Marie Szaniszlo reports: Privacy advocates were dealt a one-two punch this week as Google announced plans to sell some of its users’ information for use in advertisements, and Facebook said it’s removing the privacy setting for Timeline searches. Read more on Boston Herald. Kristin Burnham has more on the Facebook changes on InformationWeek.
Category: Business
Skype under investigation in Luxembourg over link to NSA
Ryan Gallagher reports: Skype is being investigated by Luxembourg’s data protection commissioner over concerns about its secret involvement with the US National Security Agency (NSA) spy programme Prism, the Guardian has learned. The Microsoft-owned internet chat company could potentially face criminal and administrative sanctions, including a ban on passing users’ communications covertly to the US signals intelliigence agency. Read more…
Microsoft Consumer Denied Class Cert. In Privacy Suit
Law360.com reports: A California federal judge denied class certification Wednesday in a suit accusing Microsoft Corp. of illegally collecting consumers’ personal information during credit card transactions, deciding that customers at Microsoft stores weren’t asked to give the information as a condition for their purchases. Read more on Law360.com (subscription required). The case is Pamela Gossoo…
Verizon Case Warns Employers Against Vague Device Policies
Law360.com reports: An Ohio federal court recently found that a former Verizon Wireless employee could pursue Stored Communications Act claims alleging her supervisor read her personal emails on a company-issued BlackBerry without consent, serving as a warning that employers risk liability under the criminal statute without clear policies on personal use of company devices and…