In today’s Quick Hits, we share a few different perspectives on Internet privacy, talk about a new Facebook feature, and explore how the U.S. intelligence community uses Google.
According to a new survey from Edison Research, “51 percent of all American adults age 12 and over have profiles on Facebook.” That’s a significant increase from 2008, when Edison tracked 8 percent usage rates among Facebook users. Facebook’s overwhelming growth as a social networking website has brought the issues of personal privacy and online reputation management to the forefront for millions of Internet users.
Facebook recently rolled out a new question-and-answer feature. This article from PCWorld describes the feature and goes into detail on how it works, its relative privacy, and the best way to use it. One important aspect of Facebook’s Q&A feature is that the questions are not by default private. They are posted among your friends, who can then share them among their friends, until, conceivably, your question can be shared with all of Facebook (a distinct possibility if you ask a unique question).
In this interesting segment from NPR, two military experts offer insight into how the U.S. intelligence community uses something as simple as Google Trends to help take the pulse of a nation’s mood. In the report, West Point instructor Gabriel Koehler-Derrickoogle explains how Google Trends helped track information about the uprising in Egypt: “There are approximately 16 million Internet users in Egypt. Now, this is undoubtedly a demographic that is biased toward younger people. If you put Google’s market share at 10 percent, which I think is absurdly low, then that is 1.6 million users that we have essentially surveyed for 30 days.”
An 18-year-old Houston man was charged with online harassment after creating a fake Facebook profile for his former high school principal. Unusually, the student used the account to interact with his own legitimate profile. According to local news, “the post starts on the fake profile with the principal appearing to taunt Rivera about what he has done since graduation. It then shows Rivera cursing at the principal and claiming that Rivera is sleeping with his wife.” The odd fictional back-and-forth could earn the man fine of up $2,000 and a jail term of up to 180 days.
In an interesting column, Aurora Police Commander Kristen Ziman writes about child safety online and why it is a parent’s responsibility to ensure that their children use the Internet responsibly. Ziman writes, “There is a fine line between being an informed parent and giving your children space. I try very hard to balance it so they can make and learn from their own mistakes in judgment while simultaneously protecting them from harm. As parents, it is our responsibility to be intrusive in our child’s lives — even if it they deem it unfair. Remember, you are their parent — not their friend.”
In an interesting column, Miss Manners answers the question, “Does one have a reasonable expectation of privacy while communicating online with a family member?” Describing the difference between how some young people consider privacy and how adults consider privacy, Miss Manners writes, “We now have a generation to whom the concept of privacy is bewildering. So, to a great extent, is the distinction between presenting oneself in public, as opposed to just slopping around. You will have to explain these concepts to your young relative, not only for your protection, but for hers. One by one, this generation is making the painful discovery that not everyone, in the wide world to which they expose themselves, finds them endearing.”
In today’s Quick Hits, we explore a new smartphone app that throws privacy out the window, talk about Facebook’s Social Ads program, and analyze Sen. Kerry’s privacy bill.
Facebook’s new Social Ads campaign, which co-opts a user’s profile picture and name to endorse “liked” brands in customized ads, has a lot of Facebook users feeling uncomfortable. Specifically, people are worried about what Facebook could do with the program next, like integrate Social Ads for third-party apps. This article from The Atlantic details how to opt out of Social Ads via Facebook’s privacy controls.
A new scam hitting Facebook uses social profiling to con grandparents out of money by posing as needy grandchildren. Security News Daily details how this scam affected one couple, who “received a call on Feb. 15 from a young person pretending to be their grandson. He said he had broken his nose in a car accident, and was now in jail in Canada and needed $2,800 for bail. The scammer used specific family details obtained from the grandson’s Facebook page.” The couple contacted their daughter before sending the money and learned that their grandson was fine, only barely avoiding losing their money.
A new smartphone application called Color has taken a different view on privacy settings than most social networking tools — it doesn’t have any. According to the Wall Street Journal, Color captures a wide range of data via the mobile device, “including GPS location, information from the gyroscope, and even ambient light levels. It uses that data to figure out where the user is — and whether there are other Color users nearby.” If there are other users nearby, Color “automatically puts all of them in the same social network, instantly sharing each others’ photos, videos and messages from inside the app.” For users, Color represents a unique experience. The founder hopes that by giving up privacy, users can see the benefits of sharing in an “open” network.
Christopher Wolf, the founder and co-chair of the Future of Privacy Forum, recently posted an analysis of Sen. John Kerry’s draft legislation regarding Internet privacy regulation. In his analysis, Wolf writes that the bill “would impose major and significant new obligations on businesses dealing with personal information.” Currently, Sen. John McCain is co-sponsoring the privacy legislation.
In an interesting column for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Tim Dunlap writes in defense of anonymous online commenting on news stories. Dunlap argues that “pseudonymous commentary should not be conflated with anonymous trolling,” and that it makes for more free discourse. Dunlap’s commentary runs counter to claims from other writers and media organizations who believe that assigning a name to comments keeps conversations more civil.
A Center for Democracy and Technology report discusses the pending Supreme Court Case, Sorrell v. IMS Health. According to the CDT, the case “has serious implications for how privacy protections are interpreted.” In a report, the CDT’s Health Privacy Project team has “taken a look those risks and published an in-depth memo about its findings.”
Many people don’t know it, but every day data miners scour the Web for information about each and every one of us. Pulling data from public records, social networking profiles, commercial databases and more, they chop up our personal information into tiny bits, cross-index it using sophisticated computer technology, and then auction it off to the highest bidder in neat little packages.
Like the aliens from the famous 1956 sci-fi film Invasion of the Body Snatchers, data snatchers live here among us, going unrecognized among other more common privacy threats. Often, individuals don’t know that their data is at risk until it is too late: when they are stalked, scammed, denied a job, or declined for health coverage.
There are solutions out there though, such as the powerful personal privacy tools from Reputation.com. To learn more about how Reputation.com can help you protect your privacy, with our free tools and our suite of paid products, visit Reputation.com/GetPrivacy.
In the meantime, watch this video and behold the horror! If you have a privacy horror story of your own (identity theft, denied a job, etc.) please share it with us on Twitter using the hashtag #privacyhorrorstory.
In today’s Quick Hits, a student talks about being friends with a teacher on Facebook, Aflac tries to replace the voice of its mascot, and a new law would make it much harder for authorities to track GPS data.
Should teachers friend their students on Facebook, and vice versa? One high school student weighs in on the debate with an interesting article in the San Jose Mercury News. In the article, the San Ramon high school student talks about receiving a friend request from a teacher at her school. After accepting the request, the student began to grow uncomfortable with the teacher’s presence on her page, particularly her reminders about school work. Eventually, the girl decided to de-friend the teacher, and to never accept a friend request from a teacher again, so as to maintain a level of separation between her school life and her social life.
In a humorous article for ITWorld, Dan Tynan talks about Sponsored Stories, Facebook’s latest advertising scheme that shows when an individual has “liked” certain brands and then creates an ad with the user’s name and face, which then appears on friends’ profiles. Tynan discusses how to opt out of the sponsored stories platform and ponders what might be next for Facebook advertising.
Richard Allan, Facebook’s director of policy for the European Union, recently spoke at a Westminster Media Forum seminar on the subject of a proposed “right to be forgotten” law that would give EU citizens a high level of control over their online data. Allan defended Facebook’s track record on privacy, and explained that it’s not Facebook’s fault when information is used or abused by third-parties. Allan explained that, “[Facebook] can offer deletion in our own environment but we can’t offer the same in other environments,” which is something that users (or government regulators) need to understand when they ask Facebook to remove content that has appeared elsewhere online.
CNET’s Declan Mccullogh writes that draft legislation proposed by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) would “provide new privacy protections for Americans by requiring police to obtain search warrants to track the locations of cars and cell phones.” The bill would specifically offer legal protections for “geolocation information,” “meaning data that can locate a person through a wireless device or through a GPS tracker placed on a vehicle.” The bill will be hotly debated in Congress, with those who oppose it arguing that it will inhibit criminal investigations, particularly those related to child exploitation.
Aflac recently parted ways with the voice of the company’s duck mascot, Gilbert Gottfried, after the comedian made a series of inappropriate jokes about the Japan tsunami on Twitter. Now, rather than getting rid of the duck entirely, Aflac is holding an open casting call via Facebook to find the replacement voice for the duck. It’s an interesting example of how social media caused problems for the company, but is also creating a unique opportunity to resolve the issue and reconnect with fans.
In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about a possible bill in South Carolina that would prohibit prisoners from using social networking websites, discuss a cyberbullying incident in Virginia, and explore the Internet and its detrimental effect on personal privacy control.
A Virgina high school student faces misdemeanor harassment charges after posting a Facebook page called “Stonewall hoes,” which featured nine pictures of her classmates with lewd captions. As cyberbullying becomes a more prominent issue, schools, parents, and law enforcement officials are struggling to figure out the appropriate punishment for bullies. Many states have even adopted specific legislation making cyberbullying a criminal offense.
The parents of Rutgers student Tyler Clementi, who killed himself after his roommate and another student secretly taped him having a sexual encounter in his dorm room, released a statement asking for no excessively harsh punishment against the individuals being charged in connection with their son’s suicide. The parents believe that the individuals should be punished, but that the more important thing is to raise awareness of bullying, particularly for young gay men and women. The Clementi case served as a lightning rod on the issue of bullying, with many organizations rallying around the issue to press for stronger legislation to protect bullying victims.
In an interesting article for Discovery.com, Cristen Conger writes about the Internet’s decaying effect on personal privacy. Speaking with numerous technology experts, Conger explores how the rapid growth of Internet technology has led to massive data sharing, both with and without consumer consent. Conger also touches on recent discussion in Washington D.C. about the development of Internet privacy legislation and the possibility of a “Do Not Track” mechanism to allow consumers to opt out of data sharing online.
Possible new legislation in South Carolina may ban prisoners from using social media websites such as Facebook. Legislators argue that prisoners use social networking websites via smuggled mobile phones to harass and intimidate witnesses and to manage criminal activity. Some activists argue that passing the law would restrict prisoners’ freedom of speech.
According to PCWorld, “Google won a civil lawsuit in Germany lodged by a woman who contended its roving camera cars that shoot photographs for Street View violated her privacy.” This victory for Google is important as the company continues to face criticism over its Street View program throughout Europe. This week, France leveled a fine against Google for collecting unsecured wireless data last year through an oversight in its Street View programming. In the United States, there are several pending investigations against Google over Street View.
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