When you encounter a website or mobile app that requires you to log in or register, do you use your social media account to do so? If you answered “yes,” you are part of a growing majority according to a Gigya survey, which found that social login use is on the rise as a result … Continue Reading
The Article 29 Working Party (WP29) yesterday published an opinion on facial recognition in online and mobile services. The WP29 states this technology requires “specific attention” as it presents “a range of data protection concerns”. The opinion focuses on facial technology being used in three main contexts: identifying people in social networks; authenticating and verifying … Continue Reading
Last week, the FTC announced that it has agreed to end its 18-month investigation of Facebook’s privacy practices, with a settlement that involved a twenty-year compliance plan and specific steps to formalize privacy within Facebook’s organization. Though the proposed settlement, which will now be open for public comment, has met with a range of reactions, … Continue Reading
Last week, U.S. District Judge Richard Seeborg dismissed a putative class action against Facebook alleging that the company violated users’ rights of publicity by using their names and pictures for its Friend Finder service. The Judge concluded that the class failed to demonstrate that they suffered any injury as a result of the service. The Judge … Continue Reading
Following a public comment period that began in March of this year, the Federal Trade Commission has accepted as final a settlement with Google relating to the social network “Buzz” product that was launched in 2010. (For more details about the Buzz product and its launch see Inside Privacy’s prior post, here). As the Commission’s … Continue Reading
The Federal Communications Commission has adopted rules implementing the Protecting Children in the 21st Century Act. Like the Act, the FCC’s rules require elementary and secondary schools that have applied for discounted Internet access services through the FCC’s E-rate program to certify that the school’s Internet safety policy provides for the education of minors about appropriate online behavior, including … Continue Reading
Over the past few weeks, online publishers have seen regulators’ focus on privacy in the social media context reach the boiling point. Just this week, Politico reported that FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz confirmed in a letter to Sen. Mark Pryor that “FTC staff are carefully monitoring the privacy and security issues associated with social networking … Continue Reading
For the second time in a week, the California Senate has voted down “The Social Networking Privacy Act” (S.B. 242), a bill that would have required social networking services to, among other things, restrict the sharing of information by default, establish a process for new users to configure privacy settings during registration, and remove all … Continue Reading
A new bill has been introduced in the Illinois legislature that would make it illegal for employers to ask prospective employees for access to their social network profiles. The bill, H.B. 3782, would amend the Illinois Right to Privacy in the Workplace Act to provide that employers may not ask job applicants for any username, … Continue Reading
