Category «Privacy»

EPIC Recommends Consumer Privacy Protections for California Smart Grid

“In formal comments to the California Public Utility Commission, EPIC said that utility customers should control the use of personal information generated by Smart Grid services. EPIC warned that companies will otherwise use the data for purposes not related to electricity delivery, consumption management, or payment. EPIC urged the California Commission to include a requirement …

Subjects: Government Documents, Privacy

New Yorker: Julian Assange and WikiLeak's mission for total transparency

No Secrets, by Raffi Khatchadourian: “[Julian Paul] Assange is an international trafficker, of sorts. He and his colleagues collect documents and imagery that governments and other institutions regard as confidential and publish them on a Web site called WikiLeaks.org. Since it went online, three and a half years ago, the site has published an extensive …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Cybercrime, Government Documents, Legal Research, Privacy, Wiki

EU data protection group says Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! do not comply with data protection rules

Article 29 Data Protection Working Party Press Release, Brussels, 26 May 2010: EU data protection group says Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! do not comply with data protection rules “The Article 29 Data Protection Working Party, a group of European data protection authorities, today told the three major search engine operators – Google, Yahoo! and Microsoft …

Subjects: E-Government, EU Data Protection, Government Documents, Microsoft, Privacy, Search Engines

House Energy and Commerce Committee Send Letter to Google About Gathering Data Sent over Private Wi-Fi networks

News release: “Today, Chairman Henry A. Waxman, Subcommittee Chairman Ed Markey, and Ranking Member Joe Barton sent a letter to Eric Schmidt, Chairman & CEO of Google, regarding recent reports of data collection over private Wi-Fi networks in conjunction with Google’s Street View product. The Committee is concerned about the accuracy and completeness of Google’s …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Privacy, Search Engines, Wireless Web

Senate Unanimously Passes Faster FOIA Act

EPIC: “The Senate unanimously passed the Faster FOIA Act of 2010, introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and John Cornyn (R-TX), that will establish a 16-member commission to determine methods for reducing delays in processing FOIA requests. Government reports reveal substantial delays in disclosing records subject to the open government law. The legislation seeks to …

Subjects: Congress, E-Government, Freedom of Information, Legislation, Privacy

Study: Economic Impact of Privacy on Online Behavioral Advertising

BusinessWire: “A new study of 90 organizations actively engaged in online marketing concludes that in spite of an acknowledged return on investment, hundreds of millions of dollars are being held back from online behavioral advertising (OBA) over concerns that a lack of consumer trust in the practice could damage brand reputation. The study, Economic Impact …

Subjects: E-Commerce, Privacy

U.S. Courts: More States Report Wiretap Activity

News release: “A total of 2,376 federal and state applications for orders authorizing the interception of wire, oral or electronic communications, known as wiretaps, was reported in 2009. The number of applications for orders by federal authorities was 663; the number of applications reported by state prosecuting officials was 1,713. No applications were denied. The …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Congress, Courts, Government Documents, Privacy

FY 2010 Reporting Instructions for Federal Information Security Management Act and Agency Privacy Management

EPIC: “A new White House memo sets out the Federal Information Security Management Act of 2002 (FISMA) standards for federal agencies. All agencies must comply with the FISMA standard and report security practices for information under agency control. The standard also extends obligations to agency contractors. By November 15, 2010, all agencies must be capable …

Subjects: Cybercrime, E-Government, Government Documents, Privacy

Report highlights commonalities between airport baggage screening and medical image searches

Generalized ‘satisfaction of search’: Adverse influences on dual-target search accuracy – Mathias S. Fleck, Ehsan Samei, and Stephen R. Mitroff, Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University, Carl E. Ravin Advanced Imaging Laboratories, Department of Radiology, Duke University Medical Center “The successful detection of a target in a radiological search can …

Subjects: Civil Liberties, Government Documents, Knowledge Management, Privacy