Online privacy

After the Federal Communications Commission and the US Congress scrapped federal regulations protecting both network neutrality and privacy for Internet service provider customers, several states started working on their own safeguards. With broad support from the governor, attorney general, and legislators of both parties, Washington State has been one of the most aggressive. That could make it a test case not only for telecom policy but for the country’s perennial power struggle between federal and state governments.

A businessman who has launched a legal bid to erase online articles about his criminal conviction in the first “right to be forgotten” case in the English courts should not be allowed to rewrite history, lawyers for Google have said.  The claimant, referred to only as NT1 for legal reasons, was convicted of conspiracy to account falsely in the late 1990s and wants the search engine to remove results that mention his case, including web pages published by a national newspaper.

A Belgian court threatened Facebook with a fine of up to 100 million euros ($125 million) if it continued to break privacy laws by tracking people on third party websites.  In a case brought by Belgium’s privacy watchdog, the court also ruled on Feb 16 that Facebook had to delete all data it had gathered illegally on Belgian citizens, including people who were not Facebook users themselves.

As everyday consumer appliances and devices like televisions are increasingly connected to the internet, concerns about privacy and security are mounting.

Facebook’s default privacy settings and use of personal data are against German consumer law, according to a judgement handed down by a Berlin regional court. The court found that Facebook collects and uses personal data without providing enough information to its members for them to render meaningful consent. The federation of German consumer organisations (VZBV), which brought the suit, argued that Facebook opted users in to features which it should not have.

[Commentary] Individuals certainly need to be aware of how any company, or other entity, is using the information collected. Individuals have the responsibility to read the relevant portions of privacy policies and licenses. But data is not evil. Government regulation is not the answer, or even an answer. Technology companies should not be subject to regulations for using data consumers voluntarily hand over in exchange for services or products those very consumers value so long as that usage is consistent with their disclosed terms.

[Commentary] The recent repeal of network neutrality regulations has concerned cities across the country about how the rollback will impact their communities.  Cities, with the guidance and leadership of their citizens, must begin to form oversight of Internet service providers themselves. And location intelligence is critical to this task.

With government access to foreign communications much on the minds of Washington legislators these days--particularly a FISA Act warrant related to a Trump Administration official--a bipartisan group of Congressmen is introducing the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act.

If you’ve snapped up a smart TV, with built-in Netflix, YouTube, Hulu and other Web connections, heads up on this warning — your smart TV could make you vulnerable to hackers and is probably monitoring more of your viewing than you realize. Consumer Reports just analyzed smart TVs from five big U.S. TV brands — Samsung, LG, Sony, TCL and Vizio — and found several problems. All can track what consumers watch, and two of the brands failed a basic security test.