Librarian Fired for Reporting Child Porn Web Surfing, but Questions Linger

Chronicles of Dissent reports the story of librarian Brenda Biesterfeld, who says she was fired after alerting authorities that a patron was viewing child pornography on library computers. Apparently she notified her supervisor (Hill) who told her merely to give…

Proposed NY Law to Limit the Web Tracking also Requires Access to Data Collected

On the heels of growing public awareness of how "large Web companies are learning more about people than ever from what they search for and do on the Internet, gathering clues about the tastes and preferences of a typical user…

Germany’s High Court Protects Computer Privacy

The German Constitutional Court, ruling on the constitutionality of secret online searches of computers by government agencies, has created a new "basic right to the confidentiality and integrity of information-technological systems" as derived from the German Constitution. The AP reports:…

Google Tests its eHealth Platform, Privacy Promised

Google announced the start of a pilot project to test its own electronic health records storage platform. The same privacy concerns that arise when considering Microsoft's HealthVault solution apply here: How is the data stored? Is it encrypted? Who can…

More Designing for Privacy: Microsoft HealthVault

Similar to my recent probes and interactions with the designers of the social networking site Moli, I recently enjoyed the opportunity to discuss privacy-related design issues with the product manager for Microsoft's HealthVault platform. HealthVault is Microsoft's attempt to provide…