This word just in from The Wall Street Journal:
Facebook, MySpace and several other social-networking sites have been sending data to advertising companies that could be used to find consumers' names and other personal details, despite promises they don't share such information without consent.
The practice, which most of the companies defended, sent user names or ID numbers tied to personal profiles being viewed when users clicked on ads. After questions were raised by The Wall Street Journal, Facebook and MySpace moved to make changes. By Thursday morning Facebook had rewritten some of the offending computer code.
Go WSJ! Go Rupert Murdoch, who owns WSJ -- and My Space!
Small world, isn't it.
Friday, May 21, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Dutch Royals Win Privacy Lawsuit
Back in August, the Dutch Royals won a legal action in Dutch courts against Associated Press (AP), the American news agency, for violating their privacy by shooting photos of them on vacation in Argentina. A reference to this story on Media Law Prof Blog just popped up on my Facebook.
Case was compared to a landmark privacy ruling that Princess Caroline of Monaco won against the German press in 2004. The court then ruled that photographers had violated the European convention on human rights, which declares the right to respect for private life.
Media Code protecting the privacy of members of the Dutch Royal House
Case was compared to a landmark privacy ruling that Princess Caroline of Monaco won against the German press in 2004. The court then ruled that photographers had violated the European convention on human rights, which declares the right to respect for private life.
Media Code protecting the privacy of members of the Dutch Royal House
French Hacker Arrested
The Wall Street Journal reports this morning that a 24-year-old Frenchman could face up to two years in a French prison if convicted of hacking into the Twitter accounts of two U.S. citizens -- President Barack Obama and Britney Spears.
His name wasn't released, but his pseudonym is "Hacker Croll" -- and he lives with his parents.
Posing as a site administrator in April 2009, he hacked just to see if he could do it; but he did not post anything on the accounts. He did take screen shots, which he shared on Internet chat forums, according to the prosecutor in the case.
It took a joint operation by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the French police to track him down. Because the crime was committed in France, he will be tried under French laws for fraudulent access to a computer system.
In addition to jail time, he could be fined up to 30,000 Euros if found guilty.
He was freed after questioning but is due in court on June 24. Maybe he has sworn off the Internet. The Wall Street Journal reported he hadn't replied to the reporter's email seeking comment.
His name wasn't released, but his pseudonym is "Hacker Croll" -- and he lives with his parents.
Posing as a site administrator in April 2009, he hacked just to see if he could do it; but he did not post anything on the accounts. He did take screen shots, which he shared on Internet chat forums, according to the prosecutor in the case.
It took a joint operation by the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and the French police to track him down. Because the crime was committed in France, he will be tried under French laws for fraudulent access to a computer system.
In addition to jail time, he could be fined up to 30,000 Euros if found guilty.
He was freed after questioning but is due in court on June 24. Maybe he has sworn off the Internet. The Wall Street Journal reported he hadn't replied to the reporter's email seeking comment.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Google vrs. China
China may have more to lose than Goggle, The New York Times reports today. By tightening its grip on online communication, it is challenging admittedly Western free-speech notions; but free flow of information is the bedrock of globalism. If China wants to be a global leader, perhaps THE global leader, it may have to ease its censorship and give its citizens access to "a wide range of political and social topics that its leaders believe could lead to instability."
Otherwise, "the cost, at least with some influential sectors of its own society, could be steep," speculates the Times . For one thing, the Chinese technology sector may find itself cut off from innovation.
A U.S. scholar who advised President Bill Clinton on China, observed, "“What does Google’s exit say? What it says publicly is what everyone deeply engaged in China knows privately. This is a system with very substantial domestic imperfection."
Moral: Even the most powerful nations today have to open the door to free flow of information if they want to be part of the global system.
Otherwise, "the cost, at least with some influential sectors of its own society, could be steep," speculates the Times . For one thing, the Chinese technology sector may find itself cut off from innovation.
A U.S. scholar who advised President Bill Clinton on China, observed, "“What does Google’s exit say? What it says publicly is what everyone deeply engaged in China knows privately. This is a system with very substantial domestic imperfection."
Moral: Even the most powerful nations today have to open the door to free flow of information if they want to be part of the global system.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Google's Chinese Solution
This news alert just in from the Wall Street Journal:
"Google will shift its search engine for China off the mainland to Hong Kong and maintain other operations in the country. The compromise announced Monday is an attempt to balance its stance against censorship with its desire to profit from a growing Internet market.
Google plans to keep its engineering and sales offices in China so it can keep a technological toehold in the country and continue to sell ads for the Chinese-language version of its search engine in the U.S."
The company's chief legal officer blogged : "Figuring out how to make good on our promise to stop censoring search on Goggle.cn has been hard. We want as many people in the world as possible to have access to our services, including users in mainland China, yet the Chinese government has been crystal clear throughout our discussions that self-censorship is a non-negotiable legal requirement."
Google has set up a new web page to give a daily report of what Google services are available in China -- and what are blocked.
"Google will shift its search engine for China off the mainland to Hong Kong and maintain other operations in the country. The compromise announced Monday is an attempt to balance its stance against censorship with its desire to profit from a growing Internet market.
Google plans to keep its engineering and sales offices in China so it can keep a technological toehold in the country and continue to sell ads for the Chinese-language version of its search engine in the U.S."
The company's chief legal officer blogged : "Figuring out how to make good on our promise to stop censoring search on Goggle.cn has been hard. We want as many people in the world as possible to have access to our services, including users in mainland China, yet the Chinese government has been crystal clear throughout our discussions that self-censorship is a non-negotiable legal requirement."
Google has set up a new web page to give a daily report of what Google services are available in China -- and what are blocked.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Political Attack Ads Go Viral
Political ads are an important part of educating citizens in a democracy. Candidates use them to get their message across to voters.But sometimes the message gets nasty. "Attack ads," which began in the U.S. in the early 1960s, are negative advertising. They are intended to shape public opinion by smearing opponents, often by innuendo and false or exaggerated statements.
Now with the Web, attack ads have gone viral with demon sheep, an opponent portrayed as a hot-air blimp and Dubai "slave bosses." Examples The debate on the health insurance legislation in the U.S. is getting so heated, even the families of politicians are being featured in the attack ads.
In the highly competitive world of advertising, the pressure is always on for produce ads that create a buzz, but where's the line between edgy and unethical?
Now with the Web, attack ads have gone viral with demon sheep, an opponent portrayed as a hot-air blimp and Dubai "slave bosses." Examples The debate on the health insurance legislation in the U.S. is getting so heated, even the families of politicians are being featured in the attack ads.
In the highly competitive world of advertising, the pressure is always on for produce ads that create a buzz, but where's the line between edgy and unethical?
Thursday, March 18, 2010
What What You Text; Somebody Else May Be Reading
Two Emirates Airline cabin crew members in Dubai thought that what they were texting was just between them. They found out otherwise when a divorce court ordered Etisalat to release the messages six months ago. The two were ordered to leave the country after serving six-month jail sentences. They appealed. Agence France-Press just reported that the sentence has been reduced -- three months in jail and they can stay in the country. The "Sexy Texting" story has been getting a lot of attention in the world press. Asharq Alawsat observes: "Dubai, a regional tourist hub with a large non-Muslim expatriate population and the Gulf's most liberal social policies, nevertheless continues to apply strict rules based on Islamic Sharia laws."
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