In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about Google’s historic settlement over illegal ads, how social media use is linked to higher levels of substance abuse in teens, and what Facebook’s new privacy settings mean for users.

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Google Pays $500 Million in Settlement Over Illegal Pharmaceutical Ads

In one of the largest settlements in U.S. history, Google has agreed to pay $500 million in damages after a Department of Justice investigation determined that the company violated U.S. laws by allowing Canadian pharmacies to advertise and sell drugs to U.S. consumers. Google has suspended this practice and apologized for the advertisements.

Social Media Use Linked to Higher Rates of Alcohol and Drug Abuse in Teens

According to a new survey commissioned by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, teenaged social network users were “five times more likely to report using tobacco (10 percent versus 2 percent), three times more likely to say they used alcohol (26 percent versus 9 percent) and twice as likely to admit using marijuana (13 percent versus 7 percent).” It’s important to note that the survey doesn’t show a causal link between social media and substance abuse, but that certain elements of social networking can contribute to relaxed attitudes about alcohol and drug use.

HR Magazine: Why Facebook Searches on Job Hunters Should Be Banned

In an article for HR Magazine, Paul Deakin argues that screening job applicants based on their social media profiles causes hiring managers to prejudge candidates unfairly and should be banned. Quoting Deakin, “By their very nature, social networking sites are not naturally respectful of privacy, reputation and control which is something both HR professionals and job applicants should take into account.”

Microsoft Deletes “Supercookie”

According to The Register, “Microsoft has deleted code on its MSN website that secretly logged visitors’ browsing histories across multiple web properties, even when the users deleted browser cookies to elude tracking.” These so-called “supercookies” are practically impossible to opt out from and have drawn considerable criticism from privacy advocates.

Wall Street Journal: What Facebook’s new Privacy Settings Mean For You

The Wall Street Journal’s Digits blog has a good report on Facebook’s new privacy controls and how they will affect Facebook users. Reputation.com shared a first look at Facebook’s new privacy controls in a blog post yesterday.

In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about “Cyber Shame,” one photographer’s stand against cyberbullying, and the White House’s consumer privacy protection plans.

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Over a Third of Young People Experience “Cyber Shame” from Social Media

“More than a third of young people admit to feeling ‘cyber shame’ after posting embarrassing photos or posts online while drunk” according to a survey commissioned by the alcohol education charity Drinkaware. In addition to the physical dangers of excessive drinking, Chris Sorek, CEO of Drinkaware, notes that there are also reputation consequences to posting drunk photos online. Sorek explains that living in the digital world “means that people who have been drinking to excess can have their actions come back to haunt them online,” particularly when it comes to getting a new job and other important life transactions.

Photographer’s Refusal to Serve “Ugly” People Wins Support from Anti-Bullying Advocates

A Pennsylvania photographer has become an unlikely spokesperson in the country’s growing crusade against bullying after she refused to photograph several high school girls whom she observed on a Facebook page bullying other students. In a note on Facebook, Jennifer McKendrick wrote that she didn’t want to make people who were ugly on the inside look beautiful on the outside. Since making her stand, McKendrick has received broad support from anti-bullying advocates across the country.

Consumers Turn to Twitter to Complain About Businesses

The Sydney Morning Herald writes, “consumers are increasingly turning to Twitter and Facebook to vent their frustrations at having their complaints ignored as online activism becomes a powerful tool forcing businesses to fix unresolved issues.” Citing several examples where online activism has forced company’s to change their operating procedures, the Herald article highlights an important new reality for businesses of all sizes. In a world where customers can talk directly to brands, it’s important that brands listen and talk back.

Criticism of Google+ Real Name Policy

In an article for InformationWeek, Thomas Claburn argues that Google’s real name policy for its new social network Google+ is a mistake, offering five reasons why it hurts users. Claburn’s argument echos other complaints from tech writers who view Google’s name policy as a mistake and argue that it stifles open discourse online.

White House Pushes Consumer Privacy Protection Plan

Danny Weitzner, associate administrator at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) recently outlined the White House’s plans for improving consumer privacy without stifling innovation in the economy. During comments at a Technology Policy Institute conference, Weitzner said, “You can have stronger privacy law, clearer rules, clearer principles established in law, without the costs and downsides of a traditional regulatory structure.” How privacy rules would be regulated without a traditional regulatory structure remains to be seen, but the notion of a broad “Privacy Bill of Rights” still seems to be popular in Washington, D.C.

In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about a lawsuit intended to overturn a new law preventing teachers from “friending” students online and why Facebook and dating don’t always mix.

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Missouri Teachers File Lawsuit Against Social Networking Ban

The Missouri State Teacher’s Association has filed a lawsuit challenging the state’s new law preventing teachers from interacting with students on Facebook and other social media websites. The law, which has been described as unconstitutional by Internet law expert Daniel Solove, was created to discourage teachers and students form having inappropriate sexual relationships, but has been criticized as overly broad by teachers’ groups. The law is set to go into effect on August 28th.

Preteens and Teens Embrace Raunchy Online Culture

This article from The Campbell Reporter discusses how young teens are embracing “the raunchy, rude lingo of cyberspace” and what teachers are doing to help students exercise more responsibility online. Quoting the article, “Educators increasingly are joining in to challenge the crude culture of social networks, which they fear unleashes cyberbullying and sexting, heightens the social drama of puberty and teaches the wrong values.” Citing a number of examples from the San Francisco Bay Area, the article shares how digital literacy and education programs, along with anti-bullying legislation, have been proposed to help kids stay safe on the Web.

Facebook Comments Improve Websites

People might say and do stupid things on Facebook, but when they’re using Facebook to leave a comment on a website, they smarten up. According to Jimmy Orr at the Los Angeles Times, whose paper has been using Facebook comments and traditional anonymous comments side-by-side, the difference in the quality of discourse from Facebook commenters was “stunning.” Orr owes the improved comments to the fact that Facebook requires users to provide their real name. When individuals know that their real name and reputation is tied to their comments, they are more careful and less combative online.

Ask Michael Cohen: Why You Shouldn’t Mix Dating and Facebook

Huffington Post advice columnist Michael Cohen answers three questions about the often confusing intersection of Facebook and relationships. For the most part, Cohen’s advice is to keep Facebook out of relationships, especially when dating, so as not to show off your entire life before you can even get to know your would-be date.

How Parents Help Their Kids Get Around Age Limits Online

This interesting article from TIME explores how parents help their kids access Internet websites by lying about their age. Because of the federal law COPPA, children under the age of 13 aren’t allowed to access certain websites. However, some parents believe that there is value in giving their kids access to social networking websites like Facebook and Google+. The TIME piece discusses how Google’s efforts to keep a 10-year-old from accessing his Google+ profile led to his father setting up the boy’s account in his name.

In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about new online tracking technology that is nearly impossible to disable, why one mom thinks friending one’s children online is a bad idea, and how more and more people are using privacy controls on social networking websites.

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Web Trackers Turn to Stealthy “Supercookies”

The Wall Street Journal reports that several major websites “have been tracking people’s online activities using powerful new methods that are almost impossible for computer users to detect.” These so-called “supercookies” are “capable of re-creating users’ profiles after people deleted regular cookies, according to researchers at Stanford University and University of California at Berkeley.” As more people become aware of the privacy ramifications of online tracking, the advertising industry is looking for ways to continue accessing valuable consumer information online. Currently, “supercookies” are legal, but that might change depending on whether Congress takes up anti-tracking legislation.

Florida Teacher Suspended for Anti-Gay Marriage Facebook Remarks

A Florida teacher, who was once named Teacher of the Year, has been suspended from the classroom after he compared gay marriage to a “cesspool” in a post on his Facebook page. The veteran educator is arguing that his suspension is unmerited because he made the comments on his personal page during his personal time. A school district investigation will determine whether to take additional action against the teacher.

Why You Shouldn’t Friend Your Teens Online

In an interesting article for The Daily Mail, Rachel Halliwell argues that parents shouldn’t friend their children on websites like Facebook, because, in her experience, it’s better to not know all of the things teens talk about online. Halliwell, who says she checked up on her daughter obsessively for a time, writes that “In the end I got so sick of worrying myself stupid about what they were up to that I deleted them all from my Facebook account — my own daughter included.”

Despite her decision to disconnect from her daughter online, Halliwell does acknowledge that social media has made adolescence much different. Quoting the article, “Our kids are the first generation of teens to have grown up with instant communication. They have no recollection of life before it. And however uncomfortable we adults feel with this set-up, there is no way to turn back the clock.”

Anonymous Facebook Attack Not Happening

Earlier in the month, a small faction of the hacker group Anonymous made headlines by declaring plans to take down Facebook on November 5th. Immediately, several representatives from Anonymous distanced the group from the operation, as tech writers questioned how a small group of hackers could take down Facebook in the first place. On Monday, someone managing the @Op_Facebook account tied to the operation posted a message saying “We Can’t Take Facebook Down…Yet” and calling the operation an awareness campaign. In other words, the operation is currently dead, but may return in the future.

More People Using Privacy Settings on Social Networks

According to a survey from Webroot security, people are becoming much more privacy-aware. Quoting TechCrunch, “between 2009 and 2011, Webroot says, the number of US social network users who have never viewed or changed their privacy settings plummeted from 37 percent in 2009 to 8 percent in 2011.” TechCrunch attributes the increase in privacy awareness to widespread publicity around privacy issues.

In today’s Quick Hits, we talk about Facebook crime, two new studies on social media, and the continuing fallout from the Tyler Clementi case.

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Facebook Crime on the Rise

Phishing scams, online bullying, and other forms of cybercrime are flourishing on Facebook according to numerous experts. This article from CNET discusses why Facebook crime is on the rise, and what Facebook users can do to prevent themselves from becoming victims of Facebook crime.

New York Times: The Facebook Scare That Wasn’t

The New York Times has a good write-up on the recent faux-privacy scandal involving Facebook. Last week, a message circulated among Facebook users claiming that the company had published all of the phone numbers in a user’s phone publicly. In reality, the phone numbers weren’t published publicly and is only visible to the individual user. The phone numbers appear on Facebook as a result of users installing Facebook’s mobile app.

UK Survey Shows One-Third of Teachers Bullied Online

The BBC reports that “more than a third of teachers have been subject to online abuse, according to a survey conducted by Plymouth University.” The harassment comes mainly from students, but a high percentage (26%) also came from parents of students, demonstrating the myriad ways in which teachers face online abuse.

One in Four Young People “Bored” by Social Media

According to new Gartner survey, one in four 18-29 year-olds claim that they are using social media less than when they signed up, calling the technology “boring.” According to the Telegraph newspaper, “of those using the sites less, common reasons also included the ‘superficiality’ of friendships online, as well as concerns about digital privacy.”

Investigation into Tyler Clementi Suicide is Another Kind of Privacy Invasion

Last year, Tyler Clementi’s suicide launched a huge dialogue on Internet privacy and online bullying. Clementi, who was gay, was secretly recorded by his roommate engaging in sexual activity. The resulting broadcast of the video is one of the things that allegedly drove Clementi to commit suicide. Now, however, as the investigation into Clementi’s suicide goes deeper, Forbes privacy blogger Kashmir Hill wonders if Clementi’s privacy isn’t being violated a second time.

Quoting Hill’s article, “digital trails that were meant to be kept private have been made public… Instead of his sexual encounter with a man being surreptitiously streamed by fellow students, private chats revealing his mother’s rejection of his sexuality and racist statements about his roommate are now being exposed.” Certainly, these revelations are necessary for Dharun Ravi’s defense team, but they highlight a new reality of criminal investigations. As Hill writes, we not live in a world “where everything we do and say and think is captured in a routine way by our daily communications, and archived.”