Category «Privacy»

DHS Privacy Complaints Increase in 2013, Many Databases Kept Secret

EPIC – “The Department of Homeland Security Quarterly Report to Congress details programs and databases affecting privacy. According to the agency, DHS received 964 privacy complaints between September 1, 2013 and November 30, 2013. By contrast, DHS received 295 privacy complaints during the same period in 2011. According to the report, most DHS systems complies with Privacy Act notice …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Defense, Free Speech, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, PC Security, Privacy

EPIC Defends Commercial Driver Privacy

“EPIC has submitted comments on a proposed Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse. Under a newlaw, employers of commercial drivers will be required to report drug and alcohol test results to the Clearinghouse. Employers will also be required to check the database for test results on drivers. EPIC’s comments urged the Transportation Department to: (1) require anyone …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Privacy

FTC Recommends Congress Require the Data Broker Industry to be More Transparent

Agency Report Shows Data Brokers Collect and Store Billions of Data Elements Covering Nearly Every U.S. Consumer: “In a report issued today on the data broker industry, the Federal Trade Commission finds that data brokers operate with a fundamental lack of transparency. The Commission recommends that Congress consider enacting legislation to make data broker practices …

Subjects: E-Commerce, E-Government, E-Records, Economy, Government Documents, Privacy

The Transparency Reports Database – Government Requests for Users Data

Silk Transparency Project – “An increasing number of Internet and telecommunication companies are publishing reports detailing the number of government requests for user interaction data the companies have received in a given period of time. Technology and telecommunications companies store data on all user interactions. This includes “non-content data” (also called metadata). Metadata consists of login times, user location and …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Internet, Privacy

UK CCTV code of practice – revised

“This revised code of practice on CCTV is intended to replace the last revision which was published in 2008.  The aim of this revision is to reflect the developments in existing technologies that have taken place since the last revision, to discuss the emergence of new surveillance technologies and the issues they present, to reflect …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Defense, E-Government, EU Data Protection, Government Documents, Privacy

Google Plans Advertising on Appliances, Including Nest Thermostat

EPIC – “In a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission, Google announced plans to place targeted ads on Google-controlled appliances. Google wrote that “a few years from now, we and other companies could be serving ads and other content on refrigerators, car dashboards, thermostats, glasses, and watches, to name just a few possibilities.” The proposal …

Subjects: E-Commerce, Government Documents, Privacy, Search Engines

Consumer Reports: 85% of Shoppers Oppose Internet Ad Tracking

EPIC:  “According to a recent study by Consumer Reports, consumers overwhelmingly object to having their online activities tracked for advertising purposes. The report found that 85% of consumers would not trade even anonymized personal data for targeted ads. Additionally, 76% of consumers said that targeted advertising adds “little or no value” to their shopping activities. For more …

Subjects: E-Commerce, Internet, Privacy

Report – NSA Is Recording Every Cell Phone Call in the Bahamas

By Ryan Devereaux, Glenn Greenwald and Laura Poitras: The National Security Agency is secretly intercepting, recording, and archiving the audio of virtually every cell phone conversation on the island nation of the Bahamas. According to documents provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, the surveillance is part of a top-secret system – code-named SOMALGET – that was implemented without the knowledge or consent of …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, E-Government, Government Documents, Internet, Legal Research, Patriot Act, Privacy

Council on Foreign Relations Cybersecurity Policy Research Links

“How can the United States protect cyberspace “control system of our country,” without restricting the open “flow of information on the Internet“? What should countries consider when developing international cybersecurity standards and protocol? What should their citizens know to protect their information and their rights? Cybersecurity Policy Research Links provide news, background information, legislation, analysis, …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Defense, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, PC Security, Privacy

Research shows smartphone sensors leave trackable fingerprints

News release, ECE Illinois: “Research by Associate Professor Romit Roy Choudhury and graduate students Sanorita Dey and Nirupam Roy have demonstrated that the accelerometers used in mobile devices posses unique, trackable fingerprints. This suggests that even when a smartphone application doesn’t ask for geospatial information (“…would like to use your current location”), there are other …

Subjects: Cybercrime, Internet, PC Security, Privacy

CIO – Google to launch automated tool for those wanting to disappear from search results

Follow up to EU Court of Justice – Google Must Remove Links Upon Request this news via  CIO: “People will be able to use an online tool to ask Google not to display search results about them, according to a German data protection commissioner. Google will create the tool following a decision by the Court of Justice …

Subjects: E-Commerce, EU Data Protection, Internet, Privacy, Search Engines

EFF – Which Tech Companies Help Protect You From Government Data Demands?

EFF Survey Shows Improved Privacy and Transparency Policies of the Internet’s Biggest Companies “Technology companies are privy to our most sensitive information: our conversations, photos, location data, and more. But which companies fight the hardest to protect your privacy from government data requests? Today, the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) releases its fourth annual “Who Has …

Subjects: E-Government, Government Documents, Internet, Patriot Act, PC Security, Privacy