• FCC Extends Some Privacy Protections To Wireless Users
    Telecoms must safeguard information about consumers' phone calls, regardless of whether the calls are made on wireless devices or landlines, the Federal Communications Commission ruled today.
  • Appeals Court Upholds $675K File-Sharing Fine
    An order requiring former grad student Joel Tenenbaum to pay a six-figure fine for sharing 30 songs on Kazaa might strike many observers as absurd -- but not federal appellate judges. This week, a three-judge panel of the First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the $675,000 verdict, which the Recording Industry Association of America obtained after a copyright infringement trial in 2009. "The jury's award of $675,000 did not violate Tenenbaum's right to due process," the judges wrote in a 10-page decision.
  • IAB Asks Mozilla To Rethink 'Kangaroo Cookie Court'
    A new privacy initiative by Mozilla and Stanford amounts to a "Kangaroo Cookie Court," that will replace "the principle of consumer choice with an arrogant 'Mozilla knows best' system." So says Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the Interactive Advertising Bureau. "Browser makers should not be dictating the kind of economic and cultural policies Mozilla is trying to implement any more than television set manufacturers should be deciding which shows make it to your home," Rothenberg wrote today in a blog post.
  • FTC Opens Antitrust Probe Into Google-Waze Deal
    Israeli mapping company Waze recently accepted a $1.1 billion buyout offer from Google, reportedly rebuffing competing offers from Microsoft, Apple and Facebook. But those other tech companies might get a second chance to buy Waze. That's because the Federal Trade Commission reportedly has opened an antitrust investigation into Google's purchase of the social-mapping company. Should the FTC decide the deal harms competition, the agency potentially could order Google to divest its new acquisition.
  • Hipster Accused Of Infringing Copyright By Uploading Address Books
    Web users who bring privacy lawsuits against online companies often face an almost insurmountable hurdle -- proving monetary damages.
  • Lawmakers Seek To Ease Draconian Computer Fraud Law
    Lawmakers in the House and Senate have formally introduced a law that would amend the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act: a long-outdated bill that potentially criminalizes many activities that have become commonplace online.
  • NSA News Drives Consumers To Seek More Privacy Protection
    If nothing else, news about the National Security Agency's extensive surveillance activities seems to have left some consumers more determined than before to protect their privacy.
  • BuzzFeed Slideshow Leads To Copyright Lawsuit
    BuzzFeed has been hit with a copyright infringement complaint that could have a significant impact on how publishers aggregate images for slideshows.The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan by photographer Kai Eiselein, alleges that BuzzFeed took a photo from Flickr and incorporated it into a slideshow without his permission.
  • Can Ad Networks And Advocates Close The Gap On Do-Not-Track?
    Will the World Wide Web Consortium's effort to forge online privacy standards come to naught? Some privacy advocates are suggesting the answer could be yes.
  • Analyst: NSA Surveillance Will Raise Awareness About Big Data
    The National Security Agency's data collection from Web companies remains top of mind for analysts and online ad industry watchers. At this point, many observers are still waiting for the news to fully sink in -- with consumers as well as lawmakers. For now, news about the NSA surveillance will at least heighten consumers' awareness about online privacy, according to Brian Wieser at Pivotal Research Group. "
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