Six European nations are challenging Google's privacy policies it emerged on Tuesday—just after the announcement that its privacy director was stepping down. Later this year, when Google Glass hits the market, privacy issues are already emerging as Google’s wearable tech, estimated retail price $1,500, brings seismic change to the scientific landscape and to what's possible with personal computing.

Google, on the defensive, argues that its already-filled "Glass Explorer" program of Google Glass public beta-testers "will give all of us the chance to be active participants in shaping the future of this technology, including its features and social norms."Continue reading...

Undeterred by Coca-Cola's privacy policy, the company's corporate website was attacked by Chinese hackers in March 2009 — but nobody knew, because the company decided against disclosing the breach publically after the FBI informed them.

Blooomberg reveals that the hackers spent one month “pilfering sensitive files” about Coca-Cola’s attempt to acquire China Huiyuan Juice Group for $2.4 billion. If successful, the transaction would have been the largest foreign takeover of a Chinese company ever. The breach started with malware-infected e-mails to Coca-Cola's senior executives which, when opened, enabled the hackers to infiltrate the network and steal proprietary information. Once revealed, the Huiyuan deal collapsed three days later.Continue reading...

The Federal Trade Commission today released its framework (and the cautionary video above) for protecting consumers’ privacy online. Building on its draft privacy proposal from last year which outlined guidelines for companies to handle personal data and recommended the “Do Not Track” button option, the FTC has legal authority to sue companies that violate privacy policies.

Under FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz, the agency last year brought charges against both Google and Facebook for alleged violations. At issue, in addition to personal privacy, the tougher the regulations the bigger the incursion on profits reaped by web giants who use the data from targeted advertising to offer their services for free.Continue reading...

Gucci bags, Apple iClones, New Balance sneakers, jeans of all stripes, Oakley sunglasses, you name it. Head out to any major urban strip, market or sidewalk vendor and you'll find a plethora of knock-offs laid out on a table, selling for a low, low price.

Well, fakers beware. There are now 38 countries committed to an international anti-piracy and anti-counterfeiting agreement.

At an Oct. 1st meeting in Tokyo, the United States and seven other nations signed the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA), which aims to stamp out piracy and intellectual property theft. Other new ACTA signatories include New Zealand, Canada, Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Japan, and Morocco.

Prior to signing, the US was embroiled in debates over the sections of the agreement pertaining to IP protection on the web, a hot-button issue that alarmed online privacy watchdogs such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, with some concerned about ACTA's constitutionality.Continue reading...

Following a complaint from U.S. senators, General Motors' OnStar telematics division announced today that it's reversing the proposed Terms and Conditions policy changes it announced last week would take effect on December 1st.

Following customer feedback (read: public outcry), OnStar president Linda Marshall announced that the company will not keep a data connection to customers' vehicles (and collect that data) after their OnStar service is canceled, as had been intended. OnStar bills itself as "the world's most comprehensive in-vehicle safety, security and communication service."

OnStar has grown so fond of its customers that it doesn't want to let go of them — ever. The General Motors-owned "telematics" brand has been hit by a letter of complaint from two U.S. Senators about its plans to continue maintaining a "two-way connection" to OnStar-equipped vehicles even after a subscriber has terminated a subscription, "unless they ask us not to do so."

This new opt-out requirement for severing your electronic ties to OnStar is set to begin December 1. The company justifies it by asserting that it will be adopting the policy basically for the car owner's own good, even if the owner isn't aware of the benefits.

"In the future, this connection may provide us with the capability to alert vehicle occupants about severe weather conditions such as tornado warnings or mandatory evacuations," Joanne Finnor, vice president of subscriber services, told brandchannel. "Another benefit for keeping this connection 'open' could be to provide vehicle owners with any updated warranty data or recall issues."Continue reading...

With a mountain of data from focus groups, in-person surveys, annoying telemarketers, and online-behavior stats, brands can get to know their different demographic groups pretty intimately. Now all that info may help feed the next step in sales: facial-recognition technology.

The Los Angeles Times reports that some major brands, including Adidas and Kraft, are considering using the technology in stores to help consumers make purchase decisions, with software being developed by Intel and other tech companies.

"You can put this technology into kiosks, vending machines, digital signs," said Christopher O'Malley, director of retail marketing for Intel's embedded and communications group, according to the Times. "It's going to become a much more common thing in the next few years."Continue reading...