NewsTrust - Privacy - Most Recent Stories: News (Independent)

New Legislation Would Give Power to Keyboard Cops

Mon, 07 May 2012 00:00:00 -0700

readersupportednews.org - By Naomi Wolf - May. 07 (Special Report) - The respected Internet technology site Techdirt has called the bill "insanity." It has written that "CISPA can no longer be called a cybersecurity bill at all. The government would be able to search information ... for the purposes of investigating American citizens with complete immunity from all privacy protections as long as [it] can claim someone committed a ‘cybersecurity crime.'"

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CISPA Critics Warn Cybersecurity Bill Will Increase Domestic Surveillance and Violate Privacy Rights

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

Democracy Now - By Amy Goodman - Apr. 26 (Special Report) - CISPA Critics Warn Cybersecurity Bill Will Increase Domestic Surveillance and Violate Privacy Rights

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FBI to launch nationwide facial recognition service

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

nextgov.com - Oct. 25 (News) -

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Fear of Repression Spurs Scholars and Activists to Build Alternate Internets

Sun, 18 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Chronicle of Higher Education - By Jeffrey R. Young - Sep. 18 (News) - one weekend each month, a small group of computer programmers gathers at a residence here to build a homemade Internet—named Project Byzantium—that could go online if parts of the current global Internet becomes blocked by a repressive government.

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TSA Airport Scanners Wouldn’t Catch an Implant Bomber

Wed, 06 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

ProPublica - By Michael Grabell - Jul. 06 (Special Report) - A number of news outlets are reporting today on the bizarre-sounding story of terrorist groups considering how to implant explosive devices into humans to blow up a passenger jet. A U.S. security official confirmed the story for ProPublica, and the Transportation Security Administration released a statement that it had recently briefed domestic and foreign airlines. The agency said that passengers flying to the United States may notice additional security measures, such as more interaction from TSA officers, pat-downs and the use of “enhanced tools and technologies.”

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U.S. lawmakers frustrated by lack of answers about Google Street View Wi-spying

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0700

iWatch News - Jul. 05 (News Report) - One year ago, following the German government’s demand for more information, Google representatives were forced to admit that the cars were gathering more than harmless pictures; they were systematically gathering data on anyone using a nearby, unsecured Wi-Fi network. If you were within range and surfing the Web without a password, Google took a little electronic snapshot of whatever you were doing.

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IP-Address Is Not a Person, BitTorrent Case Judge Says

Tue, 03 May 2011 00:00:00 -0700

torrentfreak.com - By Ernesto - May. 03 (News) - In the case VPR Internationale v. Does 1-1017, the judge denied the Canadian adult film company access to subpoena ISPs for the personal information connected to the IP-addresses of their subscribers. The reason? IP-addresses do not equal persons, and especially in ‘adult entertainment’ cases this could obstruct a ‘fair’ legal process.

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New FBI Documents Provide Details on Government’s Surveillance Spyware

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Electronic Frontier Foundation - By Jennifer Lynch - Apr. 30 (News Analysis) - The documents we received were sent to us in response to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request we filed back in 2007 after Wired reported on evidence that the FBI was able to use “secret spyware”

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Breitbarted Again? BigGovernment Uses Deceptively Edited Video To Smear University Professors

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Crooks and Liars - By Karoli - Apr. 29 (Investigative Report) - In yet another installment of the Breitbart sagas, a bit of controversy has erupted over the veracity of two videos posted on BigGovernment's site under the careful editorial eye of Dana Loesch, et al. They claim that two university professors are indoctrinating young, impressionable college students with commie union thug tactics. And of course, they have the video to prove it, or so they say.

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How the iPhone knows where you are | Phones | Macworld

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Macworld - Apr. 28 (News) -

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Senators Push Facebook To Rethink Privacy Policy

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 00:00:00 -0800

Huffington Post - By The Huffington Post - Mar. 11 (Not sure) - Four Democratic senators have written Mark Zuckerberg a letter on Wednesday asking the Facebook head to reconsider plans that would allow third party applications to request access to users' phone numbers and addresses.

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The FBI Has Been Violating Your Liberties in Ways That May Shock You

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0800

AlterNet - By Julianne Escobedo Shepherd - Feb. 03 (News) - As Congress seeks to renew the Patriot Act, new information exposes egregious FBI violations.

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EFF Uncovers Widespread FBI Intelligence Violations

Sun, 30 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

eff.org - By Mark Rumold - Jan. 30 (Research) - EFF has uncovered widespread violations stemming from FBI intelligence investigations from 2001 - 2008. In a report released today, EFF documents alarming trends in the Bureau’s intelligence investigation practices, suggesting that FBI intelligence investigations have compromised the civil liberties of American citizens far more frequently, and to a greater extent, than was previously assumed.

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Zuckerberg's Page Hacked, Now Facebook To Offer "Always On" HTTPS

Wed, 26 Jan 2011 00:00:00 -0800

ReadWriteWeb - Jan. 26 (News) - Facebook announced this morning that it was making several security changes to protect users' accounts, including boosting the availability of accessing the site using a secure connection. The announcement comes less than a day after CEO Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook profile was hacked, and while the announcement isn't necessarily a result of this, it's a good reminder of the importance of always using a secure connection to access your accounts online - Facebook and otherwise. Facebook says it will begin giving users the ability to choose an "always on" setting for HTTPS. The option, which

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DoD Website Solicits DADT Comments

Thu, 06 May 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Military.com - By Jennifer H. Svan - May. 06 (News Report) - KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany -- The Defense Department has created an online site seeking anonymous opinions from servicemembers and their families about the possible repeal of the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. Except the opinions aren’t necessarily anonymous. Many family members can’t access the website. And it’s not clear exactly what kind of feedback officials are seeking. The recently created site — www.defense.gov/dadt — is accessible only by using a DOD-issued Common Access Card, which most family members don’t have. And use of the CAC card means that any comments are potentially traceable back to their source.

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Al Franken targets Facebook privacy

Wed, 28 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

City Pages - By Hart Van Denburg - Apr. 28 (Special Report) - It sounds reasonable enough: Facebook ought to keep your personal information private by default. But that's not what happens anymore. Facebook now shares your personal information with third-party vendors by default. And it now stores some data indefinitely. (Here's a link to the privacy policy.) Not happy with that? Neither is Sen. Al Franken. Along with Sens. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, he's asking Facebook to revisit its policy and allow users to 'opt-in' rather than 'opt-out' of data sharing. The senators also want the Federal Trade Commission to set disclosure rules for all social media sites. (Of course, Franken posted a link on his Facebook page that links to Washington Post coverage of the story.) In a letter to company CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the senators said, in part, "While Facebook provides a valuable service to users by keeping them connected with friends and family and reconnecting them with long-lost friends and colleagues, the expansion of Facebook - both in the number of users and applications - raises new concerns for users who want to maintain control over their information."

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Senators Want Facebook To Make “Instant Personalization” Service Opt-In

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

allfacebook.com - By Nick O'Neill - Apr. 27 (News Report) - Today during a press conference, Senator Charles Schumer of New York and a number of other Democratic Senators announced that they would like Facebook to make their new “Instant Personalization” service “Opt-In” rather than “Opt-Out” by default. While the new service accounts for only a portion of Facebook’s new features, it’s appearing as though this could rapidly turn into Facebook’s second Beacon moment.

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How to Opt Out of Facebook’s Instant Personalization

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

eff.org - By Kurt Opsahl - Apr. 22 (Special Report) - Yesterday, Facebook announced Instant Personalization, whereby select websites would "personalize your experience using your public Facebook information." The initial sites are Pandora, Yelp and Microsoft Docs. As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained,

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Why Does Government Need Your Passenger Data?

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Miller-McCune - By Michael Scott Moore - Apr. 22 (News) - A grand explanation for the Great Information Gather on anyone who crosses an international border.

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FTC on Google Buzz: Consumer Privacy Cannot Be Run in Beta

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Mashable - By Jennifer Van Grove - Mar. 17 (News Report) - Earlier today, FTC commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour cited Google Buzz’s “irresponsible conduct” at launch as an example of how companies are being too careless with consumer privacy and online data.

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Who Are You and What Did You Eat?

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Miller-McCune - By Michael Scott Moore - Feb. 25 (Special Report) - Meanwhile, the U.S. also started requesting loads of private information from airlines, including passenger cell phone numbers and the names of people who’d ordered a special meal. This irritated Germans in particular. They get antsy about invasions of privacy, having both Nazi and Communist regimes in their recent past.

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Facebook Glitch Sends Wrong Messages - Digits - WSJ

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800

blogs.wsj.com - By Jennifer Valentino-DeVries - Feb. 25 (News) - Last night, in an embarrassing glitch for Facebook, some users of the social-networking site began getting hundreds of personal messages that weren't intended for them.

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US teen pregnancy rate up for first time since 1990: study

Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800

Raw Story - Jan. 28 (News Report) - The US teen pregnancy rate rose in 2006 for the first time in 16 years, an report showed Tuesday, as experts speculated that the increase was due to abstinence-only sex education in schools.

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Man Says Judge Arrested Him 'On a Hunch'

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800

courthousenews.com - By Liz Potocsnak - Jan. 04 (News Report) - A judge in Dickson County, Tenn., had officers pull a spectator out of his courtroom "on a hunch," held him in custody and made him submit to a urinalysis for drugs, the man claims in Federal Court. Benjamin Marchant claims that General Sessions Judge Durwood Moore admitted that he "routinely drug-screens 'spectators' in his courtroom if he 'thinks' they may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol."

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Records not as vulnerable as group claims

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0700

PolitiFact - By Louis Jacobson - Oct. 22 (Special Report) - Could Big Brother -- or garden-variety snoopers -- soon get their hands on your medical data? The Senior Citizens League -- a group that boasts 1.2 million members and is affiliated with the Retired Enlisted Association -- recently sent out a mailing saying it was possible. According to a copy obtained by the Huffington Post, the group sent a four-page letter, along with a questionnaire and a cover letter signed by former Rep. David Funderburk, R-N.C., to seniors, expressing two related concerns about Democratic health care reform plans now being debated on Capitol Hill. One is that they could lead to the rationing of care. The other is that the government is assembling a "national government computer network" that will contain Americans' medical files.

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