The prevailing wisdom about young people is that they are not savvy when it comes to managing their on-line reputations — but a new study by the Pew Internet and American Life project says that the opposite is true. Young people are actually much more likely to actively restrict what information they share and with whom they share it. [More]
privacy
Facebook Announces Simplified Privacy Settings
By 5.26.10
Faced with a steady stream of criticism from users, privacy advocates, and more recently members of the government, Facebook has announced today that they’re simplifying how privacy settings work on the site. The WSJ is liveblogging Facebook’s conference call right now. CNET’s coverage is coming in faster, though, and offers more detail. Below is a quick summary of what Facebook is changing. [More]
Facebook's Zuckerberg: We "Missed The Mark"
By 5.24.10
Echoing (or is that just endlessly repeating?) comments made by his minions last week, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg today said that the company “missed the mark” with its complex privacy controls, and vowed to give users a “simpler way to control your information.” [More]
Fidelity Sent Me Someone Else's $300,000 Retirement Savings
By 5.24.10
Douglas received an unexpected delivery from UPS last week: a check from Fidelity Investments made out to Vanguard Fiduciary Trust Company for over $300,000, along with a bunch of 401(k) rollover paperwork that included the real account holder’s address, date of birth, SSN, and phone number. [More]
Australia Customs Guys Live The Dream, Search Computers For Porn
By 5.21.10
People are up in arms that Australian customs officials have taken it upon themselves to go porn-hunting on travelers’ computers, the Sydney Morning Herald reports. If they find anything, they’ll confiscate the dirty stuff in order to prevent you from exporting it to the untainted island. [More]
ACLU Jumps In On Amazon's Privacy Fight
By 5.21.10
The North Carolina Department of Revenue wants to hit up Amazon for detailed info about purchases by residents of the state, but Amazon is fighting back in federal court, and now has won over the American Civil Liberties Union as a tag-team partner, WRAL of North Carolina reports. [More]
Facebook May Simplify Privacy Controls
By 5.20.10
Facing mounting criticism that its privacy settings have become overly complex, Facebook is now considering changes “for users who want simplistic bands of privacy that they can choose from.” It’s unclear, however, whether the planned changes will provide more options for users who don’t want to share certain information, or just make the existing choices easier to access.
After Posting SS# In Ads, Lifelock CEO's Identity Stolen 13 Times
By 5.19.10
So confident is Lifelock in its $10-$15/month “identity theft protection service” that its CEO Todd Davis posts his social security number in its ads. Unfortunately, his identity has been stolen 13 times since doing so, reports the Phoenix Times. The FTC fined Lifelock $12 million in March for deceptive advertising.
Cracking LifeLock: Even After a $12 Million Penalty for Deceptive Advertising, the Tempe Company Can’t Be Honest About Its Identity-Theft-Protection Service [Phoenix New Times]
VIDEO: New Kin Ad Creeps Consumer Reports Out
By 5.18.10
Theresa over at Consumer Reports Ad Watch took a gander at the latest Kin ad and is kinda skeeved out. In the ad for Microsoft’s new social networking phone targeted at teens, protagonist “Rosa” goes out to confront in person “Matty Goldberb” who’s been hitting on her on Facebook, despite their never meeting before and not knowing each other besides some “mutual friends” (according to Facebook). [More]
Groupon Shows How To Properly Explain TOS Changes
By 5.18.10
Groupon is a daily deal sort of website, but the reason it’s on Consumerist today is because of how well it communicated some recent changes to its Terms of Service agreement. Consumerist reader Pureboy sent in a copy of the email he recently received where the website explained the changes in plain English, with examples. [More]
Woman Sues Cellphone Company For $600,000 For "Exposing" Her Adultery
By 5.17.10
A woman has sued her wireless provider for $600,000 for outing her as a cheater to her husband. After the they added internet and TV services to the woman’s previously single-user cellphone bill, the wireless company began sending the husband a unified bill, which included several hours long conversations to an unknown number. The husband walked out, and the lawsuits began. [More]
"Openbook" Makes It Easy To Search For Humiliating Facebook Updates
By 5.17.10
There’s a new Facebook search site out there with a concept similar to PleaseRobMe, a site that demonstrates just how easy it is for bad guys to use social networking crap to tell when you’re away from your home. This new Facebook Search allows anyone to search for potentially embarrassing updates that can now be viewed by the public. [More]
Would You Desert Facebook Over Privacy Issues?
By 5.16.10
There have been quite a few trend pieces out there this weekend, all along the lines of “Facebook’s privacy issues woes are causing users to quit it… FOREVER!” We’ve already told you it’s not likely you’ll decamp — after all, everyone loves Facebook… right? [More]
Diaspora: The Facebook Slayer Where Protecting Your Privacy Is Their Killer App
By 5.13.10
Instead of just kvetching about Facebook, these four self-described “talented young nerds” are doing something. They’re constructing a new kind of open-source distributed social network called Diaspora, and protecting all your information is at its core. Instead of handing over your bits to a central hub, it goes into your personalized server or “seed.” You own the server, you own your data. Everything is private and encrypted by default. It’s up to you to decide how much or how little you want to reveal. Sound crazy? There’s plenty of people who don’t think so. In just 20 days, the NYU students have raised $93,068 on Kickstarter. [More]
Visualizing The Devolution Of Privacy On Facebook
By 5.11.10
This chart shows how the default privacy settings on Facebook have gotten less, well, private, from 2005-2010. Created by Matt McKeon based off an EFF timeline, it helps visualize how Facebook has grown increasingly permissive with your data as it has grown in size, power, and revenue. What might tomorrow bring? Perhaps in the future Facebook will create placeholder profiles for people who haven’t signed up yet, using data gleaned from Zabasearch and LexisNexis. Check out Matt’s site for an interactive version.
The Evolution of Privacy on Facebook [mattmckeon via NPR]
Victoria Wants Me To Reveal The Secret Of My SSN
By 5.11.10
As if it wasn’t compromising enough to give up her measurements, Lindsay says Victoria’s Secret also wanted her Social Security Number. [More]
Facebook Board Member's Profile Hacked
By 5.10.10
Maybe now that one of their board members’ profile got hacked, Facebook will start caring more about your privacy. Nah. [More]
