OK Glass, RIP Privacy: The Democratization Of Surveillance How’s this for synchronicity: Google Glass started shipping on the same week that CISPA passed the House, 3DRobotics unveiled their new site, and 4chan and Reddit pored over surveillance photos trying to crowdsource the identity of the Boston bombers. Cameras on phones. Cameras on drones. Cameras on glasses. Cameras atop stores, in ATMs, on the street, on lapels, up high in the sky. Modern cars log detailed data their manufacturers can access if they so desire. In 1999, Sun CEO Scott McNealy said: “You have zero privacy anyway. I’ve been arguing for years that “Soon enough, pseudonymity and anonymity will only exist online; in the real world…they’ll be more or less extinct.” One can reasonably dispute whether the collective crowdsourced 4chan/Reddit attempt to identify the Boston bomber was a good thing or not, and interesting people are engaged in both sides of just that argument – – but to me, the important thing is the precedent it sets. In the words of the ACLU:
Homeland Security Tracks These Keywords on Twitter and Facebook Next time you write about an "infection," cooking "pork," sitting at the "airport" or "subway," or even mention "social media," know there's a chance the Department of Homeland Security will scan the tweet or Facebook comment. The Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) just released DHS internal documents about the surveillance of social media and the information collected daily. EPIC gained access to the documents with a lawsuit, pushing the Freedom of Information Act. The documents included hundreds of keywords that the government tracks. The Department of Homeland Security initiative started in February 2011. The department aimed to use social media to stay in-the-know about breaking news as it's happening. "Social media outlets provide instant feedback and alert capabilities to rapidly changing or newly occurring situations," states U.S. SEE ALSO: Republican Senators: Keep Government Out of Cybersecurity Do you feel safer with U.S. Thumbnail courtesy of Flickr, Hello Turkey Toe
Online Privacy FAQ Copyright © 2007 - 2014Privacy Rights Clearinghouse This FAQ is an addendum to our Fact Sheet 18 on Internet privacy.www.privacyrights.org/fs/fs18-cyb.htm It provides answers to questions that we are often asked by individuals who contact us concerning online privacy and safety. 1. I have found my name and personal information on the Internet at sites like ZabaSearch and Intelius. I am worried about identity theft. How can I get my information removed from all of these sites? There is no one simple way to have your information entirely removed from all of the information broker sites. Once your personal information has been recorded in public records, there is no effective way to permanently or completely remove it (for example, birth certificate, marriage license, home ownership documents, court records, and in some states voter registration, etc.). As part of the request for removal, the information broker Web site may ask you for personal information to “verify” your identity. 2. 3.
White House pushes online privacy bill of rights - Feb. 23 A series of online privacy debacles has Washington stepping up its oversight. NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- The Obama administration on Thursday unveiled a new online bill of rights intended to protect consumers' privacy when they surf the Web. The policy lays out a set of guidelines for Internet companies about how they should treat consumers' data and manage their customer interactions. It stresses transparency, security, and user control of their data. (Click here to read the privacy bill of rights in its entirety). The bill is a splashy gesture, but it's also pretty toothless. The document is stuffed with vague rules such as: "Companies should offer consumers clear and simple choices, presented at times and in ways that enable consumers to make meaningful decisions." The White House admitted that its framework is fairly lightweight. In the meantime, the White House cast its bill of rights as a "comprehensive blueprint" for future legislation. "We need this now," Bryson said.
Apple, Facebook, others defy authorities, increasingly notify users of secret data demands after Snowden revelations Fueling the shift is the industry’s eagerness to distance itself from the government after last year’s disclosures about National Security Agency surveillance of online services. Apple, Microsoft, Facebook and Google all are updating their policies to expand routine notification of users about government data seizures, unless specifically gagged by a judge or other legal authority, officials at all four companies said. Yahoo announced similar changes in July. As this position becomes uniform across the industry, U.S. tech companies will ignore the instructions stamped on the fronts of subpoenas urging them not to alert subjects about data requests, industry lawyers say. Companies that already routinely notify users have found that investigators often drop data demands to avoid having suspects learn of inquiries. “It serves to chill the unbridled, cost-free collection of data,” said Albert Gidari Jr., a partner at Perkins Coie who represents several technology companies. Ronald T. Ann E.
Obama's Privacy Push Means Business As Usual For Web Firms If the Obama administration wanted a simpler way to protect consumer privacy, it didn't need to issue a dense report or pressure Congress to pass laws increasing government oversight of the private sector - especially during an election year. The White House simply needed to look in its own consumer protection playbook and take a page from its efforts to help credit card customers avoid crippling debt. Last year the Obama administration proposed rules for banks that require simple summaries of what their credit card agreements say; that followed similar rules requiring banks to show customers in monthly statements how long it would take to pay down their balance if they only paid the minimum amount due. Instead, the Obama administration released the Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights in a Networked World Thursday, which lays out ideas for protecting consumers. "Delivering 'free' online services costs money, and there's always some kind of trade-off. Companies Get A Seat At The Table
Legal Help Removing Content From Google This page will help you get to the right place to report content that you would like removed from Google's services under applicable laws. Providing us with complete information will help us investigate your inquiry. If you have non-legal issues that concern Google's Terms of Service or Product Policies, please visit We ask that you submit a separate notice for each Google service where the content appears. What Google product does your request relate to? Which product does your request relate to? What can we help you with? Choose from the following options Are you the copyright owner or authorized to act on his/her behalf? What is the allegedly infringing work in question? The image/video is of yourself I have read the above and wish to proceed Are you the owner of the technological protection measure, the copyright owner of the work protected by this technology, or a representative authorized to act on behalf of either owner? Google Help
How Advanced Fraud Detection Services Work As anyone who has ever had a valid credit card charge questioned knows, there is a lot of fraudulent use of cards, and the Internet has made it even easier for the bad guys to exploit them. According to comScore, last year ecommerce in the U.S. reached record levels of spending with more than $160 billion in transactions. With all this activity, it is like looking for the proverbial needle in a very large haystack to try to track down fraudulent transactions. First is the news that MasterCard is working with Silver Tail Systems to map abnormal Web traffic flows on ecommerce sites. A second company that is working in this area is Norse Corporation, a St. Norse places millions of monitors around the global Internet, looking for anomalies in transactions that are being attempted on various ecommerce sites. Here is another example of their intelligent network in operation.
Muse & Geek - [LEGISLATION] Directive Européenne sur les Cookies Depuis quelques temps, vous avez pu apercevoir sur vos divers sites web préférés un bandeau vous signalant l'utilisation des cookies et vous demandant, de manière plus ou moins tacite, votre consentement pour en déposer sur votre navigateur. Il s'agit en fait d'une obligation légale émise par la Commission Européenne sous la directive 2002/58/EC mise à jour par la directive 2009/136/EC et entrée en vigueur le 25 Mai 2011. L'article 5(3) de cette directive stipule (page 20) que : Les États membres garantissent que le stockage d’informations, ou l’obtention de l’accès à des informations déjà stockées, dans l’équipement terminal d’un abonné ou d’un utilisateur n’est permis qu’à condition que l’abonné ou l’utilisateur ait donné son accord, après avoir reçu, dans le respect de la directive 95/46/CE, une information claire et complète, entre autres sur les finalités du traitement. Consentement, d'accord. Mais avant de faire le tour de l'Europe, qu'est-ce qu'un cookie ?
The US Government Is Data Mining You This story first appeared on the TomDispatch website. I was out of the country only nine days, hardly a blink in time, but time enough, as it happened, for another small, airless room to be added to the American national security labyrinth. On March 22nd, Attorney General Eric Holder and Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, Jr. signed off on new guidelines allowing the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), a post-9/11 creation, to hold on to information about Americans in no way known to be connected to terrorism—about you and me, that is—for up to five years. (Its previous outer limit was 180 days.) This, Clapper claimed, "will enable NCTC to accomplish its mission more practically and effectively." Joseph K., that icon of single-lettered anonymity from Franz Kafka's novel The Trial, would undoubtedly have felt right at home in Clapper's Washington. A System That Creates Its Own Reality Now, I don't want to overdo it. A Basilica of Chaos
Loi Hamon, tout savoir pour être en règle Le web français est régit par un certains nombre de textes légaux qu'il convient de respecter. Car même si nul n'est sensé ignorer la Loi, il faut bien admettre qu'un petit rappel en la matière n'est jamais inutile. En plus des mentions légales et des Conditions Générales de Vente (ou d'utilisation) déjà obligatoires, l'année 2014 a été marquée par l'entrée en vigueur d'une obligation d'information sur les cookies ainsi que d'un renforcement de l'information et de la protection du consommateur avec la Loi Hamon (LOI n° 2014-344 du 17 mars 2014 relative à la consommation). Promulguée en juin dernier, ce texte législatif important apporte de substantielles avancées par rapport à la loi Chatel pour les e-commerçants. La Loi Hamon La Loi Hamon apporte principalement une meilleure protection des achats sur internet avec surtout, un délai de rétraction qui passe de 7 à 14 jours et un remboursement sous 14 jours maximum suivant la décision de rétractation du consommateur. Avant la vente
Work-At-Home Scams To Avoid Pat Colucci got an exhilarating phone call in the summer of 2009. The 75-year-old retired salesman of metal fillings, X-ray film and other dental equipment needed some extra cash, and a company called BankCard Empire in Phoenix, Ariz. offered a way: Colucci could run his own credit card processing business from the comfort of his modest home in Plainfield, NJ. BankCard promised to provide Colucci with credit card swiping machines for sale or lease; the company would also register and build Colucci’s website to market the machines. From that point, Colucci would snare a small cut of each transaction processed. Once he sold a decent number of machines, he could kick back and watch the commissions pour in. All he needed to get started: a one-time fee of $32,450. Colucci (who says he doesn’t know how BankCard got his name and phone number) covered the bill with two credit cards---one from Chase Bank, the other from Bank of America. Smell a scam? E-Commerce Con Letter From Nigeria Dial-A-Crook
De la surveillance de masse à la paranoïa généralisée Il y aura un avant et un après Snowden. Avant, ceux qui dénonçaient la montée en puissance de la société de surveillance passaient pour de doux paranoïaques (alors que les paranos, c’était pas eux, mais la NSA, ce que Snowden a amplement démontré). Depuis, tout le monde ou presque est persuadé d’être espionné par la NSA, ou encore que la DGSE espionnerait toutes les télécommunications, en France… ce dont je me permets de douter : la NSA ou la DGSE (& Cie) ont certes les moyens de tenter d’espionner n’importe qui, mais les documents Snowden ne permettent aucunement de conclure qu’ils espionneraient tout le monde, a fortiori tout le temps, façon « Big Brother« . Mise à jour, juin 2015 : vous trouverez plus bas la vidéo de la suite de cette conférence, donnée à Pas Sage en Seine 2015, où j’ai tenté d’expliquer pourquoi je n’avais pas particulièrement peur des « boîtes noires » du Projet de loi relatif au renseignement, et pourquoi le problème me semble être ailleurs… Problème.