bounds. Areas like the one which was entered via the 'Cryogenics Lab' door for example. At …

Yesterday I wrote that Google was ranked dead last in a national survey of Internet search engine companies when it comes to consumer privacy rights. I also notes how Congress was taking a closer look at Google's privacy practices, particularly in light of its proposed merger with Doubleclick. Now it …

A recent study on the privacy rankings of big internet search engine providers reveals that Google might have some ‘splainin to do, especially if Congress gets its way. In the process, its proposed merger/buyout with Doubleclick might be in trouble. First, Google’s privacy problems, as defined by some privacy experts. …