Privacy

Even before Google launched its new privacy policy earlier this month, consolidating separate privacy policies for more than 60 applications, legal issues had surfaced. Now, attorneys general from more than 31 States have accused Google of violating privacy laws because of complaints from users that...

There is no question that Google is the dominant player in the search engine arena, and a new survey released Friday by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found that 83 percent of U.S. search engine users rated Google as their preferred search engine, despite concerns about the company's d...

Google on Tuesday rebuffed a request by a European Union privacy body to delay implementation of changes in the search giant's privacy policies set to take effect on March 1. "[W]e have notified over 350 million authenticated Google users and provided highly visible notifications on our homepage and...

Attorneys General from 36 states have written to Google CEO Larry Page expressing deep concerns over the company's privacy terms. Google's new privacy policy, which permits greater information sharing among its products, should allow consumers to opt in, the attorneys general maintain. Besides lacki...

Top mobile app providers like Apple and Google have sided with California Attorney General Kamala D. Harris to increase privacy protections on mobile apps by providing consumers with more information about the personal data the apps collect. The effort was spearheaded by the California AG in an effo...

The fallout from changes Google plans to make to its privacy policies and terms of service continues, with consumer advocacy group the Electronic Privacy Information Center suing the Federal Trade Commission over the issue. EPIC is seeking injunctive and other relief to force the FTC to enforce a co...

Both privacy advocates and representatives of businesses that handle consumer data are flocking to Brussels. Why? The EU has proposed a strict set of new data privacy rules that would restrict companies such as Facebook even more than they currently do. Facebook, et al., have descended on the city...

In a response to privacy concerns over controversial software made by Carrier IQ, wireless provider Sprint has announced it will disable the data collection tool on its handsets. Carrier IQ software is designed to be installed in handsets to give wireless carriers information about how their network...

In May 2011, the Privacy Commissioner of Canada released a report based on a consultation process for online tracking, profiling and targeting of advertisers, and cloud computing. The goal was to engage the public on recent technological advancements and privacy complications in behavioral advertisi...

It seems that every day a new crisis hits the news about our privacy, but not many news stories are as astonishing as the recent revelation by a 25-year-old researcher about the Carrier IQ software that is installed on most modern Android, BlackBerry and Nokia phones. Carrier IQ software collects m...

Facebook has agreed to settle charges of privacy violations with the Federal Trade Commission. As part of the settlement, the social networking giant will submit to periodic independent privacy audits for the next 20 years. The company has also agreed to ask users for permission before changing the ...

The Federal Communications Commission has cleared the way for telephone companies to share customer data with associates that hawk communications services -- without first seeking customer consent. FCC Chairman Michael Powell defended the decision, but it was denounced by FCC Commissioner Mich...