by Wendy Davis on Oct 31, 6:32 PM
A California resident who this week became the first person in the country to receive a ticket for driving while wearing Google Glass says she is leaning toward taking her case to court. "The law is not clear, the laws are very outdated," software engineer Cecilia Abadie said, according to The Associated Press. She added that she was "pretty sure" she would contest the ticket.
by Wendy Davis on Oct 30, 6:27 PM
Like Facebook and Google, Netflix recently settled a class-action privacy lawsuit by agreeing to donate millions of dollars to nonprofits. And, as with Facebook and Google, not everyone is happy about the agreement.
by Wendy Davis on Oct 29, 6:07 PM
The more time that goes by, the more obvious it is that hacker Andrew Auernheimer's conviction for computer fraud poses a significant threat to online privacy.
by Wendy Davis on Oct 28, 8:01 PM
Citing new research about the use of tablets and smartphones by children, two lawmakers said today that they plan to introduce privacy legislation. "Increasing use of mobile devices by very young children coupled with rapid change in technological development makes it more important than ever to put federal legislation on the books that provides parents with the tools to protect their children online," Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and Joe Barton (R-Texas) said in a joint statement.
by Wendy Davis on Oct 25, 4:57 PM
The federal government's efforts to force email service provider Lavabit to reveal its encryption key poses a risk to just about every form of online commerce, the digital rights group Electronic Frontier Foundation argues in new court papers.
by Wendy Davis on Oct 24, 6:12 PM
Revelations about the data broker Experian's unwitting assistance to identity thieves are sparking a new wave of questions by the head of the Senate Commerce Committee.
by Wendy Davis on Oct 23, 5:43 PM
Former Federal Communications Commission chair Michael Powell, now a lobbyist for the cable industry, apparently wants to see Internet service providers impose data caps as soon as possible. He reportedly encouraged cable providers to move "with some urgency and purpose" in shifting to usage-based billing measures. "I don't think it's too late," Powell said this week. "But it's not something you can wait for forever."
by Wendy Davis on Oct 22, 7:17 PM
Airbnb is taking its battle with New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to the court of public opinion. Earlier today, the company convened a press conference where it unveiled a report touting the economic benefits it brings to the city's outer boroughs, as well as to its middle-class hosts. The study, conducted by HR&A Advisors, concludes that the 416,000 Airbnb users who visited in the last year had a total economic impact on the city of $632 million.
by Wendy Davis on Oct 21, 7:37 PM
The European Parliament's civil liberties committee voted today in favor of sweeping new privacy regulations that could impose new obligations on Web companies. One key provision of the measure that moved forward today gives consumers the right to delete prior material they have posted, including tweets, Facebook photos and the like.
by Wendy Davis on Oct 18, 5:14 PM
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman recently made headlines by targeting astroturfers -- marketers who pose as consumers and then sing their companies' praises in fake reviews. No doubt that's a questionable marketing strategy. But here's one that's even worse: hijacking customers' accounts in order to post glowing reviews in their names.