From EPIC: The Federal Trade Commission has responded to EPIC’s letterurging the agency to oppose a collusive Google class action settlement. The agency stated that it “systematically monitors compliance” with its consumer protection orders and that it “takes alleged violation[s] of an order seriously,” but that it cannot publicly disclose details of its investigations until a formal complaint…
Category: Govt
Visit the Wrong Website, and the FBI Could End Up in Your Computer
Kevin Poulsen reports: Security experts call it a “drive-by download”: a hacker infiltrates a high-traffic website and then subverts it to deliver malware to every single visitor. It’s one of the most powerful tools in the black hat arsenal, capable of delivering thousands of fresh victims into a hackers’ clutches within minutes. Now the technique…
AU: Govt dumps discrimination law change for NSA-style snooping (updated)
APN reports: The Abbott government appears another step closer to forcing internet service providers and phone companies to retain users’ metadata for up to two years. Plans for data retention, encouraged by Australia’s intelligence community, are already being actively considered by the government, as part of a Senate inquiry. But the plans, which senior government…
Comment Filed By Jessica Rich, Discussing How Developments In “Big Data” Affect Consumer Privacy and the Interests Reflected in the Administration’s Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights
Comments submitted by FTC Commissioner Jessica Rich to the National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the Department of Commerce (pdf).