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From PCWorld, Legislative Year in Review: All Talk, Little Action: “For good or ill, Congress kept to its usual snail’s pace on a number of controversial issues ranging from digital copyright to spyware; other government agencies, however, made up for some of the slack.”
From the EFF press release: “The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision today that will stop entertainment corporations from gaining access to the names of people using peer-to-peer (P2P) networks unless the companies file lawsuits against them and furnish actual evidence of copyright infringement.” From the text of the decision: “This case concerns …
This Wired article focuses on California legislation that went into effect this new year that provides the state’s consumers with a range of privacy protections, including unlisted cell phone numbers, rental cars without electronic surveillance technology activated, and the right to sue email spammers.
From the FCC, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Domain Name Data Entry (For Wireless Providers Only): “The purpose of the domain name registry is to protect cellular and other commercial mobile service (CMRS) wireless consumers from unwanted commercial electronic mail messages, by identifying, for those who send commercial electronic mail messages, Internet domain names uses …
“CleanSoftware.org is a resource to help Windows users find the best free daily-use software, free from nasties: adware, spyware, harmful/intrusive components, and threats to privacy.” (via Slashdot) Versions of the software included are accompanied by red, yellow and green dots indicating the level of reliability. The Full Software Index (updated at the discretion of the …
The Christian Science Monitor reports on growing concerns about privacy issues related to vehicle event data recorders (EDRs) or “black boxes” (although they are apparently grey in color). Vehicle manufacturers are currently not subject to uniform standards regarding the data this equipment gathers. However, information collected from the EDRs often plays a prominent role in …
From EPIC, Top Ten Consumer Privacy Resolutions.
Industry, Public Interest Groups Oppose FCC Proposal to Impose Design Mandates on VoIP Joint Reply Comments of Industry and Public Interest Groups on CALEA Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (31 pages, PDF), December 21, 2004 Joint Initial Comments of Industry and Public Interest Groups (60 pages, PDF), November 08, 2004 Related references : Range of Groups …
This InfoWorld commentary details previous consumer data compiled for the Ponemon Institute’s Privacy Trust Surveys on e-commerce and government related developments. From this data, the author concludes that in 2005, major privacy issues will be ID authentication technology, phishing, net advertising, the collection of airline passenger data, and earning consumer trust.
A follow-up to my November 30 , 2004 posting, Federal Gov’t Wants To Mine College and University Student Data. News that a coalition of advocacy groups have sent a letter to the Selective Service System objecting to the agency’s plan to match the names of students receiving federal student loans against its records, contrary to …
From the FTC, Telemarketers Required to “Scrub” Their Call Lists Every 31 Days Beginning January 1, 2005. “Beginning January 1, 2005, the Federal Trade Commissions Telemarketing Sales Rule (TSR) will require telemarketers to access the National Do Not Call Registry and purge newly-registered numbers from their call lists every 31 days. The TSR currently requires …
Press release: FTC Issues Final Rule Defining What Constitutes a “Commercial Electronic Mail Message” “The Federal Trade Commission today issued final regulations (81 pages, PDF) to facilitate the determination of whether an e-mail message has a commercial primary purpose and is subject to the provisions of the CAN-SPAM Act. The CAN-SPAM Act, which took effect …
