Massachusetts Cyberbullies Suspended

Two girls allegedly involved in the bullying that led to the suicide of Massachusetts teen Phoebe Prince have been suspended from school. According to the news report, the school is investigating the incident, and more students may be implicated in the bullying. It is unclear at this time whether any formal criminal charges will be filed against the bullies.

Are We “Locked-In” to Facebook

Because of its sheer size, as well as the widespread functionality of Facebook Connect (which allows you to sign into different websites using your Facebook credentials), some people believe that Facebook is close to achieving “technical lock-in.” Technical lock-in refers to the process by which one technology becomes so dominant in society that people reject others, even if they present a more attractive alternative. An example cited in the article is the Qwerty keyboard.

70% of HR Professionals Have Rejected an Applicant Because of Information About Them Online

According to a Data Privacy Day survey human resources survey sponsored by Microsoft, 70% of HR professionals have admitted to rejecting a candidate based on what they found about them online. The survey also found that these numbers are expected to rise over the next five years and that, currently, people don’t consider managing their online reputations to be a top priority.

I think that bears repeating with italics for emphasis. Despite the fact that the majority of HR professionals and recruiters use the web to check out applicants, most people don’t consider managing their online reputations to be important.

Moral of the story: Don’t be most people.

New Symbol Will Help Consumers Identify Behavioral Advertising Online

According to the New York Times, the Future of Privacy Forum has spearheaded the creation of a new symbol that will help consumers recognize when they are seeing an Internet ad based on behavioral data. The symbol, which is blue with a white lower case letter “i” wrapped in a small cirle, is expected to achieve wide adoption and has been embraced (somewhat begrudgingly) by the Internet advertising industry.

Considering Health Care Reform from a Privacy Perspective

Forbes has a well-written article exploring the ramifications that health care reform will have on digital privacy. A study released by the Ponemon Institute shows that, generally, individuals are uncomfortable with having their private information centralized by any government or agency. This trepidation could spell trouble for lawmakers who seek to have medical information digitized and made accessible over an interconnected web-based network, which is a central part of President Obama’s vision for health care reform.