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01 Mar 2011 01:13

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Tech: Facebook: Yeah, we’re planning to give out your personal info

  • YES Facebook will share your address with 3rd parties source

14 Feb 2011 20:13

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U.S.: PATRIOT Act renewal passes House – with simple majority in tow

  • last week It appeared a far-right uprising had sidelined the PATRIOT Act’s renewal in the House, with the bill falling short of the two-thirds total it needed to succeed.
  • this week By passing the bill with rules that only required a simple majority, the extension will go over to the Senate. The vote totals were nearly the same as last week. source

11 Feb 2011 21:20

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Biz: Consumers, Rep. Jackie Speier has your back on “do not track”

  • These two bills send a clear message — privacy over profit. Consumers have a right to determine what if any of their information is shared with big corporations, and the federal government must have the authority and tools to enforce reasonable protections.
  • Democratic Rep. Jackie Speier • In a statement explaining two consumer-privacy bills she just submitted to the House – one a proposal for “Do Not Track,” similar to “Do Not Call” except for advertising information on the interwebs, and the other that would give consumers more control over financial information. The key part of that bill? Making the process of allowing companies to view your financial information opt-in rather than opt-out. Both of these sound like really great ideas, so kudos to Speier for bringing these issues to the forefront. source

08 Feb 2011 21:07

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Politics: PATRIOT Act renewal not sure thing … thanks to the Tea Party

  • renewal The House is going to vote on whether or not to permanently extend the PATRIOT Act, that uber-controversial privacy-exploiting leftover from the Bush era.
  • denial Unfortunately for the GOPers pushing the bill’s renewal, this isn’t the same Congress that passed the bill, and the party’s Tea Party backers may not support it. source

27 Jan 2011 11:14

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Tech: Protip: Turn Facebook’s “Secure Browsing” on. Immediately.

  • A word of advice: Turn this “HTTPS” thing on. Trust us. Make it harder for people to hack into your Gibson when you’re sitting in an Atlanta Bread Co. looking at the latest update about that girl who broke your heart when you were in the seventh grade and now long for like a total creepbag. Snoop on your friends without having to worry about others snooping on you. Turn this on. Trust us. You’ll feel better about it in the morning. source

26 Jan 2011 19:10

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Tech: Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook hacked: Well, that’s reassuring

  • Let the hacking begin: If facebook needs money, instead of going to the banks, why doesn’t Facebook let its users invest in Facebook in a social way?
  • “Mark Zuckerberg” • Or, that is, some dude who hacked the Facebook founder’s Facebook profile. You know what’s really bad press, Mark? Not an award-winning movie about your life. Something like this. source

22 Jan 2011 22:09

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Politics: Hawaii governor: I have Obama’s birth certificate, but can’t show it off

  • Our investigation is showing, it actually exists in the archives written down. What I can do, and all I have ever said, is that I am going to see to it as governor that I can verify to anyone who is honest about it that this is the case.
  • Hawaii Gov. Neil Abercrombie • Discussing a controversy that should’ve died a long time ago that he’s been trying to get to the root of for some reason. Anyway, Abercrombie says they have the birth certificate and stuff, but later found out he’s unable to show it off due to privacy laws which he has no control over. WHY EVEN SAY YOU HAVE IT IF YOU’RE NOT ABLE TO SHOW IT OFF?! You’re feeding the trolls, who still want to see it. source
 

18 Jan 2011 10:45

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Tech: Facebook deals with blowback from another privacy kerfluffle

  • Over the weekend, we got some useful feedback that we could make people more clearly aware of when they are granting access to this data.
  • Facebook’s Douglas Purdy • On temporarily disabling a feature that would allow Facebook apps to access addresses and phone numbers. Because that’s not creepy or anything. As Purdy’s wording suggests, they won’t be getting rid of it, but merely reworking. “With this change,” he noted, “you could, for example, easily share your address and mobile phone with a shopping site to streamline the checkout process, or sign up for up-to-the-minute alerts on special deals directly to your mobile phone.” Or you could just not do this. The choice is up to you guys, really. Phone numbers and addresses: A step too far? source

14 Jan 2011 20:06

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Tech: Hey guys, look what the Huffington Post is doing with our data

  • Look, it’s great that the Huffington Post is trying to make our news experience more social, but this is a tad bit over the line. Come on. This is just plain unethical. Look, the social news element is one thing, but they gathered people’s birthdays from Facebook and used them in a really weird way, without telling us they were going to do it. Bad idea. source

05 Dec 2010 23:16

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Tech: Mark Zuckerberg’s “60 Minutes” appearance gets testy

  • On the plus side, at least he wasn’t sweating. Months after Kara Swisher turned Mark Zuckerberg into a puddle of goo over privacy issues, the Facebook founder was on “60 Minutes” talking privacy with Lesley Stahl, and not turning into a puddle of goo. Odds that he’s been coached since that infamous incident: Even. source