The World Privacy Forum filed a complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission today regarding the circumvention of users’ expressly stated browser privacy choices without notice. “The World Privacy Forum requests that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigate Google, Vibrant Media, Media Innovation Group, and Pointroll for potential violations of Section 5 of the FTC Act. These…
Category: Business
Twitter stores full iPhone contact list for 18 months, after scan
David Sarno reports: Twitter Inc. has acknowledged that after mobile users tap the “Find friends” feature on its smartphone app, the company downloads users’ entire address book, including email addresses and phone numbers, and keeps the data on its servers for 18 months. The company also said it plans to update its apps to clarify…
NZ: Lawyers look at privacy after Snapper email marketing
Mathew Dearnaley reports: Auckland Transport has called in lawyers to review its privacy policy after a technology company used email addresses of more than 50,000 bus passengers to send them marketing offers. Chief executive David Warburton told his board yesterday the policy had been put under an independent legal microscope as part of an investigation…
Disruptions: So Many Apologies, So Much Data Mining
Nick Bilton writes: Last week, Arun Thampi, a programmer in Singapore, discovered that the mobile social network Path was surreptitiously copying address book information from users’ iPhones without notifying them. David Morin, Path’s voluble chief executive, quickly commented on Mr. Thampi’s blog that Path’s actions were an “industry best practice.” He then became uncharacteristically quiet as the…