In today’s Quick Hits, we share some final thoughts on the Anthony Weiner scandal, talk about Federal privacy legislation, and ponder the role that social media played in the Vancouver riots.

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Lessons from the Weiner Scandal

Besides the obvious lesson of “Don’t send naked pictures of yourself to strangers on the Internet,” there are many important takeaways from the sexting scandal that ended Rep. Anthony Weiner’s successful political career. This FOX News article from Gregory Giangrande, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer of Dow Jones, offers some additional insight. According to Giangrande, there is no such thing as privacy on the Internet, and people should have no expectation of Internet privacy either.

Technically, that’s not true. There should be and there is an expectation of privacy on the Internet, it’s just that Internet companies feast on personal data and do everything in their power to keep information public. Likewise, when Giangrande says there is no such thing as privacy, it’s more accurate to say that privacy is difficult and you should assume that whatever you share online could end up in the public. Reputation.com CEO Michael Fertik explained this subtle, but critical difference in a recent interview with FOX 5 San Diego.

College Softball Player Removed from Team for Facebook Comments

A 19-year-old college student at Molloy College was removed from the school’s softball team after her coach objected to “thug” language on the girl’s Facebook page. The softball player is now suing the college for discrimination, claiming that the “thug” label related not to her language, but rather to the fact that she was the only HIspanic player on the team. Whether the case proves that the coach and athletic staff were discriminating based on race, or that they had a legitimate reason to dismiss the student, this story demonstrates the critical role that Facebook plays in molding one’s reputation.

Vancouver Rioters United on Social Media

In an interesting article, Bobby Brooks at The Bleacher Report writes that the thousands of individuals who rioted on the streets of Vancouver following the Vancouver Canucks Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup Finals found inspiration from one another by posting their actions on social media websites. Brooks writes of how many people openly bragged about their contributions to the riot on Facebook and Twitter and how one man, Brock Anton, has “become the poster-child of this movement and the target of anger from millions of citizens.” One has to wonder how Mr. Anton will get on with his life now that his name is forever linked to inciting riots in Google searches.

Sen. Al Franken Introduces Mobile Privacy Bill

Wired.com reports that Senator Al Franken (D-MN) has introduced a new bill meant to “close current loopholes in federal law to ensure that consumers know what location information is being collected about them and allow them to decide if they want to share it.” Last month, Sen. Franken chaired a committee hearing on the issues of location tracking and mobile privacy. Representatives from Apple and Google came to the hearing to defend accusations that their companies improperly stored sensitive user data. According to Wired, Franken’s bill would require companies to get “explicit consent from users in order to share their location data,” and would punish individuals who used that information to stalk others.

Sen. Patrick Leahy Promises Updates to Electronic Communications Privacy Act

According to CNET’s Declan McCullagh, “Patrick Leahy, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary committee, said today he is optimistic that Congress would update a 1986 law, crafted in the pre-Internet era of telephone modems and the black-and-white Macintosh Plus, to protect the privacy of Americans who use the Internet and mobile phones.” The law to which Leahy is referring is the Electronic Communications Privacy Act and the update would “require police to obtain a search warrant to access private communications and the locations of mobile devices,” with the notable exception that police could still look up historical locations without a warrant.