Accurate, Focused Research on Law, Technology and Knowledge Discovery With Daily Postings Since 2002
News release: “A payment processor and two of its principals are now banned from using a new payment method to process electronic payments under a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission, which resolves charges that they debited consumers’ bank accounts without their consent. The settlement furthers the FTC’s ongoing efforts to protect financially-strapped consumers during …
Nielsens Tops of 2011: Digital – December 28, 2011 – “As 2011 comes to a close, Nielsen reviewed the top online destinations, social media sites, and smartphone devices. Google was the most-visited U.S. Web brand, while Facebook held its lead among social networks and blogs. Smartphones were popular in 2011, making up the majority of …
Print libraries, book collections, book shops – targets of fiscal austerity, the growing impact and power of e-books, social media, pay walls, e-commerce structures, and changing values about print media itself – are increasing disappearing. Regardless of the application of specific determining factors, the results are increased thresholds to open access to “knowledge.” There is …
News release: “The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner, Ireland 21 December 2011 published the outcome of its audit of Facebook Ireland(FB-I) which was conducted over the last three months including on-site in Facebook Irelands Headquarters in Dublin. The report is available in 2 parts: Report of the Audit, including recommendations and the Facebook Technical …
“Have you ever wondered why some online ads you see are targeted to your tastes and interests, or how websites remember your preferences from visit to visit? The answer may be in the cookies.” A cookie is information saved by your web browser, the software program you use to visit the web. Cookies can be …
EPIC: “Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Mike Lee (R-UT), Chairman and Ranking member of the Judiciary Antitrust Subcommittee, have sent a letter to FTC Chairman John Liebowitz, expressing concern about Google’s business practices and the company’s impact on competition in Internet search and commerce. In September, EPIC wrote to the FTC and described how Google …
Where people get information about restaurants and other local businesses: “The internet is the source that people most rely on for material about the local business scene and search engines are particularly valued. Newspapers and word of mouth also rank high as sources.”
News release: “TRUSTe, the leading online privacy solutions provider, released its first privacy index as part of its new “Privacy Pulse” information series tracking changes and trends in online privacy. In the 2011 Website Edition of its Privacy Index, TRUSTe analyzed the privacy policies of the top 100 U.S. websites (as ranked by Alexa Sept. …
“The Blueprint for a Secure Cyber Future builds on the Department of Homeland Security Quadrennial Homeland Security Review Reports strategic framework by providing a clear path to create a safe, secure, and resilient cyber environment for the homeland security enterprise. With this guide, stakeholders at all levels of government, the private sector, and our international …
The 2011 Fortune 500 and Social Media Adoption: Have America’s Largest Companies Reached a Social Media Plateau? Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D. and Justina Andonian – Center for Marketing Research, Charlton College of Business, University of Massachusetts Dartmouth “One hundred and fourteen (23%) of the primary corporations listed on the 2011 F500 have a public-facing corporate …
“The following op-ed by Harvard Law School Professor Jonathan Zittrain appeared in the Nov. 30 edition of the Technology Review – The PC is dead. Rising numbers of mobile, lightweight, cloud-centric devices don’t merely represent a change in form factor. Rather, we’re seeing an unprecedented shift of power from end users and software developers on …
“Consumer Reports’ Guide to online security outlines some of the most common Net threatssuch as phishing, online scams, and computer viruses. (See: Best ways to stay safe online.) But our latest security report also notes that mobile phones and social media sites can also present a rising amount of ID theft risks since more consumers …
