Recalling the (in)famous DOJ v Google matter, where Google resisted attempts by government to obtain thousands of user search queries, we learn today that federal prosecutors had sought the identities of thousands of people who bought used books from Amazon,…
Read More Feds Sought Identities of Book Buyers; Amazon Resists
Chronicles of Dissent points to this troubling story of a county in Oregon that is outsourcing the operation of their (formerly public) libraries to Library Systems and Services (LSSI), a private, for-profit company. LSSI tries to downplay any affect privitizing…
Everyone seems to have their personal stories about being hassled by increased airport security. Mine centers on a trip from New York to Boston I took a few weeks after 9/11. Airport security pulled me aside at La Guardia, searched…
Paul Neuhaus, a reference librarian at Santa Clara University, has assembled a wiki of state laws on the confidentiality of library records. This is a great resource providing instant access to the relevant statutes, such as New York's: New York…
Read More Wiki of State Laws on the Confidentiality of Library Records
The social networking site Facebook is planning to to enter the behavioral targeting game, letting marketers customize their ads for the millions of Facebook customers who visit the site daily. Given the "mountain of information" users openly divulge on the…
Read More Facebook to Join Behavioral Targeting Game, and Might Win
About a year ago Google posted interesting research on technology enabling your computer to listen to the ambient sounds emitted from your TV, automatically determine what is being watched (recognizing the theme song to "Seinfeld" or the sounds of a…
Following up - again - on recent posts on libraries and privacy here and at Chronicles of Dissent, CoD has received a response from the makers of the CASSIE Internet access management system. Excerpts from their e-mail exchange: 1. Can…
Following up on recent posts on libraries and privacy here and at Chronicles of Dissent, CoD contacted Deborah Caldwell-Stone, a Deputy Director at the American Library Association, for reactions of some of the issues we've been discussing. Regarding concerns about…
Chronicles of Dissent points to some discouraging trends at public libraries that potentially threaten patron anonymity and privacy. First, it appears more and more libraries are requiring those wishing to use their Internet services to produce a valid library card.…
Pandia Search Engine News reports that the Norwegian Data Inspectorate, whose role is to protect persons from violation of their right to privacy through the processing of personal data, is investigating Google's information collecting practices. From Pandia's report: “Why do…
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