Entries from April 2011 ↓
April 19th, 2011 | Facebook, Google, Internet Safety, Legal Issues, Online Reputation Management, Parenting, Privacy, Quick Hits, Research | Rob Frappier
In today’s Quick Hits, we check in on Google’s class-action lawsuit, discuss Facebook’s new safety tools, and share the story of how one doctor exposed a patient online.
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Last year, Google unintentionally collected Wi-Fi packet data via the company’s Street View vehicles, and the company is still feeling the heat for its transgression. Currently, Google is the subject of a class-action lawsuit from users who claim the company invaded their privacy. Now, a judge has posed a key question, which may determine whether or not Google will face a settlement. According to Wired, the judge in the case “has asked each side to define ‘radio communication’ (.pdf) as it applies to the Wiretap Act, and wants to know whether home Wi-Fi networks are ‘radio communications’ under the Wiretap Act.” The judge’s determination on this issue will have a significant impact on the case.
Facebook recently rolled out several new security tools and tweaks to its existing safety portals to help parents, kids, and teachers understand more about the importance of online safety. The company is also planning to roll out something called “two-factor authentication,” which “will require the user to enter a code when logging onto Facebook from a new device. Facebook hopes to protect accounts from unauthorized access by unknown users.”
A Rhode Island doctor has been reprimanded and fined after she inadvertently identified a patient via a Facebook message. According to MSNBC, the physician “wrote on Facebook about some of her clinical experiences at Westerly Hospital, without using patient names or intending to reveal patient information. But, the board says, one patient’s injuries were such that an unidentified third party was able to identify the person.” This story illustrates the importance of using caution when sharing content on Facebook and other social media websites. Even though the doctor didn’t name the patient, she offered enough information to violate the individual’s privacy.
Forbes privacy blogger Kashmir Hill writes about a new New York start-up called Local Response, which “sucks up location information from lots o’ social media outlets — including photo sites by tapping into embedded geo-data in digital photos — to reveal whether a user has been to a particular business.” The businesses can then elect to respond to the customers who shared their check-in, in order to entice them to visit the business again.
According to a new EU study on child safety online, 25% of children don’t use privacy settings, and 20% of those who have public profiles share their phone number or address openly. These numbers show that there are still many young Internet users who don’t understand the importance of Internet privacy and online reputation management.
April 18th, 2011 | Facebook, Internet Safety, Legal Issues, Online Reputation Management, Parenting, Privacy, Quick Hits, Research, Student Online Reputation | Rob Frappier
In today’s Quick Hits, we share a fascinating new survey that shows the importance of online reputation management. We also talk about a beauty queen’s Facebook faux pas and President Obama’s national Internet ID plan.
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According to a new study from the online security firm Norton, “More than half of British adults are so concerned about their online reputation they would erase everything they have ever posted on the Internet about themselves” if they could. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the study also showed that “40 percent admitted to not actively protecting their reputation and personal information on the Internet.” As more people become aware of how their online reputations affect their everyday lives, however, both of these statistics will likely decrease.
Ever since President Obama used social media tools so effectively in his run for the presidency, politicians at all levels have begun to integrate the technology into their campaigns. This article from the L.A. Times discusses how many of the top 2012 presidential candidates are using social media technology to bolster their electability and improve their online reputations.
According to The Daily Mail, “a beauty queen has been stripped of her title in a wrangle over allegations she posted nude photos of herself on Facebook.” The model, who says that the images aren’t fully nude and have been on her Facebook page for two years, will be replaced as “Miss York City” by a different pageant contestant.
“Three-quarters of Europe’s children have a profile on a social networking website, while one in five under 13 manage to dodge Facebook’s age restriction,” according to a new survey from the European Commission. Additionally, one quarter of those surveyed have set their accounts to “public” view, which is a safety, privacy, and reputation risk. Facebook says it deletes profiles for underage users when it catches them, but the site’s large size makes it difficult.
On Friday, the White House released the final version of its National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) plan, which would “enable an identity ecosystem in which individuals and organizations are able to conduct online transactions with far more assurance and security than they are able to currently.” According to this ComputerWorld article, the plan “was greeted on Friday with caution by privacy advocates who see it as a well-intentioned effort that is still years away from fruition.”
April 15th, 2011 | Facebook, Google, Legal Issues, Online Reputation Management, Privacy, Quick Hits | Rob Frappier
In today’s Quick Hits, a charity worker bites the hand that feeds through a mean-spiritied Facebook message, Microsoft wades into Google’s street mapping territory, and the EFF issues a privacy report card.
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In the UK, a charity worker has been forced to apologize to citizens she called “the great unwashed,” after a private Facebook conversation leaked to the public. In a scathing message, the charity worker, who had been collecting donations in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, mocked the people she collected from, even though they had donated money to her organization, saying they probably “didn’t realise how much of their precious handouts they were giving away.” The charity has distanced itself from the worker and said she is not an official representative of the organization. The woman has since offered a formal apology.
In a letter to The Hill blog, David Hoffman, the director of security policy and global privacy officer at Intel Corporation, praises the recently released McCain-Kerry privacy bill, calling it “a necessary step to building a foundation of confidence for individuals that their privacy will be protected.” Since the bill was announced, organizations and privacy advocates have gone back and forth on its merits and deficiencies. When the bill is debated before Congress it will likely see numerous changes, with lobbyists from both sides weighing in heavily.
The EFF has realized its annual privacy report card, giving numerous high-profile companies low marks for not doing more to deter government agencies to access consumer data. The EFF report singles out Apple, Skype, Verizon, MySpace, and Comcast as the worst offenders. Despite consumer privacy legislation popping up in Congress, the issue of government access to data hasn’t been discussed much in the mainstream media or by legislators.
Microsoft is in the process of launching Streetside, the company’s answer to Google’s StreetView service, in the UK. The service combines photographic data with online maps. Unlike StreetView, which received considerable negative publicity in Europe for collecting unsecured Wi-Fi payload data, Microsoft claims it wants to do things “the right way,” and collect the “bare minimum” of data. Microsoft Streetside is already live in parts of the United States.
In a lengthy report for MSNBC’s Red Tape Chronicles, Kelly Collis shares an analysis of the new software tool called Cree.py, which allows individuals to track social media users via their public status updates and the geolocation information in their photos. The tool takes the information and plots it out on a map, showing where the user has been over a series of many months. Collis discusses the tool with its developer, and also speaks with someone who uses location-sharing on a daily basis, to see how dangerous it really is to share data on the Web.
April 14th, 2011 | Online Reputation Management, Privacy, Reputation.com News | Rob Frappier
It’s spring time, which means one thing: spring cleaning! But there’s more to spring cleaning than cleaning out the gutters and washing the windows. In the age of Google, spring cleaning should happen online too.
This year, make sure you take the time to evaluate your online reputation. One great way to get started is with Reputation.com’s free privacy check. Other tips include doing a deep Google search for your name, checking your Facebook privacy settings, and joining a professional social networking website like LinkedIn.
Reputation.com CEO Michael Fertik will offer more digital spring cleaning advice tonight during an interview with NBC New York anchor Chuck Scarborough tonight. If you’re in the New York area, check out the segment at 7:00pm ET.
If you’re in the Bay Area, you can also catch Michael Fertik on CBS San Francisco tonight for a special on Internet privacy. That segment will air twice, once at 6:20pm PT and again at 11:20pm PT.
April 14th, 2011 | Facebook, Google, Legal Issues, Online Reputation Management, Privacy, Quick Hits | Rob Frappier
In today’s Quick Hits, Apple joins the Do Not Track party, a Canadian politician resigns over his Facebook profile, and other privacy and reputation news.
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While most browsers were busy adding privacy controls, Flock tried to stand apart by integrating social networking tools. The experiment, which drew support from many in the tech industry, didn’t pan out, however, as it was recently announced that the browser would be discontinued following the departure of its developers to social gaming giant Zynga. The social browser market isn’t totally dead though. Another social browser called RockMelt launched last year.
Google is still one of the Internet’s most powerful and profitable companies, but, according to CNN Money, “Google’s stock is exactly where it was in September 2007, and it has fallen 9% since Eric Schmidt announced in January that he’d be stepping down as CEO.” The CNN Money article outlines some of the reasons investors are not as excited about Google as they used to be, highlighting the company’s growing competition with Facebook as one of the biggest reasons.
According to the Vancouver Sun, a Canadian politician and Green Party member has resigned his candidacy after reporters discovered that he had listed an inappropriate quote on his Facebook page. According to the report, the politician’s “favorite quote” said, “If rape is inevitable, lie back and enjoy it!” The politician tried to explain that the statement didn’t make sense out of context, but resigned regardless.
Following the lead of other top browser developers, Apple has announced that it will add a Do Not Track tool to its latest version of the Safari browser, which is set to release with the company’s new Lion operating system. The final version of the new operating system will be released this summer.
