Wall Street Journal: Cyber Compliance: Data Excess Magnifies Risks

Friday, May 17th, 2013

In a series about cyber compliance issues, the Wall Street Journal takes a look at how collecting enormous amounts of data, without securing the private or sensitive information, can lead to large problems when there are security breaches: It’s well-known that many companies aren’t aware when they have had their ...

Update: Hamburg, Germany, Privacy Official Fines Google Over Street View Data Collection

Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013

To recap: In 2009, Google came under fire for its Street View product, where the online services giant photographed homes and other buildings in numerous countries as part of its online mapping service, as individuals said the photos invaded their privacy. Then, in 2010, Google announced that, for more than three years — in more than 30 ...

You Don’t Sacrifice Your Privacy Rights When You Use Twitter

Wednesday, March 6th, 2013

Social media is a pivotal platform for free speech protected by the First and Fourth Amendments. As Americans, we should be free to express ourselves online without fearing that our personal information and communications will end up in government hands – unless law enforcement obtains a probable cause warrant. ...

Update: Google Could Face Lawsuits in UK Over Safari Browser Privacy

Monday, January 28th, 2013

To recap: In February, the Wall Street Journal reported on new research by Stanford researcher Jonathan Mayer that showed four companies seeking to circumvent consumers’ privacy settings in Apple’s browser, Safari. The four companies are: Google, Vibrant Media, Media Innovation Group and PointRoll. Google said the circumvention was a mistake and it disabled the code, but there was (pdf) ...

Politico: Jay Rockefeller retirement shakes up privacy battle

Thursday, January 17th, 2013

Politico takes a look at what the retirement of Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.) will mean for privacy legislation. As chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, Rockefeller has held hearings on issues such as “The Need for Privacy Protections: Is Industry Self-Regulation Adequate?”; he opened an investigation into data brokers — companies that collect and sell data on ...

Wall Street Journal: They Know What You’re Shopping For

Monday, December 10th, 2012

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the privacy issues that can arise as companies identify individuals and tie them to their online browsing and shopping: Georgia resident Andy Morar is in the market for a BMW. So recently he sent a note to a showroom near Atlanta, using ...

Wall Street Journal: They Know What You’re Shopping For

Monday, December 10th, 2012

The Wall Street Journal takes a look at the privacy issues that can arise as companies identify individuals and tie them to their online browsing and shopping: Georgia resident Andy Morar is in the market for a BMW. So recently he sent a note to a showroom near Atlanta, using ...

Wall Street Journal: As workers use personal phones and computers on the job, security issues arise

Friday, November 16th, 2012

The Wall Street Journal reports on the security and privacy issues that can arise as businesses allow employees to use personal devices, such as cellphones and computers, as work devices: Over the past three years, small companies have outpaced big ones in letting workers use personal laptops, tablets and cellphones ...

Update on the Mining of Credit Card Users’ Data for Marketers

Thursday, October 18th, 2012

We’ve discussed targeted behavioral advertising before in the context of online and offline data collection and tracking of the habits of consumers. There have been numerous news stories about this surveillance issue. For example, after the Wall Street Journal reported last year that credit-card companies Visa and MasterCard “are pushing into a new business: using what they know about people’s credit-card purchases for targeting ...

Update: Web Profiles Haunt Students

Wednesday, October 10th, 2012

We’ve discussed before how social-networking data — from sites such as MySpace and Facebook — have been used to gather evidence in trials against jurors and defendants, in divorce cases, against employees (which can lead to lawsuits), applicants to colleges and graduate schools, politicians and high school students. We’ve seen it affect applicants to jobs in the United States and abroad. Now, the Wall Street Journal looks into the issue of students’ online statements being ...

Wall Street Journal: Facebook Sells More Access to Members

Wednesday, October 3rd, 2012

The Wall Street Journal reports on moves by social-networking site Facebook to “sell[] access to its users” to marketers: Facebook Inc. is experimenting with new ways to leverage its greatest asset—personal data on about 900 million people—reigniting concerns about privacy. The strategy: selling access to its users. To amp up ...

Wall Street Journal: DHS Privacy Chief Is Headed to Jenner & Block

Thursday, August 2nd, 2012

The Department of Homeland Security’s Chief Privacy Officer, Mary Ellen Callahan, is leaving her position, the Wall Street Journal reports. Here’s the DHS press release from when Callahan was appointed. The Journal reports: Mary Ellen Callahan, the chief privacy officer of the Department of Homeland Security, is leaving the administration ...