By Dow Jones Newswires-Wall Street Journal
Music player Pandora's smartphone app for both iPhones (above) and Androids transmitted information about a user's age, gender, and location. (Reuters/Joe Skipper)
Federal prosecutors in New Jersey are investigating whether numerous smartphone applications illegally obtained or transmitted information about their users without proper disclosures, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The criminal investigation is examining whether the app makers fully described to users the types of data they collected and why they needed the information — such as a user’s location or a unique identifier for the phone — the person familiar with the matter said. Collecting information about a user without proper notice or authorization could violate a federal computer-fraud law. Get the full story »
Jan. 19 at 2:44 p.m.
Filed under:
Litigation,
Work culture
By CNN
The Supreme Court has again rejected broad privacy rights for some government workers.
A unanimous bench on Wednesday affirmed the government’s right to conduct personal background checks on current and prospective employees under federal contract, especially those in sensitive or high-security workplaces. Get the full story »
Jan. 18 at 8:24 a.m.
Filed under:
Computers,
Crime,
Criminal charges
By Reuters
U.S. investigators plan to announce criminal charges concerning the alleged theft of email addresses and other personal information belonging to about 120,000 users of Apple Inc’s iPad tablet computer. Get the full story »
Dec. 16, 2010 at 1:01 p.m.
Filed under:
Consumer news,
Internet
By Associated Press
The Commerce Department is calling for the creation of a “privacy bill of rights” for Internet users to set ground rules for companies that collect consumer data online and use that information for marketing and other purposes.
The proposal, outlined in a Commerce Department report Thursday, is intended to address growing unease about the vast amounts of personal information that companies are scooping up on the Net — from Web browsing habits to smart phone locations to Facebook preferences. That data is often mined to target advertising. Get the full story »
Dec. 13, 2010 at 8:15 a.m.
Filed under:
Food,
Internet,
Restaurants
By Bruce Japsen
McDonald’s Corp. has informed an undisclosed number of customers that certain information such as phone numbers and ages has been obtained by an “unauthorized third party” via information collected from its Web sites.
McDonald’s described the information as customer information as “limited information” provided to McDonald’s that included “information required to confirm your age, a method to contact you (such as name, mobile phone number, and postal address and/or email address).” Get the full story »
Dec. 10, 2010 at 1:27 p.m.
Filed under:
Retail
By Emily Bryson York
Customers subscribing to Walgreen Co.’s e-mail distribution list should be on the look-out for spam directing them to another site and then asking for personal data.
According to a company spokesman, Walgreens became aware of “unauthorized access” to its e-mail list, “about a week ago,” and began notifying subscribers this morning. Get the full story »
Sep. 3, 2010 at 4:26 p.m.
Filed under:
Internet,
Litigation,
Privacy issues
By Reuters
Google Inc. has settled a lawsuit accusing it of privacy violations in connection with its Buzz social networking service, according to a court document filed Friday.
The settlement filing comes the same day Google said it would simplify and update its privacy policies, Associate General Counsel Mike Yang said on the company’s Web site. Get the full story »
July 6, 2010 at 2:13 p.m.
Filed under:
Technology,
Telecommunications
By Dow Jones Newswires
Apple Inc. removed a host of applications from its popular App Store and acknowledged that a developer had engaged in fraudulent purchases, a move that raises concerns about an operation seen as the gold standard for mobile application marketplaces.
On Monday, Apple said applications created by Thuat Nguyen had been removed and alleged Nguyen had engaged in “fraudulent purchase patterns.” The move followed complaints by App Store users that their accounts had been accessed to purchase applications made by Nguyen.
Nguyen could not be located for comment. Get the full story »
June 24, 2010 at 1:07 p.m.
Filed under:
Government,
Privacy issues,
Telecommunications
By Reuters
Microblogging service Twitter has agreed to a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission over charges it put its customers’ privacy at risk by failing to safeguard their personal information.
The settlement announced by the FTC Thursday stems from a series of attacks last year on Twitter, the three-year old phenomenon that lets people send short text messages to groups of followers. Under the agreement, Twitter is creating an independently audited security program, among other measures. Get the full story »
