Your Mobile Privacy: Even a Dumb Phone Shares Location Data Whether you know it or not, whether you consent or not, whether you like it or not, your location data can be constantly tracked by your cell carrier – even IF your phone is a block or ‘dumb’ phone. As Pro Publica reporter Megha Rajagopalan points out, cell phone companies collect location data Continue Reading
Mar
08
All Cell Phones Share Location Data
Posted by Christina Tetreault in Uncategorized
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Nov
28
More bureaucracy? No thanks!
We heard a lot from the Presidential campaigns about regulations – not much of it good. So now that our elected officials are back in Washington, some want to put another layer of bureaucracy over those agencies that protect consumers. That just doesn’t make sense. If this proposed Senate bill passes, it would create a regulatory bottleneck Continue Reading
Posted by Kathy Mitchell in Uncategorized
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46 Comments »
Jun
01
Internet Explorer 10 Will Enable “Do Not Track” By Default
Microsoft recently announced that its new version of the Internet Explorer browser, IE10, will have the “Do Not Track” setting enabled by default. The “Do Not Track” tool, supported by the Federal Trade Commission and a number of consumer and privacy groups, including Consumers Union, would allow individuals to tell third party sites that they Continue Reading
Posted by Ioana Rusu in Internet
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1 Comment »
May
30
Twitter supports Do Not Track
On May 17, Ed Felton, Chief Technologist of the Federal Trade Commission, announced that Twitter would begin supporting Do Not Track. Twitter is partnering with Mozilla to give users the ability to opt out of being tracked in any way through Twitter. Twitter will enable the Do Not Track tool in the Mozilla Firefox browser Continue Reading
Posted by Meredith Whipple in Internet
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Apr
20
What does candy have to do with car insurance?
As we’ve continued to follow (and update you) on the ongoing W3C process, which seeks to create a standard for a universal Do Not Track Tool, the issue of figuring out who is a first party and who is a third party keeps popping up, again and again, as a key sticking point between stakeholders. Continue Reading
Posted by Meredith Whipple in Internet
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Apr
14
FTC releases framework for online privacy
In March 2012, the FTC released their final report on online privacy, entitled Protecting Consumer Privacy in an Era of Rapid Change: Recommendations for Businesses and Policymakers. This is a continuation of their December 2010 preliminary report. The final report calls on Congress to consider enacting privacy legislation and data security legislation. The Commission offers Continue Reading
Posted by Meredith Whipple in Internet
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Apr
03
CR survey finds that most consumers are still “very concerned” about online privacy
A recent survey1 by Consumer Reports found that 71 percent of respondents were “very concerned” about companies selling or sharing information gathered about them without their permission. Sixty-five percent of smartphone owners were “very concerned” that smartphone apps can access their contacts, photos, location, or other data on their devices without their permission. More than Continue Reading
Posted by Meredith Whipple in Internet
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3 Comments »
Mar
26
White House wants to hear from you on online privacy
In a recent blog post, we reported that the White House, in conjunction with the Department of Commerce, had released a Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights. The document promises open, transparent forums where industry members and consumer advocates can work together to create reasonable codes of conduct that will lead to privacy solutions for consumers. Continue Reading
Posted by Meredith Whipple in Uncategorized
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Mar
21
Low Power FM Ready to Boost Community Broadcasting
More than a decade ago the Federal Communications Commission came up with a great idea to help combat the massive consolidation in the radio market and to give local communities a voice of their own – low power FM radio stations. The stations were to be small at 100 watts – roughly the energy needed Continue Reading
Posted by Bob Williams in TV & Radio
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Mar
06
Mobile apps can upload your photos and contacts, no permission needed
When you download an app on your smartphone, do you know what types of information that app can gather from your device? Many users expect that apps will only have access to their personal information if granted express permission. However, according to recent New York Times reports, a number of iPhone and Android apps can Continue Reading
Posted by Meredith Whipple in Internet
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