Perhaps it will be easier than I had thought to get lawyers interested in privacy...

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080304092752877

Jackson's Lawyer May Get $12M Over Secret Videotaping

Tuesday, March 04 2008 @ 09:27 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: In the Courts

A huge chunk of money may change hands over the secret videotaping of Michael Jackson and his lawyer when the singer was surrendering on child molestation charges.

The owner of an air charter service is ordered to pay Jackson's former attorney, Mark Geragos, and an associate $12 million for rigging the plane with hidden cameras.

... Geragos sued for invasion of privacy. The charter company plans to appeal.

Source - WSBTV.com

Guidelines?

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080304164521879

CDT Releases Principles for Behavioral Targeting Privacy Tools

Tuesday, March 04 2008 @ 04:45 PM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Businesses & Privacy

CDT today released a set of privacy principles to help guide the development of software tools related to online behavioral targeting. Developed in consultation with members of CDT's Internet Privacy Working Group (IPWG), the principles aim to bolster the development of tools for Web browsers and other software that empower users with the ability to manage their privacy and control online behavioral tracking activities. The document is a result of meetings with IPWG, sparked by renewed interest in behavioral targeting at the FTC, in the private sector and among consumer groups.

Source - Principles for Behavioral Targeting Privacy Tools [PDF]

Looking for guidelines?

http://www.pogowasright.org/article.php?story=20080305064722781

Ca: Privacy Commissioner seeks feedback on implications of using RFID technology in the workplace

Wednesday, March 05 2008 @ 06:47 AM EST Contributed by: PrivacyNews News Section: Non-U.S. News

The Privacy Commissioner of Canada, Jennifer Stoddart, issued a call today for feedback to enrich the debate on the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) systems in the workplace.

“While there is no doubt this technology can be used to improve productivity and enhance security, we are nevertheless concerned that it can also be used as a surveillance tool, undermining the dignity and autonomy of workers,” said Commissioner Stoddart. “In applying RFID systems in the workplace, we believe it is necessary to strike a balance between the benefits to employers and the privacy of employees.”

Source - Privacy Commissioner of Canada

Related - Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in the Workplace: Recommendations for Good Practices: A Consultation Paper March 2008

If not, can anyone make up evidence to fit their complaint? What could possibly be “proprietary?”

http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/2136230&from=rss

Should RIAA Investigators Have to Disclose Evidence?

Posted by Zonk on Tuesday March 04, @05:22PM from the special-rules-for-special-people dept. The Courts Media The Internet

NewYorkCountryLawyer writes "A technology battle is raging in UMG v. Lindor, a court case in Brooklyn. The issue at hand is whether the RIAA's investigator SafeNet now needs to disclose its digital files, validation methodology, testing procedures, failure rates, software manuals, protocols, packet logs, source code, and other materials, so that the validity of its methods can be evaluated by the defense. SafeNet and the RIAA say no, claiming that the information is 'proprietary and confidential'. Ms. Lindor says yes, if you're going to testify in federal court the other side has a right to test your evidence. A list of what is being sought (pdf) is available online. MediaSentry has produced 'none of the above'. 'Put up or shut up' says one commentator to SafeNet."

As organizations cut back on their training budgets, free online video tutorials were one way to ensure employees could do their jobs. Makes you wonder...

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120459386857809135.html

The New Workplace Rules: No Video-Watching

By BOBBY WHITE March 4, 2008; Page B1

Carriage Services Inc., a Houston funeral-services company, recently discovered that 70% of the workers in its 125-person headquarters watched videos on Web sites like Google Inc.'s YouTube and News Corp.'s MySpace for about an hour a day.

"I almost fell out of my chair when I saw how many people were doing it and how much bandwidth those sites sucked up," says Jeff Parker, the company's information-technology administrator. He quickly blocked access to both sites.

Interesting

http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,143122-pg,1/article.html

Microsoft Develops New Operating System From Scratch

Microsoft Research unveiled the new operating system, Singularity, as a prototype aimed at academics and researchers.

Nancy Gohring, IDG News Tuesday, March 04, 2008 2:30 PM PST

Microsoft showed off a new operating system on Tuesday, but don't get too excited.

Think of Singularity as "a concept-car OS," said Rick Rashid, general director of Microsoft Research. Microsoft is making the prototype OS available free to the academic and research communities in the hope that they'll use it to develop new kinds of computer architectures.

It's difficult for the academic community to experiment with computer architectures, he said. Singularity is designed to make it easier for researchers to test how operating systems and applications interact with each other, he said.

Could be interesting.

http://developers.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/03/04/2351246&from=rss

UN Makes Its Statistical Data Free and Searchable

Posted by Zonk on Wednesday March 05, @02:39AM from the can't-argue-with-free dept. Databases The Internet Education

NorseWolf writes "Since its foundation, the United Nations system has been collecting statistical information from member states on a variety of topics. The information thus collected constitutes a considerable information asset of the organization. However, these statistical data are often stored in proprietary databases, each with unique dissemination and access policies. As a result, users are often unaware of the full array of statistical information that the UN system has in its data libraries. The current arrangement also means that users are required to move from one database to another to access different types of information. UNdata addresses this problem by datapooling major UN databases and those of several international into one single internet environment. The innovative design allows a user to access a large number of UN databases either by browsing the data series or through a keyword search."