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Tag: Stuff

  • Jeb Bush Just Released Years of Emails – Complete with the Names and Email Addresses of All Who Wrote Him

    In the name of transparency, former Florida Governor and likely 2016 Presidential candidate Jeb Bush just published all of his email correspondence from his tenure running the state.

    “In the spirit of transparency, I am posting the emails of my governorship here. Some are funny; some are serious; some I wrote in frustration. But they’re all here so you can read them and make up your own mind,” says Bush on the new site, jebemails.com. The site contains a searchable database, filterable by time period. Bush has also made the emails available as original outlook files and has even published the emails as an e-book.

    You can check that out here.

    It’s clear that Jeb Bush sent a lot of emails during his time as the Governor of Florida.

    “Now that the campaign was over, how could I keep track of what Floridians were thinking? I needed their energy and passion and wisdom. Email. Everyone could email me. So they did,” he reminisces in the new e-book preface. “Millions of emails came in through our website, but it was when I made my personal email – jeb@jeb.org – public that I earned the nickname ‘The eGovernor.’”

    According to Bush, he spent 30 hours a week emailing citizens. And he may have just pissed off a good swath of them.

    Go take a look at the email database. You’ll see emails spanning nearly a decade, dozens every single day. What you won’t see are any redactions. Not a single one.

    Every email has been published as is, including the full names and email addresses of the Floridians who emailed Bush from 1999 to 2007.

    Now, it’s unclear whether or not these people had any expectation of privacy when emailing a public figure – especially one in the state government. Especially when it’s the Governor himself. But if I had to guess, I’d say plenty did.

    I’m sure it would only take a few minutes to find handfuls of emails that contain some sensitive content – controversial opinions perhaps. Now those opinions are public, and tied to people’s names and email addresses.

    It just makes you wonder why the Jeb Bush staff didn’t employ some black bars. Someone should’ve seen how this could be an issue.

  • Twitter: Government Info Requests on the Rise, Up 40% Worldwide

    Twitter’s latest transparency report is out, and the numbers of governmental requests – both for user info and for content removal – are way up.

    According to Twitter, the company has seen a 40% increase in government requests for user info in the past six months, worldwide. The biggest increase comes in Russia, where Twitter say over 100 separate requests for user info after never having any. Requests from the Turkish government also surged – up 150%. In the US, requests spiked 29%.

    In terms of how often Twitter complied with said requests, it really depends on where they came from. Twitter didn’t comply once with a Russian or Turkish request, but complied 80% of the time when the request came from the US government – the highest compliance rate across the world, by far.

    Content removal request also rose, but in terms of compliance Twitter did not remove any of the content requested in the US – but did in countries like Russia, Turkey, and Brazil.

    “Providing this level of transparency is not without its complications and sometimes means we get tough questions and criticism about our decisions. However, this candid feedback helps us to be evermore thoughtful about our policies and decisions regarding content and compliance as we navigate complex, diverse legal regimes around the world. As more companies consider publishing or expanding their own reports, we strongly encourage them to join us and our peers at Google, Vimeo, WordPress and Wikimedia in publishing government removal demands. The global community deserves this level of transparency from its governments and its service providers,” says Twitter Senior Manager of Global Legal Policy Jeremy Kessel.

    You can check out the full report here.

    Image via Twitter, Transparency Report

  • Twitter to Kick Trolls Off ‘Right and Left’, Says CEO

    Twitter CEO Dick Costolo has admitted something we’re all well aware of: Twitter is pretty bad at handling instances of abuse on its platform.

    “We suck at dealing with abuse and trolls on the platform and we’ve sucked at it for years. It’s no secret and the rest of the world talks about it every day. We lose core user after core user by not addressing simple trolling issues that they face every day,” said Costolo in an internal memo obtained by The Verge.

    “I’m frankly ashamed of how poorly we’ve dealt with this issue during my tenure as CEO. It’s absurd. There’s no excuse for it. I take full responsibility for not being more aggressive on this front. It’s nobody else’s fault but mine, and it’s embarrassing.”

    The admission came in response to internal discussions about a recent This American Life story, in which writer Lindy West talks about her harassment at the hands of some on Twitter.

    If you’re Twitter, it’s hard to deal with this issue for a multitude of reasons. For one, you don’t want to be a platform that’s seen to be limiting free expression.

    On the other hand, Twitter can’t be a platform for rape threats. What’s the line? Where does Twitter draw it if they find it?

    In August of last year, following a spate of high-profile stories of large-scale Twitter harassment, Twitter promised to work on its anti-abuse policies. By December, Twitter had unveiled new protocols for reporting abuse.

    In the leaked memo, Costolo promises to get rid of “these people” at all costs, saying that everyone in Twitter leadership knows how “vital” it is.

    “We’re going to start kicking these people off right and left and making sure that when they issue their ridiculous attacks, nobody hears them,” says Costolo.

    Image via Wikimedia Commons

  • WikiLeaks Blasts Google For Giving FBI Personal Data, Delaying Notification

    Google reportedly delayed by two and a half years disclosure to WikiLeaks that it gave emails and other data from three of its staff to the FBI. This occurred after a federal judge issued a warrant.

    Michael Ratner of the Center for Constitutional Rights, who is a lawyer for WikiLeaks, wrote a letter to Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, telling him they are “astonished and disturbed that Google waited over two and a half years to notify its subscribers that a search warrant was issued for their records.”

    Read the full letter here.

    The three WikiLeaks staffers are Investigations editor Sarah Harrison, Section Editor Joseph Farrell and senior journalist and spokesperson Kristinn Hrafnsson. The warrant was related to charges of alleged conspiracy and espionage.

    “Importantly, the warrants reveal for the first time a clear list of the alleged offences the US government is trying to apply in its attempts to build a prosecution against Julian Assange and other WikiLeaks staff. The offences add up to a total of 45 years of imprisonment,” WikiLeaks said in a press release. “The US government is claiming universal jurisdiction to apply the Espionage Act, general Conspiracy statute and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act to journalists and publishers – a horrifying precedent for press freedoms around the world. Once an offence is alleged in relation to a journalist or their source, the whole media organisation, by the nature of its work flow, can be targeted as alleged ‘conspiracy’.”

    Here’s what it said specifically about Google:

    WikiLeaks’ legal team has written to Google expressing its dismay that Google failed to notify the warrants’ targets immediately. The failure to notify has prevented the three journalists from “protect[ing] their interests including their rights to privacy, association and freedom from illegal searches”. The “take everything” warrants are unconstitutionally broad and appear to violate the Privacy Protection Act so would have a good chance of being opposed; however, Google handed everything over before that was possible.

    Although Google claims that it was at some stage under a gag order from the US government, there is no indication that Google fought the gag and it is unlikely that the gag just happened to expire the day before Christmas. Similar gags for warrants against WikiLeaks journalists have been successfully fought by Twitter in much shorter time-frames.

    While WikiLeaks journalists, perhaps uniquely, do not use Google services for internal communications or for communicating with sources, the search warrants nonetheless represent a substantial invasion of their personal privacy and freedom. The information handed over to the US government included all email content, metadata, contacts, draft emails, deleted emails and IP addresses connected to the accounts. Google redacted the search warrants before sending them to WikiLeaks staff.

    The Guardian shares comment from Google:

    Google told the Guardian it does not talk about individual cases, to “help protect all our users”. A spokesperson for the company said: “We follow the law like any other company.

    “When we receive a subpoena or court order, we check to see if it meets both the letter and the spirit of the law before complying. And if it doesn’t we can object or ask that the request is narrowed. We have a track record of advocating on behalf of our users.”

    Assange said, “WikiLeaks has out endured everything the Obama administration has thrown at us and we will out endure these latest ‘offences’ too…’I call on president Obama to do the right thing and call off his dogs–for his own sake. President Obama is set to go down in history as the president who brought more bogus ‘espionage’ cases against the press than all previous presidents combined.”

    WikiLeaks also wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice and the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. This requests further details on the investigation.

    Image via Google

  • Interactive Advertising Bureau Weighs In On Obama Proposals

    During Tuesday’s State of the Union Address, President Obama briefly touched on some proposals that may have an impact on the digital advertising industry. These include laws to combat cyber attacks and to protect the data of minors.

    Here’s the full speech in case you didn’t watch it:

    From the prepared remarks:

    We are making sure our government integrates intelligence to combat cyber threats, just as we have done to combat terrorism. And tonight, I urge this Congress to finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft, and protect our children’s information. If we don’t act, we’ll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable. If we do, we can continue to protect the technologies that have unleashed untold opportunities for people around the globe.

    The follows Obama’s proposal last week to require companies to notify customers of breaches within 30 days as a “single, strong national standard”. This is part of what’s known as the Personal Data Notification and Protection Act. The President says this will not only let consumers know when their info is stolen, but also make it easier for companies to deal with hacks.

    The Interactive Advertising Bureau has some thoughts about the President’s proposals, and sent us a statement from Mike Zaneis, EVP, Public Policy & General Counsel.

    “Among these ideas, were some extremely positive legislative vehicles that IAB wholeheartedly endorses,” he said. “The mission of securing the internet through stronger cybersecurity laws is vitally important. This is why the IAB created an Anti-Malware Working Group and formed an information partnership with the FBI in September of 2014. We also laud the President’s call for a single, national data breach notification standard. Having a patchwork of 46 disparate state laws does not adequately protect consumers’ identities. The President rightly called for new free trade agreements that would allow the internet to flourish. We also applaud the President in his effort to craft a new Federal law to secure students’ data when they are using innovative digital tools.”

    “The President laid out many areas where there can be bipartisan cooperation to enact new consumer protections that also allow industry to continue to innovate and create new jobs. These are ideals shared by the IAB, so much so that the digital marketing industry has taken a lead role in ensuring that consumers have the ability to control their privacy online, creating the first ever comprehensive digital self regulatory program called the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA). The DAA was developed in coordination with the FTC and endorsed by this Administration in 2012.”

    “We want to build upon these successes, but some of the President’s proposals could derail our collective efforts,” he added. “A push for controversial, European-style privacy restrictions, such as enactment of a ‘Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights,’ would make the U.S. less competitive in the global economy. This nebulous concept is ill-advised and could undermine the opportunities to deliver real results to the American public. ”

    “We look forward to working with the Administration and the 114th Congress on their pro-growth agenda and to having the $50 billion U.S. digital advertising industry continue to lead our economy in the right direction.”

    Not all of this was explicitly discussed in the State of the Union Address, but here’s the President’s speech about protecting consumers and families in the digital age from January 12:

    And his speech on Cybersecurity the following day:

    The White House Blog runs down the key takeaways from the privacy speech here.

    Images via YouTube, IAB

  • Facebook Hoax Promises Hot Snapchat Photos, Delivers Only Fraud

    If you’re scrolling through your news feed and come across a pair of boobs and a promise of hot Snapchats, ignore your impulses and avoid. It’s a scam.

    Specifically, you might see links to articles called “10 Hottest Leaked Snapchats Ever” or “Welcome to new batch of Snapchat leaked.”

    If you click, you’ll likely be taken to fraudulent websites under the guise of “viraltruck”, “viraldips”, or “trendingusa”. According to security provider Bitdefender, such sites have been blacklisted.

    Instead of leaked Snapchats, you’ll get a headache. That’s because such sites are usually involved in phishing, survey scams, malware, and even identity fraud.

    In all instances – just keep scrolling.

    Bitdefender also warns that these sorts of hoaxes will be on the rise in 2015. This “hot Snapchat” scam is already one of the most-circulated on Facebook this year.

    “Tabloid-titled scams will continue to affect curious users this year, Bitdefender researchers warn. A study in 2014 revealed that scams promising horrid videos and pictures represented less than 1 per cent of scams flooding the network. However, researchers expect this to grow with the vivid interest users have for anything ‘leaked’ and ‘horrendous.’

    Of course, scams promising sexy content aren’t the only ones you need to worry about. Just last week, one of Facebook’s most notorious and un-killable hoaxes reared its ugly head – the privacy notice hoax. With this hoax, users are tricked into posting a legalese, but ultimately utterly useless message to safeguard their IP rights on the site.

    This latest Snapchat photos hoax falls into the #6 category on our hoax roundup – the you’re gonna get to see someone nekkid hoax.

    There are plenty of places to see people naked on the internet. Facebook isn’t one of them.

    Be smart.

    Image via Bitdefender HotforSecurity blog

  • Facebook Privacy Hoax Returns to Dupe the Highly Dupable

    Don’t be the guy who posts that completely useless privacy notice on Facebook … again. Hey, better safe than sorry, right?

    Wrong. Just say no.

    A hoax as old as any (and there are a lot inside the Facebook bubble) has resurfaced, tricking a new round of users (and likely some of the same) into posting a completely meaningless privacy message as a status update. It’s a slightly different version of the same old – a decree of sorts stating that Facebook is no longer allowed to use your content.

    Except they are, and they do.

    Here’s an example of what you may see floating around your news feed:

    Better safe than sorry. The news was just talking about this change in Facebook’s privacy policy. As of January 5th, 2015 at 6:45am eastern standard time, I do not give Facebook or any entities associated with Facebook permission to use my pictures, information, or posts, both past and future. By this statement, I give notice to Facebook that it is strictly forbidden to disclose, copy, distribute or take any other action against me based on this profile, which is private and confidential information. The violation of privacy can be punished by law (UCC 1-308-11 308-103 and Rome statute). NOTE: Facebook is now a public entity. All members must post a note like this. If you prefer, you can copy and paste this version. If you do not publish this statement at least once it will be tactically allowing the use of your photos, as well as information contained in the profile status updates. DO NOT SHARE you MUST copy and paste to make this status. I will leave a comment so it will be easier to copy and paste!!!

    Of course, by using Facebook, you’ve already agreed to this:

    “For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos (IP content), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings: you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any IP content that you post on or in connection with Facebook (IP License).”

    Posting a status doesn’t change that. It never will. Posting a status will also not save that little boy with cancer. Facebook’s not going to donate to his cause. Also, he doesn’t exist. Facebook’s never going to charge a monthly fee either. There’s no Facebook Drug Task Force, and the site isn’t shutting down because it’s overpopulated.

    Please, skip the privacy notice and get back to posting quizzes. Your friends will be less annoyed.

  • FTC Settles Charges Against Snapchat

    FTC Settles Charges Against Snapchat

    The U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced on Wednesday that it has approved a final order settling charges that Snapchat deceived consumers with promises about the disappearing nature of messages sent through its service. This follows a public comment period.

    The FTC’s complaint was announced in May. It also alleged that Snapchat deceived consumers over the amount of personal data it collected and the security measures it took to protect data. The commission said in its announcement on Wednesday:

    The settlement with Snapchat is part of the FTC’s ongoing effort to ensure that companies market their apps truthfully and keep their privacy promises to consumers. It prohibits Snapchat from misrepresenting the extent to which it maintains the privacy, security, or confidentiality of users’ information. In addition, the company will be required to implement a comprehensive privacy program that will be monitored by an independent privacy professional for the next 20 years.

    “If a company markets privacy and security as key selling points in pitching its service to consumers, it is critical that it keep those promises,” said FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez. “Any company that makes misrepresentations to consumers about its privacy and security practices risks FTC action.”

    The terms of the settlement don’t appear to include any financial hit to the company. Snapchat will be required to comply with obligations including a privacy program for the next twenty years. This is basically in line with measures taken against Google and Facebook in the past.

    Image via Snapchat, Facebook

  • Twitter Wants to Track Which Apps You Have on Your Phone; Here’s How to Stop It

    Twitter has just added a section to its security & privacy terms that explains how the company is about the start “collecting and occasionally updating the list of apps installed on your mobile device”.

    Re/code first spotted the updated page, which explains Twitter’s ‘App Graph’ and what it means for you.

    In short, Twitter is occasionally checking in on which apps you have downloaded – but that’s as far as it goes. Twitter assures users that “we are only collecting the list of applications you have installed … we are not collecting any data within the applications.”

    Why would Twitter want to do this? Well, ads first and foremost. Generically, Twitter’s rationale for the app-tracking is to “help build a more tailored experience for you on Twitter”. More specifically, that means “showing you more relevant promoted content”.

    Twitter also says this will help them to add more interesting content to your timeline. You may have noticed recently that Twitter has been messing with your timeline a bit, showing tweets and other stories from and about accounts you don’t follow.

    If your first thought is something along the lines of oh hell no – don’t worry – it’s easy to turn off. All you have to do is find the “tailor Twitter based on my apps” option in your settings and shut it down. For iOS users, it’s located under Privacy inside Settings. For Android users, it’s located inside the Other section inside Settings.

    But here’s the thing – Twitter’s probably not tracking your apps yet. Here’s how it will go down:

    We will notify you about this feature being turned on for your account by showing a prompt letting you know that to help tailor your experience, Twitter uses the apps on your device. Until you see this prompt, this setting is turned off and we are not collecting a list of your apps.

    So, until you see the warning, there’s nothing for you to do.

    Opt-out data tracking is probably one of the least-popular things on the planet – running close behind root canals and Yoko Ono Christmas covers. We’ll see how this goes over the next few days/weeks – but I’m betting there will be some backlash.

    Image via Jason Howie, Flickr Creative Commons

  • Facebook Is Updating Its Terms And Privacy Policies Again

    Facebook announced that it’s updating its terms of service, data policy, and cookies policy to reflect new features, as it also tries to improve its advertising experience. There aren’t any changes to settings, but the way Facebook explains things is getting an update.

    One change will be in how Facebook explains how it gets location information from users.

    “Millions of people check into their favorite places and use optional features like Nearby Friends,” says Chief Privacy Officer Erin Egan. “We’re working on ways to show you the most relevant information based on where you are and what your friends are up to. For example, in the future, if you decide to share where you are, you might see menus from restaurants nearby or updates from friends in the area.”

    One part will be related to the Buy button Facebook is currently testing in some regions.

    The data policy is shorter, and according to Facebook, clearer. There’s a new Privacy Basics privacy guide with tips and suggestions. Another update explains how battery and signal strength help apps work better. Another talks about how Facebook’s “family of companies and apps” work together.

    “Over the past few years, Facebook has grown and we want to make sure you know about our family of companies, apps and services,” says Egan. “We use the information we collect to improve your experience. For example, if you’re locked out of your Instagram account, you can use your Facebook information to recover your password. Nothing in our updates changes the commitments that Instagram, WhatsApp and other companies have made to protect your information and your privacy.”

    While there aren’t any actual changes to privacy settings, Facebook is giving users a little more control over ads they see.

    “You can opt out of seeing ads on Facebook based on the apps and sites you use through the Digital Advertising Alliance,” says Egan. “You can also opt out using controls on iOS and Android. When you tell us you don’t want to see these types of ads, your decision automatically applies to every device you use to access Facebook. Also, we’re now making our ad preferences tool available in additional countries, beginning with Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, and the UK.”

    Facebook will take comments from users on the changes until November 20, and will share the final updates shortly thereafter.

    Image via Facebook

  • Mozilla Puts Greater Emphasis On Privacy In Firefox

    Mozilla is celebrating ten years of Firefox with a handful of announcements. We told you about the launch of Firefox Developer Edition, which it had previously teased, but that’s only part of the celebration.

    The regular Firefox browser is getting a Forget button to keep browsing history private on shared computers or protect users from visits to suspicious sites.

    Mozilla commissioned a survey from Harris Poll, which found that men are three times more likely to have visited an adult website and “wish they could forget it.” Men are also twice as likely than females to have visited an online dating site while already in a relationship (and again, wish they could “forget” it).

    Over half of young adults (19 – 34) have done something online they’d like to forget, while one in three women want to “forget an online shopping binge,” the survey finds. Men are more likely than women to clear their online browsing history daily.

    Firefox is also adding DuckDuckGo, a search engine that doesn’t collect or store search info, as a search option across Windows, Mac, Linux, and Android.

    Finally, Mozilla announced a new strategic initiative called Polaris to “bring together the best and brightest to explore new approaches to enhance privacy controls online.”

    A spokesperson said in an email, “Polaris will bring together Mozilla’s global community with industry experts from the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT) and the Tor Project, and others, with an open call for participation. Initially, Mozilla is exploring an experimental tracking protection tool and working closely with Tor to test and strengthen their network.”

    More on Mozilla’s new announcements here.

    Image via Joshua Wolford

  • Facebook Says Government Data Requests Up 24%

    It’s Election Day in the US, and Facebook is reminding everyone to vote with a giant banner at the top of the news feed which asks people to share the vote with friends. By the looks of my news feed, it’s working.

    The company has also chosen today to release its third-ever transparency report – which provides info on how many data and content removal requests it receives, as well as national security requests initiated through FISA. By law, Facebook can’t really say a lot about the latter – but as far as the former goes, things are up in a pretty big way.

    During the first half of 2014, government requests for data and content removal were up 24 percent and 19 percent, respectively, from the latter half of 2013.

    Facebook makes a point to say how they fight “overly broad requests”:

    “As we’ve said before, we scrutinize every government request we receive for legal sufficiency under our terms and the strict letter of the law, and push back hard when we find deficiencies or are served with overly broad requests.”

    The company also reminds people that it’s been busy fighting an unprecedented data grab – a set of “sweeping search warrants” issued by a New York court.

    Finally, Facebook talks legislation:

    “As such, we support recent efforts in the U.S. Senate to pass the USA FREEDOM Act, and we’re hopeful that Congress will update the Electronic Communications Privacy Act to codify our requirement of a warrant to compel disclosure of the stored contents of an account. We will continue to work on our own and with partners, such as the Reform Government Surveillance coalition, to protect the information of the people who use our services.”

    You can check out the full report here. And remember – go vote. It could have an impact on whether or not Facebook is required to give up more and more of your data.

    Image via Facebook

  • Lori Douglas Nude Photos Prompt Inquiry Against Her

    Associate Chief Justice Lori Douglas is facing removal from her position due to an inquiry on nude images of her being posted on the Internet without her consent. On Tuesday, October 29, the Canadian Judicial Council’s independent counsel, Suzanne Cote, said that some judges on the committee that appointed Douglas to her position in 2005 were not aware of the photos and would have decided differently. Cote also argued that the members of the Canadian Judicial Council panel should see Douglas’ photos because they were part of evidence.

    In 2003, when Douglas was still a lawyer in private practice, her husband Jack King, also a lawyer, reportedly gave three of many intimate photographs he had taken of his wife to a client named Alex Chapman. King also allegedly enticed Chapman to have sex with his wife. In response, Chapman alleged sexual harassment and received $25,000 from King’s firm to keep quiet. However, Chapman kept the photographs and sent them to the media in 2010.

    Douglas has claimed all this time that she had no knowledge of her husband’s actions. Now, Cote is saying that the photos call into question whether the public can believe that Douglas can impartially decide cases.

    “The photos have been made publicly available without my knowledge or consent and in violation of her privacy rights,” Douglas argued in her notice of motion. “Such conduct by others is not capable of supporting a recommendation of removal (from the bench).”

    The inquiry aims to determine whether Douglas failed to disclose knowledge of the nude photos on the Internet when she applied to become a judge, whether she changed a diary entry after learning she was being subject to an investigation, and whether her presence on the bench undermines the integrity of the justice system.

    Cote argued that Douglas was obliged “to explicitly disclose that the (pictures) had been in the public domain.” Cote also argued that it was necessary for the panel to see the pictures to come to a conclusion. “You cannot simply ignore what it is that these images depict,” she said.

  • Facebook Sure Would Like the DEA to Stop Impersonating People

    Though the US Justice Department thinks the Drug Enforcement Agency has the right to impersonate people on Facebook for “law enforcement purposes”, Facebook sure would like them to stop.

    Facebook has sent a pointed letter to DEA Administrator Michele Leonhart asking that the DEA “cease all activities on Facebook that involve the impersonation of others.”

    “Facebook is a community where people come to share and interact using their authentic identities. As our Chief Product Officer recently explained, this core principle is what differentiates Facebook from other services on the internet. And requiring people to use their real identities on Facebook is ‘the primary mechanism we have to protect millions of people every day, all around the world, from real harm.’ The DEA’s deceptive actions violate the terms and policies that govern the use of the Facebook service and undermine trust in the Facebook community.”

    What deceptive actions, exactly?

    Facebook’s letter stems from recent reports of highly questionable behavior by DEA agents and the case’s recent rise into the national spotlight. Earlier this month, BuzzFeed reported on Sondra Arquiett, a woman who claims DEA agents stole her identity and gave it new life on Facebook after commandeering her cellphone upon her arrest in 2010. She was subsequently sentenced to probation for a small role in the sale of drugs.

    According to reports, the agents “created the fake Facebook account, posed as her, posted photos, sent a friend request to a fugitive, accepted other friend requests, and used the account ‘for a legitimate law enforcement purpose.’”

    That last little bit about “legitimate law enforcement purposes” comes from the Justice Department, who is standing by the DEA’s actions.

    This is the story with which Facebook has framed its letter.

    “Most fundamentally, the DEA’s actions threaten the integrity of our community. Facebook strives to maintain a safe, trusted environment where people can engage in authentic interactions with the people they know and meet in real life. Using Facebook to impersonate other abuses that trust and makes people feel less safe and secure when using our service,” says Facebook.

    Of course, the creation of fake accounts is 100 percent prohibited by the company’s terms of service.

    Facebook is asking the DEA to confirm that it has stopped any such impersonation tactics.

    Image via DEA, Twitter

  • Snapchat Photo Hack, If Real, Wasn’t Snapchat’s Fault (Says Snapchat)

    Photos taken and transmitted via Snapchat may or may not have leaked on Thursday, but if they did, Snapchat assures you that its servers were never breached and it’s the fault of unauthorized third-party apps.

    Early Friday, Business Insider reported on “The Snappening”, a supposedly massive Snapchat hack that includes upward of 200,000 photos. The hack was reportedly organized and disseminated on 4chan, with databases of the stolen photos popping up online.

    Apparently, the leak has been in the works for some time.

    Snapchat has responded, blaming banned third-party apps for the security breach.

    “We can confirm that Snapchat’s servers were never breached and were not the source of these leaks. Snapchatters were victimized by their use of third-party apps to send and receive Snaps, a practice that we expressly prohibit in our Terms of Use precisely because they compromise our users’ security. We vigilantly monitor the App Store and Google Play for illegal third-party apps and have succeeded in getting many of these removed,” said Snapchat.

    Reports vary, but apps like SnapSave and SnapSaved.com are said to be the culprits. These both allow Snapchat users to save photos – something the regular Snapchat app prohibits. Business Insider points out the SnapSaved.com now redirects to a Danish e-commerce site. That’s obviously a bit fishy.

    The initial report of “The Snappening” seems to have originated from a blog run by a guy named Kenny Withers, who claims to be a social media marketer. He posted some of the nude images, and well as various 4chan threads concerning the leaks.

    So, is this a real leak? Some have their doubts. This reddit thread pretty much sums up those doubts – mainly that most of these so-called “leaked” images have existed for some time and that if anything, this could be another attempt to make 4chan look bad in the wake of the celebrity nude leak “The Fappening”.

    But Snapchat’s statement carries an air of certainty regarding there at least being some sort of breach – even if the company isn’t taking responsibility for it.

    If hundreds of thousands of Snapchat photos were in fact stolen from a third-party app, there’s likely a ton of images of underage users – which poses its own set of problems apart from the general theft of private photos. We’ll update when we learn more about the alleged leak, but in the meantime, if you use Snapchat, you might want to be extra careful about the third-party apps you use.

    And for Snapchat, this is a bad time to be embroiled in a security scandal.

    Image via Snapchat, Twitter

  • Germany Wants Changes To Google’s Privacy Policy

    Google’s “new” privacy policy, which went into effect in 2012, continues to draw controversy and government attention, particularly in Europe.

    This week, the company was ordered by regulators in Germany to limit how it combines user data from its various products, specifically in such a way that finds out users’ sexual orientation and marital status.

    This is according to Bloomberg, which reports:

    The operator of the biggest Internet search engine was ordered to modify its privacy policies so users have the ability to determine how their data is used, Johannes Caspar, Hamburg’s privacy watchdog, said in an e-mailed statement today. The terms of Google’s 2012 privacy policy allow the Mountain View, California-based company to combine data it retrieves when customers use various services, including Gmail, Caspar said.

    “With that, one can compile detailed movement patterns, detect the social and financial status, and friendship, sexual orientation and the relationship status” of a person, the regulator said.

    Google has been dealing with regulators across the continent since it first introduced the policy. It has also had noteworthy battles in France and Italy.

    Basically, when Google implemented the new privacy policy, it wasn’t changing the way it collected data about its users. Nothing new was being collected, and it wasn’t being shared with other companies in any new ways. The main difference was that the policy enabled Google to share user data with itself, from product to product.

    Google did this so that it could better personalize experiences across its various products. It could use data it had about you from Google Search, for example, to improve recommendations on YouTube.

    Either way, opponents don’t want Google to use all of its data across services because they think it’s a violation of data protection rights. It’s unclear what Google’s next move is.

    Image via Google

  • LinkedIn Changes Terms of Service

    LinkedIn Changes Terms of Service

    LinkedIn announced that it is making some changes to its Terms of Service on October 23rd. The company has rewritten its user agreement to make it easier to read and understand, and to better explain rights surrounding content.

    In short, you own your content.

    LinkedIn lists the following as the highlights of what’s changing:

    • You own your content that you post on our services. You always have, and that hasn’t changed.
    • If you delete anything from our services, our rights to it will end. But we obviously can’t control what others do with content you shared before you delete it. For example, before you delete a presentation, one of your connections may have cut and pasted it to a blog post they’ve authored.
    • We don’t have exclusive rights to your content. It’s yours, so you’re free to repost your content on other services on the terms of your choice – like one of the Creative Commons licenses.
    • We don’t license or sell your content to third-parties (like advertisers, publishers, and websites) to show to anyone else without your express permission.
    • We won’t alter the intent of your content. But we may need to translate it, adjust the formatting, and make other technical changes to show it properly on our services.

    The company says it has cut the length of its ToS in half. You can see the updated user agreement here and privacy policy here.

    Image via LinkedIn (Flickr)

  • Pinterest To Adjust Privacy Policy For Coming Ads

    Pinterest To Adjust Privacy Policy For Coming Ads

    Pinterest said on Friday that it will make some updates to its privacy policy on October 19th in an effort to make its Promoted Pins more relevant to users.

    Promoted Pins are still in the testing phase, and aren’t available to all potential advertisers just yet. They’re currently only testing in the U.S.

    “We want to help advertisers better understand how their Promoted Pins are doing,” said Pinterest’s Julie Park. “For example, an advertiser may want to know how often their ads are showing on Pinterest or how many people bought a product after clicking on a Promoted Pin. In the future, we’ll report that info to them.”

    “We also want the Promoted Pins you see to be relevant to you and come from brands you’ve shown interest in,” Park added. “We hope to incorporate information advertisers share with us so that we can show you Promoted Pins that don’t feel random or distracting.”

    The company notes that users can adjust their account settings if they don’t want Pinterest to use info fro advertisers to personalize Promoted Pins. Pinterest also supports Do Not Track.

    A preview of the updated privacy policy is available here.

    Image via Pinterest

  • Tim Cook Promises That Apple’s Protecting Your Privacy

    Tim Cook Promises That Apple’s Protecting Your Privacy

    Maybe it’s the NSA and the government’s now-public surveillance initiative. Maybe it’s because the company just introduced and new iOS and a new payment solution that requires people to put themselves out there. Maybe it’s Jennifer Lawrence nudes. Whatever it is, Apple CEO Tim Cook has written a letter to Apple users assuring them that their privacy is at the forefront of the company’s concerns.

    “Our commitment to protecting your privacy comes from a deep respect for our customers. We know that your trust doesn’t come easy. That’s why we have and always will work as hard as we can to earn and keep it,” says Cook in the letter, published on Apple’s site.

    In the letter, Cook talks about two-step verification, protecting iCloud security, and more. He also takes the moment to take a shot at some other high-profile tech companies. See if you can figure out which ones…

    A few years ago, users of Internet services began to realize that when an online service is free, you’re not the customer. You’re the product. But at Apple, we believe a great customer experience shouldn’t come at the expense of your privacy.

    Our business model is very straightforward: We sell great products. We don’t build a profile based on your email content or web browsing habits to sell to advertisers. We don’t “monetize” the information you store on your iPhone or in iCloud. And we don’t read your email or your messages to get information to market to you. Our software and services are designed to make our devices better. Plain and simple.

    Did you catch that? Subtle, right?

    Lastly, Cook reiterates a point he’s been making for a while – that Apple doesn’t allow backdoor spying.

    “Finally, I want to be absolutely clear that we have never worked with any government agency from any country to create a backdoor in any of our products or services. We have also never allowed access to our servers. And we never will,” he says.

    This letter is really a cover letter, serving as the introduction to a new privacy site. Apple has reorganized privacy information, allowing users to view resources on the built-in privacy elements of its products, how to manage one’s own privacy, and detailed info on government requests.

    Image via Apple

  • Yelp Pays FTC $450K After Child Privacy Violation

    Yelp reached a settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission over the violation of child privacy law. The company had enabled kids under 13 (some even 9 and under reportedly) to sign up for its service, collecting their email addresses with parental consent. This apparently went on from 2009 to 2013.

    Yelp paid a reported $450,000 fine.

    According to ComputerWorld, the FTC brought the complaint against Yelp on Tuesday, saying it had violated “a number of rules, including the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act”.

    The company blamed the issue on a bug. Yelp’s VP of Communications and Public Affairs, Vince Sollitto, shared this statement on the company’s blog:

    Yelp recently reached a settlement agreement with the Federal Trade Commission regarding a bug in our mobile registration process that allowed certain users to register with any birth date when it was supposed to disallow registrations from individuals under 13 (birthdates on Yelp are optional in the first place, so users are always free to register without one).

    The good news is that only about 0.02% of users who actually completed Yelp’s registration process during this time period provided an underage birth date, and we have good reason to believe that many of them were actually adults. Regardless, we don’t want any ambiguity when it comes to our users. When this problem was brought to our attention, we fixed it immediately and closed the affected users’ accounts.

    Yelp doesn’t promote itself as a place for children, and we certainly don’t expect or encourage them to write reviews about their plumbers, dentists, or latest gastronomic discoveries. We’re glad to have been able to cooperate with the FTC to get to a quick resolution and look forward to continuing our efforts to protect our users.

    The settlement follows others from Google and Apple related to those companies enabling children to make in-app purchases without parental consent. Amazon has also been dealing with a similar situation.

    Image via Thinkstock

  • LinkedIn Announces New Security And Privacy Control Tools

    LinkedIn announced that it is giving users access to three new tools to help them better control their account and data. This includes a way to see all the places you’re logged into your account, a new data export tool, and changes to account security emails.

    The company says it wants users to be aware of their settings and make sure they are the way they want them to be.

    LinkedIn’s Madhu Gupta says, “Not sure if you remembered to log-out of your LinkedIn account on your friend’s computer? We have you covered. We’ve added a single place to see everywhere you’re signed in to LinkedIn and manage those sessions in your settings. Go to your settings and click on See where you are logged in to see a complete list of the devices that you are logged into. You also can manage these sessions from this new page. If you see a session that you want to turn off, simply click on the sign out link.”

    “Your data on LinkedIn is yours and you should be able to access it,” Gupta adds. “So we’ve added the ability to easily export all of your LinkedIn data with one click. This single download will let you see all the data LinkedIn has stored on your account, including your updates, activity, IP records, searches, and more.”

    You can download data here.

    LinkedIn emails about security-related account changes will now include a new set of information. This, the company says, will give you more insight into when and where the change took place.

    All of this is in the process of rolling out.

    Image via LinkedIn