privacy

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Privacy Groups Want Online ‘Do Not Call’

‘Do Not Track’ would bar companies from targeting ads

(Newser) - Consumer and privacy advocates have proposed a voluntary online “Do Not Track” list that would bar companies from monitoring web traffic for the purpose of targeting ads. Modeled on the popular “Do Not Call” list, which blocks phone telemarketers, the new proposal wouldn’t outlaw ads altogether, the...

UK Is Ready for Its Closeup
UK Is Ready
for Its Closeup
Oct 19, 2007 4:04 PM CDT

UK Is Ready for Its Closeup

With 1 surveillance camera for every 15 Britons, unexamined life is nonexistent

(Newser) - The nation that embraced the "Big Brother" TV show is becoming eerily like the society George Orwell envisioned, reports the LA Times. Litterers under closed-circuit surveillance respond to commands to pick up trash they drop, and errant cyclists are ordered to dismount in pedestrian-only areas. Britons increasingly are trading...

Justin.tv All Me All the Time
Justin.tv All Me All the Time
Oct 14, 2007 1:07 PM CDT

Justin.tv All Me All the Time

Extending the livecasting of daily existence from one man to many

(Newser) - In most pix of Justin Kan a small camera is perched above his left ear. He’s a livecaster who co-founded Justin.tv, for people like him who have the tools, and the desire, to broadcast their every waking moment on the Web. The NY Times reports that the founders...

Body-Imaging Scanner Enters Airport Testing

Possible metal-detector replacement has privacy advocates wary

(Newser) - The federal government today begins testing a device that could replace metal detectors and pat-downs at airports around the country, the AP reports. The scanners produce full-body images of passengers, sans clothing. Privacy advocates are feeling sheepish. “These are virtual strip searches,” one said. “If Playboy published...

DHS Delays Domestic Spy Sat Plans
DHS Delays Domestic
Spy Sat Plans
Oct 2, 2007 6:45 PM CDT

DHS Delays Domestic Spy Sat Plans

House forces privacy review before local cops can get photos

(Newser) - Amid a privacy hullaballoo in Congress, the Department of Homeland Security has postponed the opening of an office that would share domestic spy satellites images with law enforcement, InformationWeek reports. House committee members overseeing DHS had threatened to block funding until better civil liberties safeguards are in place.

Court Says Past Travels Not Private
Court Says Past Travels Not Private
Sep 26, 2007 3:36 PM CDT

Court Says Past Travels Not Private

Cops don't need probable cause to grab old cell records

(Newser) - A federal court has ruled that one’s historic whereabouts are not protected by the Fourth Amendment, and that the government doesn't need to show probable cause to access old cell phone records. Authorities only have to claim the information is “relevant to an ongoing investigation,” Computerworld reports,...

Google's Street View to Respect Privacy Laws

Company promises method to remove I.D. related images

(Newser) - Google allayed some fears yesterday, announcing that its Street View application, which provides street-level images of certain cities, would respect each country’s privacy laws. “In the U.S., there's a long and noble tradition of 'public spaces,' where people don't have the same expectations of privacy as...

Don't Leave the Blackberry Lying Around

Spouses parse through private email in search of infidelities

(Newser) - Governments and corporations aren’t the only ones parsing through private emails, the New York Times reports: The culprit is just as likely to be a spouse hunting for proof of infidelity. One divorce lawyer says that electronic evidence plays a role “in just about every case now.”...

Canada Tells Google to Back Off
Canada Tells Google to
Back Off
Sep 12, 2007 11:14 PM CDT

Canada Tells Google to Back Off

Privacy commish says Street View could break laws

(Newser) - Canada's privacy czar isn’t as thrilled as your average techie with Google’s Street View feature, the Canadian Press reports: She wants to put the kibosh on the photo archive before it moves north of the border. Jennifer Stoddart has sent Google a letter saying the application “might...

Net Anonymizer Unlocked, Emails Revealed

Security expert turns privacy service into eavesdropping tool

(Newser) - A security expert turned net privacy service Tor into a listening post, and intercepted thousands of private emails, Wired reports. Human rights groups and foreign embassies alike depend on Tor to send what were thought to be untraceable messages. Dan Egerstad hosted his own Tor node, letting him read all...

Judge: Parts of Patriot Act Unconstitutional

Revised legislation violates separation of powers, 1st Amendment

(Newser) - The Patriot Act violates the Constitution by allowing unreasonable searches and seizures, violating separation of powers, and denying free speech, a federal judge ruled today in striking down parts of the revised legislation. Judge Victor Marrero said investigators must obtain court approval before ordering ISPs and phone companies to turn...

Firms Sell Web Privacy, but Few Are Buying

Most unwilling to spend money to protect information, study finds

(Newser) - The privacy market is hot, Wired observes, as new startups and big-name net companies are rolling out services to help consumers control information about themselves. But few may care enough pay for them. A new study shows most people are unwilling to spend even 25 cents to protect their privacy....

Va. Tech Never Knew of Shooter's Disorder

Cho was exposed to ridicule for condition

(Newser) - Fairfax County school officials knew that the outcast student who shot dead 32 people at Virginia Tech had selective mutism, a serious social anxiety disorder that prevented him from speaking in many situations. But federal privacy laws blocked disclosure of that information to Virginia Tech, reports the Washington Post. 

Activists, Washington Cross Swords over Terror List

Raises new concerns over privacy

(Newser) - Activists are battling Washington over a list that tagged some 20,000 people as suspected terrorists last year, the Washington Post reports. Yet only a fraction of them were arrested, prompting critics to doubt the list’s value. Cases of a civil rights activist held for hours and a Cleveland...

Feds Simplify Security Plan
Feds Simplify Security Plan
Aug 9, 2007 8:28 PM CDT

Feds Simplify Security Plan

Names to be screened through watch lists

(Newser) - The Homeland Security department unveiled a plan today to screen all airline passengers’ personal data through US watch lists. The proposal, a revision of an earlier plan that provoked congressional action over privacy concerns, will be tested beginning this fall, the AP reports. "Secure Flight will not harm personal...

Search Engines Improve Privacy Policies

Sites, government still have some work to do, study finds

(Newser) - Search engines are beginning to take user privacy more seriously, but stronger federal privacy legislation is still necessary, a new study says. In the online marketplace, privacy policies have become competitive factors, with sites one-upping each other to make surfers feel that they're safe and have control over their personal...

Google Maps Turns Cameras on Hollywood

Photo feature expands to SoCal; privacy concerns follow

(Newser) - Google has added street-level views of Los Angeles and other cities to its popular mapping service, the Los Angeles Times reports, raising a chorus of privacy concerns that echoes objections to the feature elsewhere. Though a useful navigation tool, Street View "is a visual reminder of how our private...

Bush Signs Law Expanding Wiretap Powers

Legalizes tapping calls and emails in and out of US without warrant

(Newser) - President Bush signed into law yesterday measures significantly expanding the government's authority to eavesdrop on millions of phone calls and e-mails going in and out of the US without warrants. The law, passed by Congress after bruising battles, effectively legalizes secret surveillance being conducted by a controversial National Security Agency...

House Passes Surveillance Bill
House Passes Surveillance Bill
Aug 5, 2007 11:47 AM CDT

House Passes Surveillance Bill

White House spying powers expanded, despite Democrats' opposition

(Newser) - A bill set to expand the government's warrantless spying program cleared the House last night by a 227-183 vote, the Washington Post reports. Many Democrats put aside profound  reservations, yielding to pressure from the White House and fearing being branded "weak on terror" as the campaign heats up this...

Bush to Congress: Not So Fast
Bush to Congress:
Not So Fast
Aug 3, 2007 3:40 PM CDT

Bush to Congress: Not So Fast

Prez calls on vacation-bound lawmakers to pass reform of eavesdropping law

(Newser) - Congress shouldn't go on vacation until it approves reforms to the current laws on government eavesdropping, President Bush said today. Lawmakers are working on a bill that would update the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act so that the US could spy on terror suspects overseas more effectively without impinging on...

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