Perhaps we could invite them to face
the Privacy Foundation lawyers? But they probably have neither an
education nor a travel budget. Perhaps Twitter would like a forum?
Hark!
A New Trade Group is Born
August 4, 2012 by Dissent
Chris Hoofnagle writes:
BNA reports
on the formation of the Internet
Association, a new trade group that will represent Google,
Facebook, eBay, and Amazon. The group introduces itself as, “the
unified voice of the Internet economy, representing the
interests of America’s leading Internet companies and their global
community of users. The Internet Association is dedicated to
advancing public policy solutions to strengthen and protect an open,
innovative and free Internet. ”
I do not know what
the Internet Association will do nor do I discuss its merits here (as
it has no track record yet). I wish to use this as an opportunity to
discuss some of the issues in trade group lobbying. Consumer groups
have problems too, but unlike companies, consumers have no direct
representation in most regulatory matters, and consumer groups are
completely outgunned in money, influence, and manpower in DC.
Read more on Denialism
Blog.
Interesting that
Twitter – which has been active in protecting user privacy – is
not part of this new association. Were they not invited
to join, or did they decline?
Trade group lobbying has the means to
accomplish some good for users – if, for example, – they got
behind changes to strengthen ECPA so that businesses had more
protection in uploading consumer data to the cloud without fear of
the government’s ability to obtain data without a warrant. But for
the most part, I think trade group lobbying of this kind is likely to
benefit the trade group interests over the users’ interests. And
once again, we’ll be out-financed and outgunned in D.C.
Pretty. Also confirms (in my mind)
that I'm getting smarter as I get closer to geezerhood.
August 04, 2012
Infographics
- How Consumers Really Feel About Data Privacy
via Placecast: How
Consumers Really Feel About Data Privacy - "2,307 people
were surveyed and it was found that use of data where the value
exchange is explicit are most acceptable (grocery coupons, Amazon),
while Facebook’s data usage is least acceptable. Also, use of
location data from either merchants or cell phone carriers is
acceptable by significant group with permission and an explicit value
exchange."
(Related)
They call it “ego surfing”
– when you sit down in front of the computer, go to Google (or
whatever search engine you prefer), and find out what information
there is about you online.
… But there is another very good
reason for “Googling” yourself – to find out if any private and
sensitive information about yourself and / or your family has ended
up online somehow.
What if Facebook is right and everyone
needs an online dossier?
Facebook
faces facial recognition fight in Norway
Facebook is being probed by the
Norwegian Data Protection
Authority over concerns regarding its facial
recognition tool that automatically suggests people's names to
tag in pictures. Facebook started
rolling out the Tag Suggestions feature worldwide in June 2011,
and ever since has faced backlash from privacy groups in
Europe.
… "It's a very powerful tool
Facebook has and it's not yet clear how it all really works,"
Bjorn Erik Thon, Norway's data protection commissioner, told
Bloomberg.
"They have pictures of hundreds of millions of people. What
material Facebook has in its databases is something we need to
discuss with them."
...and I still can't find a textbook
that treats Eigenvalues correctly.
August 04, 2012
Contentious
Google Book Scanning Case Approaches Fall Trial Date
Publishers
Week news in following Google
Book Scanning project postings: "After a round of key
filings, two
Authors Guild cases challenging Google’s ambitious library
book-scanning program are on schedule for early fall trial dates.
Final reply briefs were filed July 27 for the Authors
Guild v. HathiTrust, with that case now fully briefed and all but
set for a November trial in Judge Harold Baer’s courtroom. And in
the Authors
Guild v. Google case, motions for summary judgment were also
filed July 27, with a final round of reply briefs due September 17
and oral arguments set for October 9 before Judge
Denny Chin. With the summary judgment motions now in, the
question before the courts this time around is refreshingly simple
compared to the complex 300-plus–page settlement agreement between
the authors, publishers, and Google that was rejected by Judge Denny
Chin in March of 2011: digitizing millions of books for preservation
and indexing is either authorized by Congress under the Copyright
Act’s fair use provision, or it’s not. The Authors Guild holds
that the unprecedented mass digitization programs exceed Congress’s
stated intentions, while lawyers for Google and the HathiTrust
(a coalition of research libraries) argue that the
public benefits and transformative nature of the scanning projects
easily qualify them as fair use."
Since I don't own a cellphone and don't
play computer games, posting this must show how truly altruistic I
am.
Is your ringtone
boring, phone-like and stupid? Don’t be embarrassed – mine was
too. Until, that is, I saw the light and changed it to one of the
best sounds in the known universe: the
Underworld Theme from the original Super Mario Bros. Now every
time my phone rings, the people around me gaze in wonder and listen
to my awesome ringtone, wishing they thought of that before me.
Truly geeky (but literate) humor...
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