Google faces good news and bad in Europe this week, with potential vindication over what personal data it can index but vocal rejection of its proposed concessions around equality in search. The search giant has been facing attacks from multiple directions in recent months, with the EC investigating whether it contravened privacy laws or acted
It looks like all our Graph Search privacy concerns
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The recent PRISM scandal has validated both the general public’s growing unease with federal law enforcement agencies, and many of the fringe element’s accusations about Big Brother’s online behavior. Whether or not it’s legal under the PATRIOT Act, just knowing that the government can rummage through your online life doesn’t sit well with many folks. Here are some simple and effective ways of keeping your digital identity anonymous and your data your own.
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While The Guardian undoubtedly garnered attention when it posted court papers detailing data collection rules for the NSA, it also provided a lot of detail that isn’t easy to digest. The Electronic Frontier Foundation is more than willing to break down those rules, however — and it doesn’t like what it sees. It’s concerned that there are too many exceptions letting the NSA store and transmit private information, with little oversight preventing investigators from seeing more US data than they should. Allegedly, the rules could defy American rights to anonymous speech; they may also violate attorney-client privileges both inside and outside of the US. We have a hunch that the NSA might disagree with this interpretation of its authority, but you can see all the points of contention for yourself at the link below.
[Image credit: David Drexler, Flickr]
Filed under: Internet
Source: EFF
People are becoming more vigilant when it comes to online privacy, so Stanford University’s new initiative couldn’t have come at a better time. The project, called Cookie Clearinghouse, will curate catalogues of websites whose cookies browsers should or shouldn’t allow. As designed, it works along with a Safari-like patch Mozilla is testing for Firefox that allows cookies from sites you’ve visited but blocks third-party cookies from sites you haven’t. Theoretically, that’ll prevent advertisers or other entities from tracking you around the web, but the method isn’t foolproof — having a centralized list will prevent your browser from saving the cookies of an ad or a spam website you’ve accidentally clicked on.
To establish which sites are kosher and which aren’t, the folks at Stanford are slated to meet up with an advisory board. It will be comprised of privacy researchers, law pundits, small business experts, as well as reps from Mozilla and Opera. Unlike Do Not Track — another Stanford initiative from which this one later evolved — advertisers don’t have to opt in for inclusion on either list. It’s just up to developers (other than Mozilla) to integrate this more thorough solution into their browsers’ privacy options.
[Image credit: Brian Richardson]
Via: Ars Technica
Source: Brendan Eich, Stanford
The Guardian has obtained a series of documents which reveal that, while the NSA is expected to "minimize" collection of data suspected to belong to US citizens, any "inadvertently acquired" domestic communications can still be kept and used without a warrant.
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Skype allegedly developed a clandestine program dubbed Project Chass that investigated potential ways to increase government and law enforcement access to its VoIP calling service, years in advance of Microsoft’s acquisition in 2011. Project Chess was formed while Skype had “sometimes contentious talks with the government over legal issues,” insiders tell the NYTimes, with knowledge
Yahoo has responded to claims that recycled email accounts could pose a security problem, claiming it’s "going to extraordinary lengths" to protect users. Obviously.
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Google has been under the gun in the EU for a while now about its privacy policies, particularly in France, which is fairly hardcore about such matters. In fact, the nation’s CNIL computer watchdog has just ordered Mountain View to change its practices or face an initial maximum fine of €150,000 (around $200,000), followed by a penalty of up to €300,000 for further non-compliance. Google has just three months to fall in line, and the French regulator’s ruling could just be the beginning; it investigated the search giant at the EU parliament’s behest, meaning nations like Italy, Spain and the UK could follow suit. For its part, Google — which is no doubt very sensitive to such matters at the moment thanks to the NSA saga — said it “respects European law” and will continue to work with French and EU authorities on the matter.
Source: Reuters
Glasses that prevent the wearer from being recognized by face detection software have been demonstrated in Japan, using LED light invisible to the human eye but confusing to monitoring cameras to mask identity. The privacy visor, under development by Isao Echizen‘s team at the Japanese National Institute of Informatics, works by packing a pair of
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