Paul Schwartz and Daniel Solove have a new article available for download from SSRN. Here’s the abstract: Personally identifiable information (PII) is one of the most central concepts in information privacy regulation. The scope of privacy laws typically turns on whether PII is involved. The basic assumption behind the applicable laws is that if PII…
Category: Breaches
Facebook flaw allows access to private photos
Zack Whittacker reports: ‘Report abuse’ features in Facebook give users access to personal, private and hidden photos that would normally be hidden from view. The flaw, spotted by members of a body building forum, no less, allows Facebook users to access photos revealed by the report abuse tool. Only a handful of images are presented to the…
Europe to crack down on privacy breaches with steep fines
Joseph Parish reports: The European Commission is finalizing privacy protection rules where companies could be fined up to five percent of their global sales for mishandling the data of customers, suppliers, or employees. Because the law would apply to foreign companies with branches in Europe, it gives the EU significant power to regulate privacy worldwide….
Hole in Skype reveals location and downloading habits
Joan Goodchild reports: Researchers have found a flaw in Skype, the popular Voice-over-Internet-Protocol service which allows users to make video phone calls and internet chat with their computers. The vulnerability can expose your location, identity and the content you’re downloading. Microsoft, which owns Skype, says they are working on the problem. The issue was uncovered…