Entries from May 2011 ↓
May 20th, 2011 | Facebook, Legal Issues, Online Reputation Management, Privacy, Quick Hits | Rob Frappier
In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about Mark Zuckerberg’s thoughts on underage Facebook users, why a deputy and student got in trouble for online comments, and some insights from the PII 2011 conference.
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Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg wants kids under the age of 13 to be able to join his social network legally. In recent comments, Zuckerberg advocated changes to COPPA, the existing federal child protection law designed to protect children from data tracking, claiming that if children were allowed to use social media content at an earlier edge they would better access the educational benefits of Internet technology.
This article in the Vancouver Sun discusses how one woman lost control of her Facebook account after falling victim to a sneaky scam. The article goes on to discuss ways to prevent Facebook scammers from accessing your account, as well as steps to take if you have been scammed. For her part, the victim highlighted in the story says she is giving up social media for good. Her final quote sums up the issue well: “There’s too much of my personal information out there.”
According to a report in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, “A Barrow County deputy resigned after he was confronted with postings from his Facebook page that included derogatory references to President Obama with terms like ‘towel headed’ and ‘camel jockey.’” The deputy had initially been suspended for his remarks, but ultimately resigned when the sheriff launched a full investigation into the matter. The investigation began when someone slipped a printed copy of the Facebook remarks under the sheriff’s door.
A 13-year-old New Hampshire student was suspended from her school after making a Facebook post in which “she wished Usama bin Laden killed her math teacher,” according to a WCVB-TV report. The girl’s mother has been critical of the school for suspending her daughter over the remark, since she made it from her home computer. However, this isn’t the first instance in which online content published outside of school has gotten a student into trouble. Many school districts are writing specific rules that cover repercussions for inappropriate student conduct online.
Everyone wants to save money, especially in a lean economy, but how much personal privacy are you willing to give up for it? This article in the New York Times Bucks blog discusses a new partnership between the website Cheapism and the mobile check-in service Foursquare that alerts users to good deals on food and shopping in their area. While learning about cheap eats is a good thing, many people are still uncomfortable with the idea of sharing their location publicly. A new survey reveals that 17 million mobile users currently use check-in services.
This article from PaidContent.org discusses how consumer behavior varies online when it comes to privacy issues. Quoting numerous experts from the ongoing PII 2011 conference, which Reputation.com attended, the article discusses how many businesses are trying to assuage consumer privacy concerns while also delivering a valuable product and giving individuals “ownership” of their data.
May 19th, 2011 | Facebook, Google, Legal Issues, Online Reputation Management, Privacy, Quick Hits | Rob Frappier
In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about Twitter and Facebook security and why facial recognition isn’t on Google’s agenda.
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In a recent blog post, Twitter announced that it is now giving users more information on how third-party apps are allowed to access their data. According to CNET, “now when you first try to sign into a third-party app using your Twitter credentials, Twitter will display a detailed permissions screen that lists exactly what information the app is requesting.” There’s still no level of granular control for allowing third-party apps, but this change is a welcome one that demonstrates a stronger awareness of consumer privacy.
Could Google someday develop a facial recognition database? Maybe, but they’re not going to according to Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt. Schmidt, speaking at Google’s Big Tent conference, said that a facial recognition program would cross the “creepy line” and is something that Google would be unlikely to develop. However, Schmidt believes it’s just a matter of time before someone develops a facial recognition database, which could have serious privacy implications.
Indicating Microsoft’s growing interest in social search technology, Bing search engine director, Stefan Weitz, recently told the Huffington Post that “Traditional search is failing. The standard notion of search…looking at the texts in the page, the backlinks, all that stuff doesn’t work anymore.” Bing, via its partnership with Facebook, wants to perfect social search, or, as Weitz says, “to deliver knowledge by understanding intent.” By filtering content based on a user’s social connections, Bing hopes to deliver highly specific and relevant results.
Facebook is big, and sometimes unwieldy when it comes to security issues, but a big part of the company’s problems isn’t related to its infrastructure, but rather how easily users fall for scams. This article in TIME’s Techland blog discusses the growing sophistication of Facebook criminals, and how many Facebook users simply aren’t web savvy enough to screen themselves against “spear phishing” attacks and other highly targeted scams.
For the second time in the last month, “executives from Apple and Google are set to testify [today] at a Senate hearing about the extent to which iPhones and handheld wireless devices running Google’s Android software track the location of their users and store detailed histories of their movements.” Since the first hearing, both companies have taken action to protect location data, but the issue persists as privacy has become an important subject for many politicians.
May 18th, 2011 | Facebook, Google, Internet Safety, Legal Issues, Online Reputation Management, Privacy, Quick Hits | Rob Frappier
In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about a huge security flaw in Google Android phones, why a hyper-personalized web may not be a good thing, and five things you shouldn’t say on Facebook.
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According to a CNN report, “a significant security hole has been discovered in Google’s Android operating system for smartphones, which can allow attackers to gain access to users’ personal information without their permission. The flaw, which was discovered by three research assistants at Ulm University in the southern part of Germany, affects approximately 97% of Android users.” Luckily, Google has found a workaround to the problem that will resolve the issue for affected users without them having to take any specific action.
In an op-ed for PCWorld, Tony Bradley comes out in support of SB242, a new proposal in California that would force social networking websites to adopt a privacy by default design. Bradley argues that Internet companies in opposition to the plan are wrong to say that the law would undermine consumer choice, writing “how is taking a model that assumes nothing is private, and changing it to a system where privacy is granted by default, but users must make informed, meaningful choices to allow their information to be shared going to undermine that ability exactly?” While SB242 is only a California proposal, the bill could spur action on a national law if it gains popular support.
In this CBS News Tech Talk column, Ysolt Usigan shares five things you should never say on Facebook. The list includes talking bad about your job, talking bad about your ex, and talking too much about yourself. Of course, the list of things that you shouldn’t say online goes well beyond five, which is why it is so important to think before you post.
In an interesting interview, CNET’s Daniel Tardiman speaks with MoveOn.org Executive Director Eli Parisier about his new book ”The Filter Bubble: What the Internet is Hiding from You.” In his book, Parisier argues that the hyper-personalization of the Internet, in which advertising and content is customized for each individual user based on their browsing history and habits, is a bad thing for society because it keeps people from seeing the whole picture. Having your own views reflected back at you could inhibit your ability to make new, better choices based on a thoughtful, objective analysis of the issues.
In a column for the Daily Telegraph, entrepreneur Adrian Hon writes that Google and Facebook are “fighting for our lives.” Hon argues that last week’s fiasco involving Facebook’s secret attempts to discredit Google via a PR campaign is indicative of a larger fight between the two companies in which we are the ultimate prize. Hon makes his point clearly in his last paragraph, writing “The battle between Facebook and Google is about who has control of our lives online. And for those who have never lived in a world without the internet, there’s no distinction between online and offline.”
May 17th, 2011 | Facebook, Google, Legal Issues, Online Reputation Management, Privacy, Quick Hits | Rob Frappier
In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about privacy legislation, why Apple and Google are heading back to the Hill, and the new search engine Blekko.
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Security researcher Christopher Soghoian recently filed a complaint with the FTC against the filesharing company Dropbox, alleging that the company put users privacy at risk. According to TIME’s Techland blog, the complain “has to do with the methodology that Dropbox uses to encrypt its files. Rather than using an encryption key known only to the user, it uses a key known just to Dropbox. The file-syncing company needs the key to see if a user or other people have already uploaded a particular file in determining what to sync.” Dropbox says it amended its privacy policy to reflect this method, and that the complaint is “without merit.”
Apple and Google representatives were recently in Washington D.C. to talk about mobile privacy issues, and now they may be going back for round two. PC Magazine reports that a “Senate Commerce subcommittee has scheduled a 10am hearing on mobile privacy for May 19, titled ‘Consumer Privacy and Protection in the Mobile Marketplace.’” Representatives from Apple, Google, and Facebook have been invited to attend the hearing, along with representatives from the FTC, and other notable groups.
Yesterday, I shared the news about SB242, a new California proposition that would require social media companies to have users choose their privacy settings before they join the site. As reported in TIME’s Techland blog, this privacy by default plan has been criticized by Facebook, Google, Twitter, and dozens of other Internet companies in California.
In a thoughtful column for GigaOm, Derrick Harris discusses a new report on big data by the McKinsey Global Institute. In his analysis, Harris explores some of the issues facing legislators as they attempt to solve the privacy problem associated with the data mining industry while also preserving innovation and not impacting the economy of the Internet. Ultimately, Harris concludes that the government must be careful in passing privacy legislation, but he fails to acknowledge the ways in which privacy requirements would in fact encourage innovation and creativity among Internet companies to engender stronger trust among users.
Setting itself apart from the big search engines like Google and Yahoo, new search website Blekko has taken a pro-privacy stand with its data retention policies. While Google and Yahoo retain search data for 18 months, Blekko has said it will retain user data for only 48 hours. Blekko is still small, but is growing in popularity, having gained 750,000 unique visitors in April.
May 16th, 2011 | Online Reputation Management, Privacy, Reputation.com News | Rob Frappier
Last year, Reputation.com CEO Michael Fertik attended the first annual Privacy Identity Innovation Conference in Seattle. Since then, the issue of online privacy has exploded in the public eye, leading to a wide range of new privacy proposals from Congress.
This year, Reputation.com will again have a presence at PII to talk about privacy issues and where we stand as a country on personal data protection. At PII 2011, the focus is “Building Trust in a Digital Age.” Privacy and policy experts from across the technology spectrum will discuss how ethical and commercial interests intersect in the emergence of increasingly sophisticated digital technology.
Reputation.com COO Owen Tripp and CEO Michael Fertik will both be in attendance during the conference. If you’re attending PII 2011, keep on reading to learn when and where you can see Owen and Michael.
Reputation.com COO Owen Tripp will appear on a panel during a pre-conference reception at 6:00pm on May 18th.
Pre-conference reception and Insight Dinner Salon – Co-hosted with Techdirt
The topic for the Dinner Salon is Privacy in a Data-driven Economy: When Your Customers Are Your Product
Facilitators include Esther Dyson of EDventure Holdings, Tara Hunt of Buyosphere, Berin Szoka of TechFreedom, Colin O’Malley of Evidon, Jim Brock of PrivacyChoice, Owen Tripp of Reputation.com and Julia Angwin of The Wall Street Journal.
The following day, Reputation.com CEO Michael Fertik will appear in a 9:00 AM panel entitled “Privacy, Personal Data and Publicness: Where Are We Heading?”
Privacy, Personal Data and Publicness: Where Are We Heading?
Julia Angwin, The Wall Street Journal (Session Host)
Marc Davis, Partner Architect at Microsoft
Larry Downes, Senior Adjunct Fellow at TechFreedom
Michael Fertik, Founder and CEO of Reputation.com
Chris Kelly, Founder of Kelly Investments and Former Chief Privacy Officer at Facebook
If you’re not attending PII 2011, but still want to keep up on the all the latest news on privacy, follow insights from the convention using the #pii2011 hashtag on Twitter. You can also follow Owen and Michael directly via Twitter at @OwenTripp and @MichaelFertik.
