Joe Mullin writes: So-called “Flash cookies” got some headlines in the online privacy world last year, after some prominent researchers noted that they were sometimes being used to track users—even users who took steps to protect their privacy, like clearing their regular (HTTP) cookies. Flash cookies were mentioned by the FTC as a problem, and…
Category: Featured News
Wyden Bill Would Clarify GPS Data Rules
New technologies – like cell phones, smart phones, laptops and navigation devices – are making it increasingly easy to track and log the location of individual Americans, yet federal laws have not kept pace with the technology. The lack of legal clarity surrounding the use of electronically-obtained location data, also known as geolocation information, means…
Franken, Blumenthal introduce mobile privacy bill
Cecilia Kang reports: Senators Al Franken (D-Minn.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) on Wednesday introduced a smart phone privacy bill that would require companies like Apple and Google to get permission from users before sharing geo-locational data with third parties. The bill comes amid increased concern that mobile phone and apps makers are collecting information about a consumer’s…
U.S. Supreme Court, 8 to 1, suspends Fourth Amendment
Great piece by Nat Hentoff from last week: […] On May 16, 2011, in these United States, eight justices, apparently unaware of the deep roots the Fourth Amendment has in our history, ruled in Kentucky v. King — as warned in the interpretation of the lone dissenter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg — to suspend the Fourth…