Emails and mobile phone text messages would be stored for six months by internet service providers (ISPs), according to a bill presented by the Swedish government on Thursday to bring the country in line with EU data retention rules. Critics have come down hard on the proposal, which would compel telephone and broadband providers to…
Category: Online
EU legal threat stirs Home Office on interception opt-ins
Ian Grant reports: People who use the internet may have greater protection from electronic eavesdroppers following a consultation on changes to the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA). The Home Office recommendations include an explicit opt-in for information exchanged between a sender and receiver to be intercepted by a third party, and a civil sanction…
FCC investigates Google for Street View privacy breach, UK ICO criticized for sending non-techies to investigate
Cecilia Kang reports: The Federal Communications Commission said Wednesday it is investigating a data breach by Google, whose Street View mapping cars scooped up e-mail addresses and passwords from unencrypted residential Wi-Fi networks. “Last month, Google disclosed that its Street View cars collected passwords, e-mails and other personal information wirelessly from unsuspecting people across the…
Google’s Toolbar Spies on Users, Class Claims
Tim Hull reports: A federal class action claims that Google’s Toolbar software deceives users into giving the company information about the websites they visit and the information they search for online, potentially “revealing a user’s inquiries about medical, political, religious, cultural, or financial matters.” The class claims that Google tells its Toolbar users they can…