privacy

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Twitter Shows Some Spine Over First Amendment
Twitter Shows Backbone
Over First Amendment
OPINION
Jan 12, 2011 3:01 PM CST

Twitter Shows Backbone Over First Amendment

'Wired' columnist: Other tech companies should follow suit

(Newser) - When the US government told Twitter to hand over its information about WikiLeaks figures, the company did what is so unfortunately rare these days, writes Ryan Singel at Wired . It "beta-tested a spine" and stood up for the First Amendment. The easiest course of action would have been to...

Miami Police Buy Spy Drone
Miami Police
Buy Spy Drone
Jan 7, 2011 11:15 AM CST

Miami Police Buy Spy Drone

Some residents have privacy concerns

(Newser) - Soon, America’s fearsome spy drones will prowl the sky in Kandahar, Waziristan, and … South Beach? The Miami-Dade Police Department has struck a deal to buy a drone, WSN-TV reports. Many residents aren’t particularly happy about this, but police are eager to have “an eye up there,...

Stewart's New Punching Bag: Mark Zuckerberg

Facebook wants privacy?

(Newser) - Jon Stewart went after Mark Zuckerberg last night , arguing that Facebook is using its deal with Goldman Sachs to delay going public, since doing so would force the company to be more transparent (though that theory may not, in fact, be true ). What nerve. "Mark Zuckerberg doesn't want...

DMV Clerk Writes Letter to 'Evil' Transgender Customer

He used database to track her down after processing name change: Lawyer

(Newser) - A transgender woman is suing the California DMV after an employee took it upon himself to write her a personal letter telling her she'd go to hell for her "very evil decision," the AP reports. Though the clerk processed Amber Yust's name change from David, he allegedly used...

Users Sue YouPorn for Spying on Them

Site allegedly rummaged through browsing histories

(Newser) - It seems YouPorn’s been a very naughty website. Two California men have filed a class-action lawsuit, complaining that the homemade smut site has been spying on users’ surfing histories. When users surfed to YouPorn, a Javascript looked through their history to see which links have been marked as “...

FTC Wants Do-Not-Track System for Web

Says Internet users need better privacy protection

(Newser) - The FTC is calling for the creation of a system that allows consumers to opt out of having the web pages they view tracked by advertisers, the Wall Street Journal reports. The commission said "industry must do better" to protect online privacy in its report issued today. The FTC...

That Time of the Month: Boss Tags Women With Red Bands

You know, to monitor bathroom breaks

(Newser) - We're apparently not making this up: One Norway boss makes female staffers wear red wristbands during that time of the month to explain frequent bathroom breaks. That tidbit popped up in a new report about "tyrannical" bathroom rules at Norwegian workplaces. The report found that some 66% of managers...

Al-Qaeda Is Punking Us
 Al-Qaeda Is Punking Us 
CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS
Nov 29, 2010 5:12 PM CST

Al-Qaeda Is Punking Us

US can't handle AQAP's tactics

(Newser) - Can it be that the United States has met its match in al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula? The group's lack of a direct hit thus far seems more bad luck than effective counter-terrorism, writes Christopher Hitchens for Slate . In the meantime, AQAP has used our own desire to protect ourselves...

Gizmodo Publishes 100 Body Scans

Illicit courthouse scans revealed

(Newser) - Remember that courthouse that got in trouble for storing body scan images that were supposed to be deleted? Well, Gizmodo got its hands on 100 of those photos with a Freedom of Information Act request, and has posted them in this video. “We understand that it will be controversial...

Hey, Border Guards: Stay Out of Our Computers
Hey, Border Guards:
Stay Out of Our Computers
OPINION
Nov 16, 2010 1:13 PM CST

Hey, Border Guards: Stay Out of Our Computers

There must be a reason for these invasive searches, seizures, writes the NYT

(Newser) - Right now, border agents can search your computer without a warrant or probable cause—and it's long past time for that to change, asserts the New York Times in an editorial. Borders need to be protected, but there's "a big difference between government agents scanning items for explosives ... and...

It's Time to Let Jurors Be Anonymous
It's Time to Let Jurors
Be Anonymous
OPINION
Nov 13, 2010 2:54 PM CST

It's Time to Let Jurors Be Anonymous

Internet age calls for better privacy protection

(Newser) - Federal judges can give jurors anonymity, but state judges around the nation don't have that option in most cases. "For judges hearing high-profile cases, this lack of juror anonymity can present serious problems," writes law student Steve Cohen of his home state of New York. The rule raises...

Cops Screen Recruits' Texts, Facebook Posts

Racy pics, suicide threats get would-be cops dumped

(Newser) - Law enforcement agencies are probing potential recruits’ digital lives for information that might make them unfit for the job, USA Today reports. More than a third of police agencies look into applicants’ social media presence, says a new report conducted for police executives. Reviewing postings to sites like Facebook, MySpace,...

Probe: Web Firm Sells IDs, Personal Data
 Web Firm Sells IDs, 
 Personal Data 
investigation
Oct 25, 2010 4:41 AM CDT

Web Firm Sells IDs, Personal Data

RapLeaf takes online tracking a step further

(Newser) - Most of us know that web firms track our interests and affiliations by following our online activity. But at least one firm, RapLeaf, follows the digital trail a step further, linking people's virtual behavior to the real world by collecting specific names and email address and selling them to advertising...

Release Joe Miller's Personnel File: Judge

Details murky why candidate quit county job last year

(Newser) - Joe Miller's quest for privacy suffered a blow yesterday, with an Alaska judge ordering the release of his personnel records for a borough (county), reports the Anchorage Daily News, which was part of a group of media that sued for the release. Among details sought are the circumstances surrounding his...

Feds Want to Make It Easier to Eavesdrop Online

Bill seeks to expand government's wiretapping power

(Newser) - The feds want to overhaul wiretapping regulations to expand their ability to eavesdrop online, reports the New York Times . The Obama administration plans to submit a bill to Congress next year that would require all service providers to be technically capable of wiretapping the communications they enable, from encrypted BlackBerry...

Airport Scanners to Dress Up 'Naked' Images

Software replaces everyone with generic guy in baseball hat

(Newser) - Good news, frequent fliers: Pretty soon airport security won’t be looking at sort of naked computer-generated images of you when you step into the full-body scanner anymore. Thanks to an ingenious software upgrade, those scanners will soon instead show a generic image of a man in t-shirt, jeans, and...

Cops Don't Need Warrant to Track Cars With GPS

'1984 is here at last,' says dissenting judge

(Newser) - Police can secretly track your movements with a GPS device attached to your car, and come into your driveway in the middle of the night to install it—all without a warrant, a federal court has ruled. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has twice let stand the conviction of...

Online Ad Companies Know Everything About You

Tracking cookies are watching

(Newser) - The second you land on Capital One’s homepage, they know, or at least, could know, where you live, what you do, how much you make, and loads of other information about you. That’s because Capital One employs a company called [x+1] Inc, a firm that uses the tracking...

Microsoft Execs Thwarted IE Privacy Plans

Defaults were changed to allow tracking and help advertisers

(Newser) - Microsoft had planned to give Internet Explorer 8.0 the most advanced privacy settings in the industry, until executives swept in and made the browser more advertiser-friendly. Explorer was supposed to keep out all kinds of common tracking tools, but Microsoft opted instead to turn the feature off as a...

What Outrage? Privacy-Busting Facebook Hits 500M Users

Site welcomes 500 millionth user

(Newser) - Facebook spent the last six months pissing off users , and what do they get? More users! Though the social network sparked outrage by changing its privacy settings and appropriating user data , Zuckerberg & Co. are stronger than ever, writes Ryan Tate on Gawker , noting that yesterday the site welcomed...

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